I caught this Dom Kennedy interview (filmed by Decatur Dan) a couple days ago, but didn’t get a chance to post it. Dom Kennedy recently released a new mixtape entitled From The Westside with Love (get it here). I think it’s safe to say that most Hip Hop artists long for a review feature in XXL Mag. Say what you will about print magazines, their hip hop blog list, etc… XXL is still a definitive voice in Hip Hop culture and a gatekeeper. A good look in XXL is something any emerging artist can hang their hat on. But just what is a good look? And what happens if the look isn’t that good?
Both are questions Dom Kennedy is mulling over after his From The Westside with Love was featured last week in an XXL review. Kennedy received an L rating, which is like a 3 out of 5 so to speak (the magazine rates on a scale of S-XXL). In the interview (seen below), Kennedy voices his concern with the review and why he’s not so much jumping for joy after being featured in one of Hip Hop’s most notable publication (yes, RubyHornet included)…
“You gotta remember, XXL is a big brand. Let’s say they get 100,000 people coming XXL.com everyday. They read that review, and that’s their opinion on Dom Kennedy, and there’s nothing I can do about that unless I speak up on my behalf. I definitely feel my project is worth a lot more than the words in that review.”
One response could be, “beggars can’t be choosers.” When you send out your mixtape/album/single for a review that’s what is going to happen, it’s gonna get critiqued, dissected, and then written about postively or negatively. In one sense, I think Kennedy has no real reason to be upset, as that’s what music review writers do, they review music. They’re not obligated to write overly positively, nor only review music they like. In that sense, Kennedy should be somewhat happy that his project landed in the magazine and will be at least seen by a lot of people.
On the other hand, Kennedy has a right to feel as though XXL didn’t give it a long enough listen, or enough of an explanation. But, again, there’s no “standard album review”. There’s no set of criteria, and there are no rules for what has to be in a review, how long should be spent with the music before evaluating it, etc… For all we know the reviewer listened once, found a few key phrases and a direction for the piece and went at it. On the flipside, he could have listened to the tape on replay for days… I don’t know. I do know that Kennedy’s reaction struck a chord with me, as I found it really interesting the way in which Kennedy described his feelings and the idea of an artist speaking that way about a review in a popular magazine. It really emphasizes the importance for a young artist without a lot of history and write-ups to get really positive looks.
I read the review twice and do think it is a good look for Kennedy. It’s positive overall, and does state that Kennedy is forging an identity as one of the West Coast’s torchbearers. Yes, there is room to grow, but it’s better to have a high ceiling than be 7 feet tall in my humble opinion…
Dom Kennedy Talks XXL + Don Cannon from Decatur Dan on Vimeo.