Mark Braboy
News Editor
Up and coming rap artist and Jackson State University alumnus, DOLO is making a name for himself in the Mississippi hip–hop scene. He will be releasing his third mixtape, “Boobie Miles” this month.
According to DOLO, whose real name is Dominic Adagbonyin; the project was inspired by the 2004 film “Friday Night Lights” and the real life former athlete James “Boobie” Miles. The movie was based on Miles’ success and downfall as a star high school football running back.
“I can relate to the story of Boobie Miles, especially as an athlete. The tape basically talks about life after God takes away a particular talent. It has a lot of songs catered to the come up and how I process this new life after sports,” said DOLO, who is a former basketball player that once aspired to be in the NBA.
Although he has been rapping since childhood, his career in the Mississippi hip- hop scene began while he was attending Jackson State.
“What happened was I was rapping in the dorm and one of my boys from the same city was like ‘let’s do a song on the computer’ so I did the first song I ever recorded on that computer and it went from there,” said DOLO.
His name is an acronym for Die Once, Live Once. Some of the artists who inspire him are Lil Wayne, Drake, and J. Cole.
In 2011, DOLO reunited with a friend from Murrah High School, Dolla Black, owner of the local record label, Mile High Entertainment. When the two started collaborating, he began posting his music on his Facebook page.
As time went on, the Saginaw, Mich. native met the prominent local producer, Stephen “5th Child” Brown and became frequent collaborators through a mutual friend and a chance meeting.
“I met 5th Child kind of on a whim. I was at this little event and I was passing out music and somebody actually mentioned his name and gave me his card, so I called him. I linked up with him in 2012 at the end of my last year in college and I’ve been doing music with him every since my first tape, which was ‘Seven Days’,” he said.
Brown believes that the young rapper has a bright future ahead of him with his music.
“I think he’s extremely talented, he’s a really good songwriter, great delivery, has concepts, can tell stories, so he has a lot going for him,” said Brown.
The rapper was a featured artist at 5th Child’s New Jacks concert where six other up and coming rap artists had the opportunity to perform for the first time at a major event.
His music is perhaps a prime example of art imitating life. With his distinct voice, DOLO often walks a fine line between righteousness and ratchet. His projects “Seven Days” and “Meanwhile” deliver a well balanced blend of conscious observations of society along with his personal stories and hedonistic party music. The consciousness is evident on his latest single, “Keep it Forward.”
