DNA loses award but makes his mark on the music scene

The ECMAs are over. The storm kept me from seeing many of the things I wanted. But the one great thing about the event is discovering new talent. Local artist, DNA may have lost best urban track recording to Jamie Sparks but his is a name I never would have learned if it hadn't been for the ECMAs. But in reality he is just a stones throw away sharing his time between Fredericton and Sunny Corner.

If you want to taste some of his music you can hear his songs on myspace.com/rivercitysfinest.com.

I had a chance to ask him about making music and how it felt to be nominated for an ECMA.

Laura MacInnis: How did you get started in music?

DNA: I was always interested in music. Before embarking on my hip-hop venture, I dabbled in a wide variety of music genres, from reggae to punk rock to heavy metal. I've always loved lyrics more than anything, so naturally it wasn't long before I got into hip-hop music.

Two of my close homies (known in the hip-hop scene as Colmes and Monark) essentially converted me into a hardcore rap listener pretty much overnight. Now I'm straight up addicted to rap. For real, I can't NOT do it, it's like an extension of me now...and the best part about it all is, not only do I love hip-hop — hip-hop actually loves me back. I feel that every day when I'm creating music.

LM: Why did you choose the name DNA?

DNA: When I first started rapping, I ran through a pile of stage names and aliases...the only one that I thought up and really liked was "Nemesis". However, after having that name for a short period of time, I came to discover that it was a rather common rap name, which was far from I wanted to be, unoriginal.

One definition of the word 'nemesis' is "an unbeatable opponent". So, I decided to keep the name in a sense, by creating an acronym with an 'N' in it to stand for Nemesis. I thought of "DNA", and after some thought processing came up with my concept of "Da Nemesis Attraction". "Da Nemesis Attraction" is just that: the attraction of the Nemesis.

Basically, the idea of it is that no one was ever really rooting for any of Rocky Balboa's contendors..they wanted Rocky to win. Why? Because he is allegedly the 'unbeatable opponent'. The masses are drawn to someone who is powerful and cannot be overcome, someone who will and can not be defeated, a nemesis...they are attracted to them.

LM: What do you try to say with your music?

DNA: I am generally a topical rapper. I enjoy making original songs, with productive beats that compliment the topic of the song itself to make it great music. Therefore, what I am trying to say with my music varies, depending on the topic or mood of the track in question.

Outside of the rap world, I am a pretty positive dude, optimistic and easy to get along with which comes across in my music, not so much in my tone of voice or what I'm literally saying, but by the passion and work I throw into the mix, people can tell that I love what I do, and they feed off of that vibe, no matter what the song is about.

LM: How did living/growing up in Sunny Corner influence your music?

DNA: It influences me every day of my life, its my hometown, where my roots touch down. I didn't technically grow up there though, I moved around a lot from the age of eight on...so I kinda grew up everywhere, mostly in New Brunswick though.

Being from Sunny Corner was a definite and continuous influence, I lived half of my life there, so that's half of everything I've known in my entire life.

LM: What inspires you?

DNA: Inspiration is an odd mechanism. I gather inspiration unintentionally, all day long, from tons of places and people. It doesn't take much to inspire me though, I feed off of every aspect of life anyways. The way I see it, knowledge is power, and if I take everything around me and become inspired on command by it, I generate more knowledge...a cycle of productive ideas.

LM: Who are your musical influences?

DNA: As an emcee, Ghostface Killah, Nas, MF Doom, Madlib, and L.E.G.A.C.Y. are my biggest influences. As far as lyrics go, these emcees' lyricism is on point. As a producer, my biggest influences from that angle would be J Dilla, 9th Wonder, Pete Rock, The RZA, Nicolay, DJ Premier...the best of the best.

LM: What is your process for creating music?

DNA: Okay, step into my shoes. I'm digging through some old soul music, maybe some funk of some kind, or jazz or blues or classical or rock or whatever.

I find something that catches my ear, take a few pieces of it into a program in my computer, slice em and dice em and flip 'em my own way — this is known as sampling. I finish the beat in time, after adding bass, drums, other instruments, effects, filters, etc. and if its a good beat, I will listen to it and determine what the topic should be, if any.

Then I sit and write until the song is finished, and as soon as I manage to get to the studio to record it, BAM! Another new DNA joint.

LM: How did you feel when you found out you were nominated for an ECMA?

DNA: I was really glad, it felt welcoming, as it should. It is a definite honour to be a part of the ECMAs, I was really excited when Catalyst called me up and told me that we had been nominated. Makes me feel like I'm on the right path to where I am trying to go.

LM: How did you meet Catalyst and how did you guys come to collaborate together?

DNA: Catalyst and I met through a friend of ours back in late 2003, I had been rapping about three years at that point, Catalyst for around one year. We pretty much just randomly started hanging out together, mostly because we had our interest in rap as a common like, and in Miramichi there aren't really many emcees if you know what I mean. Hip-hop is not exactly the genre of choice in most of that region.

LM: What are you doing in Fredericton now? Is music a fulltime or part time job?

DNA: As of now, music is my part time job. It is not exactly a steady, guaranteed income, so I can't very well make it into my full-time job just yet. I'll be ready for that when the time comes, though.

LM: What are you working on next?

DNA: I've been working on my solo album titled "The One" for going on three years now, and it should be nearing completion some time this summer. Also, Monark and I have almost finished creating a duo album entirely produced by myself. The album is called "I Gotcha Back".

Other than those two releases, there are lots of shows and performances brewing for 2008, not to mention compilations, mixtapes, and who knows what else. DNA always has something new in store, so keep your ears peeled!