Domino | |
---|---|
Birth name | Damian Siguenza |
Also known as | Domino |
Born | November 9, 1970 |
Origin | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupation | CEO/Producer/Manager |
Instrument(s) | Akai MPC 2000, Akai MPC1000, Pro Tools, Numark CDX, Korg Kaoss Pad KP3, Ecler Nuo4, Arturia Analog Factory, Novation ReMOTE 25SL, Native Instruments Kontakt 2 |
Years active | 1993–Present |
Labels | Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings |
Website | Domino on Myspace |
Damian Siguenza, known by his stage name, Domino (born November 9, 1970), is an American record producer, manager, DJ, and one of the members of the Oakland, California-based underground hip hop collective, Hieroglyphics.
Born in San Francisco, California, Siguenza claimed in a 2006 interview that the nickname "Domino" came from his friends in high school:
I got the name in high school. There is no meaning other than that it is associated with my first initial to my name Damian." [1]
Domino began his music career as a rapper, but by 1989-90 had switched almost exclusively to beat making, following the purchase of a Casio FZ 10M sampler. [1] By the time he joined the Hieroglyphics in the mid-1990s, Domino concentrated solely on beat making and production. [1]
In 1991, Domino was living in the back room of 'The Groove Merchant' Record Store in the Bay Area honing his ear and craft with old and rare funk and soul records. He met Hieroglyphics' founder Del the Funky Homosapien through a frequent customer, Elektra Records A&R/producer Dante Ross. [2] Del then introduced Domino to the other members of the Hieroglyphics, who admired Domino's beat making skills as much as Domino admired the Hieroglyphic's rapping skills, and Domino eventually became an integral part of the collective. Ultimately, as the various groups were signed to Elektra and Jive Records. Domino, being the oldest, became the spokesman and manager for most of the groups. [1]
Domino is known for his combination of jazz and funk style sounds, creative sampling and extensive record knowledge. Some of his more notable tracks include "Let Em' Know and "Live and Let Live" from Souls of Mischief's first album 93 til Infinity. "After Dark" and "At The Helm" from the Hieroglyphics' first album 3rd Eye Vision and "Make Your Move" and "Powers That Be", from the Hieroglyphics' second album Full Circle . His creative use of samples and approach to using funk and jazz-based music is one of the foundations of the Hieroglyphics' sound. His production has been featured on just about every Hiero-related release on Jive and Hieroglyphics Imperium labels.
In the years (1997–2006) of being acting CEO the Hiero Imperium, Domino has gained worldwide recognition and respect in the underground hip-hop world while expanding the Hiero Imperium to include artists such as O.C., Goapele, and Beeda Weeda.
Domino continues creating music for Commercials, Television and Video games. His songs have recently been featured in the EA's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series and his songs featured on the HBO Entourage Series.
Domino has recently been associated with Dan the Automator and Amp Fiddler. He is working on many new projects, including a solo project and Bay Area rapper Richie Cunning.
Album information |
---|
No Need for Alarm
|
Both Sides of the Brain
|
93 'til Infinity
|
Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution
|
Ascension
|
Power Movement
|
Triangulation Station
|
Fear Itself
"Thoughts Of The Thoughtful", "Be Thousand" |
He Think He Raw
|
Smash Rockwell
|
3rd Eye Vision
|
Full Circle
|
Montezuma's Revenge
|
Album information |
---|
Hieroglyphics B-Sides
|
Hieroglyphics Oldies, Vol. II
|
Over Time
|
Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of rappers A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai.
Deltron 3030 is an American hip hop trio composed of producer Dan the Automator, rapper Del the Funky Homosapien, and DJ Kid Koala. They also collaborate with a variety of other musicians under many futuristic pseudonyms.
Teren Delvon Jones, better known by his stage name Del the Funky Homosapien or Sir DZL, is an American rapper.
Hieroglyphics, also known as the Hieroglyphics Crew and Hiero, is an American underground hip hop collective based in Oakland, California. It was founded in the early 1990s by rapper Del the Funky Homosapien. The collective is currently composed of rappers Del the Funky Homosapien, Casual, Pep Love, producer/manager Domino, DJ Toure, and the four individual members of the rap group Souls of Mischief: Phesto, A-Plus, Opio, and Tajai.
93 'til Infinity is the debut studio album by American hip-hop group Souls of Mischief. It was released on September 28, 1993, on the Jive label.
Future Development is the third solo studio album by American hip hop musician Del the Funky Homosapien. It was released by Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings in 1997. It was able to achieve decent success, selling over 400,000 copies worldwide.
Yameen is an American hip hop producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. His most recent album, "Diamond is Unfadable" was released in 2017 on Rumble Pack Records.
No Need for Alarm is the second solo studio album by American hip hop musician Del the Funky Homosapien. It was released in 1993 through Elektra Records. The recording sessions took place at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco and at Chung King House of Metal in New York City. The album spawned the two singles, "Catch a Bad One" and "Wrong Place". The album was produced by Del, A-Plus, Casual, Domino, Jay-Biz, Snupe, and Stimulated Dummies.
The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness is the debut album of underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, consisting of rapper Vinnie Paz and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind. The original version of the album was released in 1997, limited to 1,000 copies on vinyl by Superegular Records, and was re-released on CD in 2003 on Babygrande Records with six bonus tracks, featuring songs recorded by the group before their debut release. It has been a common misconception that the vinyl version was re-issued in 2001, possibly because the back of the vinyl release says "2001 Superegular." The album’s often esoteric lyrics focus on conspiracy theories, astronomy, religion, and violence, themes that JMT would expand on in later albums. The album was inspired by a lot of "crazy books" mentioned by Vinnie Paz in an interview, and is named after one of those books, a 1,900-page tome entitled "Matrix III - The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electromagnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness,” by Valdamar Valerian.
I Wish My Brother George Was Here is the debut album by American hip hop musician Del the Funky Homosapien. It was released by Elektra Records in 1991. The album was produced by Del, Boogiemen, and Ice Cube. It peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, as well as number 48 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
3rd Eye Vision is the debut studio album by American hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. It was released by Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings on March 24, 1998. It peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, as well as number 88 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It has sold more than 100,000 copies.
Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings is an Oakland, California-based, independent hip hop record label founded and owned by underground hip hop collective, the Hieroglyphics. The label was created by the collective in 1995 to publish and market the collective's, and individual member, releases, as well as releases from other, affiliated artist's that major labels would deem not commercial enough for mass distribution.
Damani Thompson, known by the stage names, Phesto and Phesto Dee, is an American rapper and producer. He is one of the founding four members of the Oakland, California-based underground hip hop group Souls of Mischief, and, with the Souls of Mischief, a part of the eight-person, alternative hip hop collective, the Hieroglyphics.
Adam Carter, known by the stage name, A-Plus, is an American rapper and producer. He is one of the founding four members of the Oakland, California-based underground hip hop group Souls of Mischief and, with Souls of Mischief, a part of the eight-person, alternative hip hop collective, the Hieroglyphics.
Tajai Massey, known by the stage name Tajai, is an American rapper and producer. He is one of the four founding members of the Oakland, California-based underground hip hop group Souls of Mischief and, with Souls of Mischief, a part of the eight-person, alternative hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. He is also one half of the hip hop duo Rap Noir.
Over Time is the fifth compilation album released by the Oakland, California-based, underground hip hop collective, Hieroglyphics. The album was released on March 20, 2007 by the group's own independent record label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings.
The Best of Del tha Funkee Homosapien: The Elektra Years is a compilation album by American hip hop musician Del tha Funkee Homosapien. It was released by Rhino Records and Elektra Records in 2004. It includes tracks from I Wish My Brother George Was Here and No Need for Alarm, as well as B-side tracks and remixes. It peaked at number 35 on the CMJ Hip-Hop chart.
Fear Itself is the debut solo studio album by American rapper and record producer Casual. It was released on February 1, 1994, via Jive Records. The recording sessions took place between July 1992 and February 1993 at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco, California. The album was produced by Casual and fellow Hieroglyphics Crew members Domino, Del the Funky Homosapien, and Jay-Biz. It features guest appearances from Del the Funky Homosapien, Pep Love and Saafir. The album debuted at number 108 on the Billboard 200 and number 22 on the Top R&B Albums chart in the United States.
Jonathan Owens, known by his stage name Casual, is an American rapper, producer, and one of the founding members of the alternative hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. He also reads and has been studying Egyptian Hieroglyphics for many years, makes videos on the subject on his YouTube channel Smash Rockwell as well writing about it on his blog Rap God. As a rapper Casual initially became known for his freestyle battle rhymes in the Bay Area hip hop scene and later developing into a solo artist. He is known for diverse lyrics, a complex multisyllabic East Coast influenced flow but with a distinctive Oakland accent. Casual's debut album Fear Itself released on Jive records in 1994 when he was 17 years old garnered both critical and commercial success. Along with Del the Funkee Homosapien Casual went on to become one of the most prominent and recognizable faces of the Hieroglyphics crew, releasing three albums all on the Hieroglyphics crew's own label, Hiero Imperium. He has released thirteen solo albums as of 2023.
The Kitchen is the third studio album by American hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. It was released by Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings on July 16, 2013. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, as well as number 45 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.