Exclusive Interview with rapper DaForce Dawg
DaForce Dawg is an unconventional rapper, not only because he’s originally from Canada, not only because as an enfant prodige he took a guitar in his hands at the age of 5, the drums at 9 and by the time he was ten years old he had his own band. His being out of the ordinary can be spotted straight away in his sound and multi platform stages: his free-flowing style, over hitting hip-hop beats, magically blends with his strong social media presence.
His talents as a producer has made him sought after by many independent artists, and despite he was approached by Warner Music Group in his early career, he declined in favour of the label Unknown Source Music.
In this Exclusive Interview DaForce Dawg explains what inspires him in his music profession:
You’re what you would call a prodigy child: how did you live music when you were 5 years old, was it a game or did you know from the start it was going to be your profession?
The truth is when I was 5 years old I wanted to strum the guitar like my pops, he’d play anything from Jazz to Bob Marley into the Beatles, and it was effortless for him so I wanted the same results, I did it just for the enjoyment and fulfilment I’d get from music. Did I know it was going to be my profession? Well at that time no, because I wanted to be a lot of things, like most kids; you’re told you can do anything you want, so I thought I could be many things at the same time.
What Canadian traits did you bring to L.A. through your music?
Not very much to be honest because I can’t say Canadians work harder than Americans, and everyone knows Americans are more advanced and versed in trend setting being in the forefront of the music industry. So actually I had to get rid of traits and develop different concepts to be able to communicate with everyone on a global scale.
How did your stage name come about?
Actually it is a blend of my first name and last name Dominic Laforce, but many people just call me Force dawg because of personality. When I have an idea I’d hold on to it like a dog and wouldn’t let go, so my friends started calling me force and when they wanted to make a statement about something I did, they’d day “Daforce or Daforce dawg is gonna tear you up,” something like that so that’s how I got the name.
As a musician how do you direct your choices when you wear the hat of the producer?
As a musician I always try to keep in mind that a musician’s job is to be creative and do what artists do. But when you are working as a producer you must try to make some sense of what the artist is trying to convey in the song. But when I’m working as producer artist, my priority is to showcase the music first and the artist second.
Who are the rappers who inspired you as a beginner?
Starting out it was Run Dmc, Beastie Boys, Rakim, BDP, Shan, Red Manthen, Too Short, 2Pac, Dr.Dre, Ice Cube. I learned a lot from these artists, they all told a story and threw in some survival skills in there. Not to say there aren’t other artists that are great and have done the same, but the one I’ve mentioned influenced me as a beginner.
And the blooming ones you think will be groundbreaking?
It is very difficult to say because an artist is judged by every record they release so even if I think so and so is hot and will remain hot it is very difficult to predict. Kendrick Lamar I feel is one of those people you are asking me about. I think Nawlage is another artist on the rise.
Early in your career you declined an offer from Warner Music Group, did you have the feeling they were limiting your artistic freedom?
Actually it didn’t even get to the point of that, they said right off the bat “we have ideas about what you want to do, you can’t be all over the place in this genre and on that one.” So I took that as “we are going to mould you and tell you how to sing.” So I moved away from the idea of working with majors at the time. Being an indie is great but being a major is great too, you just have to be mature enough and have the right people around you to negotiate the proper deal that is good for everyone.
Tell me about “Go-Go-Go”, the single you’re about to release…
The Go Go Go release was a single which did very well around the planet, it was streamed a lot and we also just released the Go Go Go EP, which has some features. Anyone reading this go give it a listen! We will be releasing Go Go Go (re invented) in the new year with some of the rappers I look up to
What about the Smokin Ya Prod Project?
Smokin ya production I had set up a while in New York to assist upcoming artists that are serious about the craft and want to ride with us on this journey. But as you know there is a right time and a wrong time to try and make things happen and now is a bad time. It takes a special kind of situation and team to pull something off like that, it doesn’t work for everyone.
Anything else in the works?
Yes I’m still putting together songs for release and working with many industry professionals to make things happen on a much grander scale. Currently I am working on a project with Curtis Dayne which is titled N.B.T.T., also I have the Big League Mix tape coming out as well. A few singles with some great features and a couple of videos in the new year.
By Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
