Steve 'Flash' JuonDominic Ross Hunn b/k/a Dom Kennedy was for the longest time the dude I thought of who always dropped a solid verse on a fellow Cali rapper’s songs. The Game, J Stone, Nipsey Hussle (RIP), and so on. The short version is that he already had my respect but I didn’t think of him as a “full album” artist. I still shop for physical albums (CD and vinyl) when I get the chance and for whatever reason I just wasn’t seeing or picking up any by Mr. Hunn. I think that’s about to change.
“I’m just tryin to find a little time I can deal with you
You a dime plus one, baby keep it real with you
I’ll put everything on hold just to heal with you
I just wanna build wit’chu, I can make a mill’ with you”
Calling an album “Class of 95” builds up expectations going in. There were a lot of legendary albums in 1995 that are still in my heavy rotation today — Mobb Deep’s “The Infamous,” 2Pac’s “Me Against the World,” Raekwon’s “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…” just to name a few. We have EIGHTEEN ALBUMS from 95 in the archive that scored 9 out of 10 or higher. If you want to put yourself in that “class” you’d better have a good argument. The first one is that Dom is 40 years old, which means he came of age listening to those gems, and they definitely influenced him musically. Dom is not a singer, crooner, or an AutoTuner. It’s a bit strange to say that a rapper who just RAPS is old school now but if that’s the case he’s delightfully old school on songs like the Tre Fresh produced “Promise.”
“Truth is I’m in some whole deeper shit with shorty
I always give her her respect cause it’s mandatory
Before rap, shit I used to fuck with Job Corps
She say shе like how I dress, and I’m tatted more
When you see a girl with me man she lucky
I got her rollin Zig-Zags in her undies
I got her prayin for the kid every Sunday
She know my city real grimy, lot of gun play”
Dom’s using his bars to tell stories and paint pictures. Respect to Niko G4 for the feature and Indica for the soulful crooning, but Mr. Kennedy is clearly the star here. He reps Leimert Park frequently in his songs and unlike Brandy (no disrespect sis) he sounds like it. His vocal pitch ranges between Kendrick Lamar and Suga Free, his attitude is laid back but confident, and his words can be surprisingly uplifting on songs like the Big Duke produced “Gallery.” I can’t even tell you the last time I heard a new album with a song that was instantly going on my cruising hard playlist, but “Gallery” is all the right things — mellow melody, inspiring words, and swagger for days when he says “feel free to hate on this.” Absolutely not Dom. I refuse.
“Still working on my game to be the best me
Put yo’ best foot forward if you want to succeed
Make money grow on trees — who out there agrees?
Stay solid, never hate, that’s a major key”
“If L.A. was a movie, I could do the score.” I believe that. There are so many more things I could tell you about why I enjoyed “Class of 95” that I might have to limit it a bit. Kennedy projects masculinity without having to do any unnecessary posturing. You never hear him talking about how many bodies are on his blicky, but that’s because his presence alone exudes not to mess with him. Because of that he can use his confidence to talk to women without calling them bitches and hoes. “I’m still down to risk it all to get a win” he says on “Lonely Hearts,” admitting he’ll take a chance to get with the right girl without making himself sound like he’s simping in the process. “Miracle on 43rd” is the same vibes when he says “I know what I’m worth.” Confidence is hella attractive.
“I’m independent, and I’m worth millions, y’all just be stuck in your feelings.” Can you say it better than that Dom? Probably not. I didn’t know the name Polyester the Saint before he laced this track, but afterward I’ll be looking for him. “You gotta spend yo’ advance, I fuckin broke 50 grand, I’m the one setting the trends.” Here’s the thing about Dom Kennedy — he’s not going to win the “Biggest Words You Ever Heard” or “Most Loquacious Emcee” awards. He doesn’t need to. Speaking simply and powerfully is more important than trying to prove you memorized the dictionary from end to end. “I don’t want none of the praise/I’m just gon’ put in the work.” I feel you Dom.
Is “Class of 95” worthy of the peers its title references? I’d say yes. It’s my opinion, y’all can disagree, I’m fine with that. I’m not going to say it’s BETTER than any of those classics from almost 30 years ago but it can go in rotation with them and not be automatically skipped. This is an incredibly solid hour of music. That’s right — one hour, 19 tracks. Dom Kennedy is old school enough to know when an album wasn’t shorter than the amount of time you’d spend on the treadmill at the gym. He’s also clearly the star of the show and on a lot of modern day albums there are so many featured artists you forget who you are listening to. If you don’t enjoy this as much as I did, I would understand, but if you hated it then I’d be really damn surprised. Mr. Hunn is exactly what I want — a rapper who is good at rapping and has something to say when he raps.