Lyrical messiah Dome Yahshua recently dropped his debut EP Strictly FM under the record label 1619 Records. The 3 track EP follows the release of his tuneful single Fruits Of The Sky featuring fellow rapper, Skutta. Dome Yahshua’s latest offering features O Alpha and is produced by Kidplug.
808 PLUG caught up with Dome Yahshua to talk all things Strictly FM and get to know more about his artistry. He also gave us an exclusive regarding an upcoming sequel for the EP that you don’t want to miss out on.
For our readers who are just getting to know you, who is Dome Yahshua?
Olwakhe Nocanda is a young man living in Kempton Park but originally from the Eastern Cape. Born and raised in Kempton Park, I didn’t learn how to speak Xhosa which is my home language until I was a bit older, and started getting in touch with my roots. I’m basically a digital kid who fell in love with music at the age of 12, in 2008 and started rapping. At first, I considered myself a writer because I didn’t quite like my voice but you know with high self-love and growth, I now believe I could be the greatest rapper alive. Through our record label 1619 Records, and the motivation from my team -I really believe I can reach greater heights.
What’s the story behind your stage name?
An old friend of mine actually came up with my stage name. He compared me to Dom, a fictional character from the movie Inception because he said I was living life like it’s a dream man. I added Yahshua to make the name more unique and it was inspired by my dad who told me that God is in everybody. It is a name that means Jesus which I found on the internet.
What inspired your EP, Strictly FM?
Ironically, Strictly FM was inspired by being uninspired. I kept writing different projects and scrapping them for various reasons and that made me give up on making projects for a while, which led to me dropping singles only. For 4 straight years I only dropped singles and finally decided to do a little something for myself. Hence the project is titled Strictly For Myself.
Is there a specific song on the EP that speaks to you most?
Personally, I think Scumbag speaks to me the most because that’s where I mention actual stories of actual people. I literally failed at my only attempt at robbing someone, Killer actually got killed and Seiso actually switched up on a bunch of people. It’s all facts and I’m glad I could be the narrator of our stories.
What inspired the title of the EP?
Strictly FM was inspired by the fact that I was making music for myself, so I felt like my own personal radio DJ playing sounds for my enjoyment. This is why I titled the EP Strictly For Myself, but played around with the FM acronym.
When and how did your journey with music start?
My journey with music started at the age of twelve. My best friend at the time, Bhungane Hadebe was already rapping and I found it interesting so I asked him to teach me. He told me that I should just try to write a verse. Writing the verse just came so naturally to me. It was probably the most whack verse I’ve ever written but it started all of this so thank you to Bhungane Hadebe and younger me for actually taking up the challenge.
Who are your biggest music influences?
I’m from a very musical family so the songs we used to sing at gatherings really inspired me to make music that is meaningful and timeless. But also, Lil Wayne was a big inspiration at the beginning of my rap career because my elder brother played his music a lot. I’m listening to a lot of music by Isaiah Rashad and Maglera Doe Boy at the moment. I’m trying to play around with my vocal range and they really inspire me.
What are some of your all-time favourite Hip-Hop albums?
My favourite Hip-Hop albums are Born Sinner by J. Cole because I related to it and it dropped at a time when I was really in tune with those emotions. Daytona by Pusha T – who is my favourite rapper. His ability to stay true to his style and excel everytime is impeccable. I also love The Black Album and Reasonable Doubt by Jay Z. He is amazing. Not to forget, Black Face by Schoolboy Q and Long Live by A$AP Rocky.
Which artists would you like to work with in the future?
Locally, I’d really like to work with Filah Lah Lah, Lia Butler, Skollywood, Rob Rodwell, Muzi and the legendary Khuli Chana. I’d also like to work with Bye Beneco, they’re my favourite South African band. Not to forget Monique Bingham, she’s amazing. Internationally, I’d like to work with Frank Ocean and many other artists. The list is endless.
What’s next for Dome Yahshua?
I’m looking forward to dropping my first ever music video, doing more interviews and performing more. But exclusively, I’d like to say that I’m dropping a sequel to the project really soon. I won’t give an exact date but it’s really soon. The sequel is titled Strictly FUBU which means Strictly For Us By Us. Kidplug, a producer from my record label is more involved in this project. Check out 1619 Records‘s social media platforms for updates because I’ll definitely be dropping more music. I’ve also learnt how to do basic mixing by recording with my friends and I’m hoping to learn more as I go along.
Click here to listen to Strictly FM.