DNA

'Local Rapper Has People Talking'
By JEREMY DICKSON
dickson.jeremy@dailygleaner.com
Published: Monday, July 9th 2007
Appeared on page A1 [FRONT PAGE]


Making it in the rap game is no easy feat, but Fredericton rapper DNA appears to be on the right path with a local hit single and an upcoming debut album.

DNA's single Northside, which can be heard on his MySpace page, has received approximately 8,500 hits in only a matter of months and the infectious track is popular in local clubs.

"I expected the song to pick up a little, but I wasn't expecting it to get as much play as it has so far,'' said DNA, the alter ego of 20-year-old Jody O'Shea.

The single depicts the bad and the good aspects of life on the north side of Fredericton where DNA lived for a time during his adolescence.

One verse from the song begins: "From Devon to Naasis you can get your ass kicked / just for lookin' like a rich-ass kid with plastic / shit is drastic, gotta leave your wallet at home / walk the streets with a pellet gun pretendin' it's chrome."

Despite some people's claims that his portrayal of the north side is misleading, DNA said all the lyrics are based on real experiences he had there.

"I've had so many people from the north side say that's not what the north side is like," DNA said. "But I have to ask them, 'Well where do you live? Do you ever leave your house?' "

DNA said witnessing crimes and drug life was far from an ideal environment, but he coped.

"It's messed up on the north side but it was my home for a while," said DNA, which stands for Da Nemesis Attraction.

"The further you are towards Barker's Point, the rougher it gets, but the whole point of the song is life is what you make it."

Despite the fact DNA wrote and produced the beats for Northside more than a year ago, he said the hype around the track is still growing.

"The song has been getting play for more than six months now which is a lot longer than a single should."

DNA said even though he's happy with the single's success, he needs to move forward and prepare for the release of his first professional album entitled The One and another album called I Gotcha Back, which he produced with another Fredericton rapper, Monark.

"The One will be my first 100 per cent professional debut album," DNA said.

"It's been three years in the making, but I'm not hurrying its release because I want it to be just right."

The rapper said beats for The One have already been created and he recently recorded lyrics for half of the album at DJ Loc Dog's Fredericton studio.

"I plan to write the other half in the next two months," he said.

The album is set to be released in the spring or early summer of 2008.

"I want it to be in stores next year and I'll plan a tour depending on how well the album does, because you really only make money from touring."

He said he will only play one show this summer in Moncton, leaving him extra time to devote to the album.

"I still have a lot of work to do so I'm kind of thankful I don't have many shows planned."

DNA, who grew up listening to old-school artists such as NWA and Wu-Tang Clan, said the hip-hop scene in the Maritimes is slowly getting bigger.

"Halifax is doing its own thing with artists like Classified and we have New Brunswick artists like Monark, Sean One, Bonshah, myself and Mickey D on the scene," he said.

"Even Newfoundland has some hip-hop acts up there so it's definitely spreading."

DNA said he usually writes rhymes everyday and tries to cover as many different subjects as possible.

"I made a lot of songs on the album for people that I know. My Dead Friend is a song that I wrote for a guy that hung himself a couple years ago.''

Life in New Brunswick is also a common theme for DNA.

"I know the last song will be called Home Sweet Home and it's about living in the Maritimes as opposed to a big city."

DNA said he prefers to write and listen to songs that send a positive message.

"I like listening to music in the morning that actually makes you feel like getting out of bed."

The musician said people should be excited about the future of hip-hop as long as good underground artists continue to excel by ignoring negative trends set by popular artists such as 50 Cent and Lil' John. - The Daily Gleaner [Fredericton]

http://miramichileader.canadaeast.com/community/article/212695
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DNA loses award but makes his mark on the music scene
Laura of all arts
Laura MacInnis
Published Friday February 15th, 2008
Appeared on page B3

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!
- The Miramichi Leader

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