The main artist of the ROC7 label lives his best phase, after a past fight against drug use
Photo credit: Gabriel Jurado
DOM7NICO promises to be the new standout name on the scene. Different from the traditional approach of rap, the artist is inspired by the romanticism of the extinct Charlie Brown Jr to pass on his message, which speaks of love, faith and hope, strolling a little through the pop genre. On the next 12/1, he will release his first album, entitled 'O Melhor da Vida', by the ROC7 label, in partnership with Virgin Music Brasil, which is an arm of Universal Music Brasil. The album features ten tracks and special appearances by rapper Edi Rock, influencer Sabrina Rocha and Fábio Brazza.
“Although I rap, I have a different style. I think I sing a style of music that nobody currently does. It's something completely different and it's a musical style that the market is lacking. It's something that I see that is similar to what Charlie Brown did, with lyrics that contain a message of love, something more romanticized, different from what most people are doing today. I'm very romantic, but because of this crazy life that I've already lived, I bring a bit of 'malouqueira' in my romanticism", explains DOM7NICO.
Behind the production of the artist's new project are great names, such as Hebert Medeiros and Rael Lúcio. The mastering was done by Latin Grammy winner Maurício Gargel, and Big Rabello was responsible for the mix. The recordings took place at the Pá Virada studio, the same where Anitta, Projota and Giulia Be recorded their last works. The cover of the EP was created by the artist Mark1, considered a legend of world graffiti and tattooing.
At the age of 33, DOM7NICO is currently experiencing his best phase, after a troubled past, which involved compulsory hospitalization in his teens due to drug use. At age 16, the rapper spent two years in hospital battling drug addiction, after the early loss of his father, which devastated him in such a way that his life ended up turning upside down. But it was precisely in psychiatry that he ended up discovering his gift.
“I ended up getting involved with wrong things, criminality… I was arrested in Belgium, I got involved with drugs… I had to leave society at the age of 16, because I was hospitalized for two years in a psychiatry. Psychiatry was where I discovered my gift for composing. When I left hospital, I had to take care of my mother and my sister, so I couldn't dedicate myself to music because I had to work, study, because I was the man of the house. I had to mature this side of me of being the provider of the house. When I turned 23, I started trying to reconcile the two things. I ended up being invited to join ROC7, last year, as the label's main artist, and now I'm going to release my first album”, comments the singer-songwriter.
In addition to being the musical godson of Edi Rock, from the Racionais MCs - one of the greatest rappers in the history of the scene -, DOM7NICO has songs recorded with the singer Negra Li and compositions with Criolo. He also signed the music for the Corinthians film/documentary and wrote the song in celebration of the title of the same team in the Brazilian and Paulista championships, in 2017. He has already recorded a rap EP in Holland with a Dutch rap group and has already had his face stamped on one of Cavalera's blouses, a brand for which he was once an ambassador.
But behind the scenes of showbiz, DOM7NICO is guaranteed to be a simple guy. “I'm very attached to my faith, to my family, I'm very loyal, true, I'm rich than money can't buy. I didn't go to college, but I'm welcome inside the favela and in Dubai with a Sheik. It's something really crazy, because I move between these two worlds treating everyone as an equal. I believe that no one is better than anyone. And that generates empathy in people and opens several doors for me, which made me reach where I would never have imagined. I was a guy who had everything to go wrong, but he turned it around and today he's fine. My father was an alcoholic, he died as a result of drug use. Today I thank God for my life and for everything I have lived and lived. For several years of my life, people looked at me with pity, because of my father, but I never wanted and never accepted that place of pity”, completes the artist.
