Today we’d like to introduce you to Dom Root.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
My formative years were pretty good to me. I was born in the city of Los Angeles and raised in Inglewood, California with roots in Belize and Jamaica. I was raised by my mother Stephanie Washington, with the help of my grandmother Gwendolyn and aunt Meah Flagg. My family was really supportive, even though we didn’t have the means to do much, they supported pretty much anything that I put effort into. I grew up with a passion for Music, Poetry, Film, and Entrepreneurship. So, the arts had a heavy influence on who I was going to become. I also had a business mindset from selling candy and coming up with ideas to make money at a young age. I was a really shy and reserved kid and enjoyed sports, because I was just really good at it and it was a common interest in the inner-city community (Football, Basketball, and Track & Field), so I spent most of my adolescence in belief that I wanted to either play professional sports or to one-day become a College Professor. It was probably around 10th grade when I realized that sports were out of the equation, as our team’s varsity had a running record of losing every game for 4 years straight. So, during this time, I reverted internally to figure out what I would be doing with my life. I ended up relying heavily on my passions. I started living under the Mantra ‘I Am Root’ which meant that I would have to hold myself accountable for ensuring that I make something of my life and that I was going to see change, just like a root to its tree. I soon after worked with some High School Friends and my cousins to start a music group called the True-Blue Stars and I made the instrumentals for us and was also one of the lyricists and everyone else contributed lyrics and vocals. We started off slowly and would rehearse at my grandmother’s house and then when we were ready we’d go to a family friend’s home-studio to lay vocals and mixing. It lasted for about a year or so before fizzing away. But having a chance to see the music process up-close and to see my creations come to life was an inspiring feeling and from there I knew that I had to keep my hands in music and the arts. So, for the next 10 years of my life, I kept that in mind. After high-school I moved to Arizona for college in 2010 where I started my company I Am Root LLC and graduated with B.A in English Creative Writing (Poetry), and also with a minor in Philosophy. I also received an A.A degree in Audio Production Technologies from Mesa Community College. My time in Arizona has been centered around building a community, connecting with artists, growth within my field, and creating better art experiences. For the past 3 years, I have been solely focused on strengthening the I Am Root Brand and evolving my career as an Audio Production Professional.
Please tell us about your art.
I am really good at writing songs, poetry, and making beats. Growing up I took drum lessons, piano lessons, and guitar lessons and use much of that info to help produce works today. I also enjoy photography and creating visual projects to accompany my music, as more of a hobby. On a professional level, I am an Audio Engineer more specifically I mix (studio and live) and record (studio) musicians or music artists as well as produce the instrumentation for music or TV/Film. I love to be around music, the entire process intrigues me and that’s why I do it. I want to be great and I feel that it is important to be well versed on things related to your field, so I continue to fill my head with knowledge and opportunities that will allow me to grow in music.
I hope that people take away from my music the story and the intention behind it. Each song will be different and offer a different emotional reference, so I hope that people grow to appreciate a new refreshing sound that fuses musical genres and creative soundscapes with great writing and thought-provoking concepts. My poetry tends to be more empowering and innovative, so I want people to be inspired by my literary works and feel like they can connect, learn, and take action after reading it or hearing me recite.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
Success ultimately relates to happiness for me and my music. For others it may be different based on their goals and morals. If I am able to create my art without limitation, live a moderate lifestyle based on the revenue incurred, and if my works posit something useful for humanity and the culture, I’d say that I am successful. It’s a tough question because we don’t want to measure it in fame or clout, but we still need a metric that considers the reach and span of an artist’s impact. I feel in order to be a successful artist you should be skilled, diligent, innovative, and communicative, because working hard, creating a niche, and using your medium to communicate emotions is a great starting point. But fame and money are not necessarily things I deem essential for success.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My music is pretty much on all major streaming platforms (Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Soundcloud, etc.) I have my first album, Late Night Radio, is set to be released in the Fall and it will feature instrumentation, poetry, lyricism, and great song writing. My literary work is viewable through the Rooted Minds Blog, which is Powered by I Am Root LLC (www.iamrootco.com/blog) and I have some work published in the Rooted Reflections: A Collection of Hair Stories, Trials, and Triumphs by Saja Publishing Company.
People can support my work by watching my performances at any I Am Root LLC event or streaming my content online. For those who aren’t local almost all of the performances get posted to the I Am Root Co. YouTube channel and our Patreon account. If you see something you like, tell a friend!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iamrootco.com
- Email: domroot92@outlook.com
- Instagram: @domrootmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/domroot92
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/domrootmusic
Image Credit:
Rachel Shrew, Jas Gold, Jade-Chuntiviia Brown, Andrew Zoer.
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