Montreal born Hip Hop veteran is a musical force
Egbert Gaye
You can call him Force Dawg, you can ca
ll him Daforce, call him what you will, but know this: he has been on the Hip Hop circuit longer than most and the wealth of knowledge and experience he has gathered over the years is the confidence to know how to make things happen in the industry.
He was born in Montreal, but his dad was a studio musician who travelled where the music called, so young Dominic Laforce spent his early years in many area codes across Canada and the U.S., including Alberta, New York and Los Angeles.
Wherever he went, the one thing he remembers is that music has always been in his blood and his one desire has been to let it flow. That desire stays with him up to today. But after sitting and reasoning with many of the big names in the industry, including stars, producers and managers, he says he has come to know that Hip Hop is only about the money, or “the cheddar” as some prefer to call it.
“You have to know where it’s coming from, how to get it and how to keep it and there’re not a lot of people out there who are willing to help you,” says the well-seasoned rapper and producer.
So in order to stay in the game he had to learn fast.
“I have been to many places and hung out with many of the stars, some of them will speak to you and offer you advice as long as you’re not asking them for money,” he told the CONTACT in a recent sit down. “One of the biggest lessons I learned is that as hard as it is to make money in Hip Hop here in Montreal if you’re not French-speaking, it’s just as difficult to make money in the U.S. or anywhere else if you don’t have your own movement in place.”
He says he has always been an independent artist and producer and wary of the corporate players in the music business and he intends to stay so until he can deal with the heavyweights from a position of strength.
That’s why in the early 1990s, he helped establish Unknown Source Music label, upon which he hoped to piggyback his career, but the big times have been slow to come.
“I travelled, I observed, I listened and I learned, now I’m back home and I think I finally have the structure in place to create the movement that would be the force to move Hip Hop forward in Montreal.”
Today, Daforce is leading a stable of fast-rising Hip Hop and R&B performers at Unknown Music Source that are restless to take their place among the top in the industry, including Kayla Doll aka Kay Dallas (Montrealer), Curtis Dayne (Montrealer), Spoilt Child (Jamaican), Crystal (U.K), Crysto Klear (NYC) and Div 1 (L.A). And he says the movement and support system are now in place to push to the next level to success in the dog-eat-dog world of stardom.
One thing is for sure Daforce Dawg has always had the talent. His St. Lucian- born dad and Jamaican-born mom made music an integral part of the home, so he was born into jazz, soul, funk, reggae, soca and lots of Motown and other stars of the 1980s.
By the time he was four, he was playing the guitar and at eight years old he was pounding out beats on the drums and formed his first band.
As a performer, he shared the stages with heavy hitters like Redman, Too Short, KRS One, Run DMC and many others.
With two recent releases, Go Go Go and NBTT (Nothing Better Than This), Daforce is fronting his talent at creating beats and dropping lyrics in some special collaborations aimed at drawing attention to the label.
Go Go Go released last September is a six-track album that showcases the lyrical skills of the Montreal veteran and features several well-known performers such as Choclair, one of Canada’s pioneers of Hip Hop and Moko Only of Vancouver-based Swollen Members. The album also gives voice to emerging stars such as Elle, Eternia, and Crysto Clear.
Daforce’s head-popping beats come alive again on N.B.T.T a four-track collaboration with local Hip Hop up-and-comer Curtis Dayne that keeps your attention with its captivating melodies. It was released in December.
Both albums are available on line at most digital media outlets and at any HMV outlet.
Daforce Dawg says he has a world of music to share with Hip Hop lovers around the world, and in spite of the obstacles and the limitations that come with operating in Quebec, Montreal is home and he intends to make it happen from here.
Keep your ears to the ground and check out http://www.daforcedawg.com/ or reach him at unknownaourcemusic.com
