Producer Spotlight: Domingo

One look at his Wikipedia page and it states that Domingo Padilla’s large build often gets him confused for Danny DeVito. Why is that relevant you ask? No reason really. Hopefully, it got you to click the link and notice his criminally slept on and undoubtedly impressive resume. Since 1992, he’s been banging out beats for artists like Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Big Punisher, Kool G Rap, KRS One, and Masta Ace, and like his apparently look-a-like, Domingo packs a heavy punch when you least see him coming. He brings a unique blend of New York grit, with unique soul, and will even bring his Latin routes to a track. Rarely do producers come around that can beat you in a variety of ways, Domingo is one of those rare producers. KevinNottingham.com got a chance to catch up with Domingo to discuss some of his most memorable past work, some of the great emcees he has worked with, the difficult NY production scene, being in the game for nearly 20 years, and of course, and sampling!

SD: What’s up man? Thanks for taking time out to answer some questions. Tell the viewers who you are, what you do, and the whole deal.

Domingo: [Laughs] Danny Devito? I am not that short. I might have the normal OG Puerto Rican rice and beans belly, but definitely not Danny Devito. Well, to start off, I am the Real Domingo in the game not the manager, not the Salsero ( Latin Singer, Domingo). The real deal. I have been in this for 19 years now and counting. I was discovered by Marley Marl in 1987 and was down with him for a few years until I decided to do my own thing and branch out. I have worked with some of the greatest to have done it. You probably have heard plenty of records I have done but didn’t know I did it.

SD: You been busy? Cooking up a storm in the lab or what?

Domingo: Yeah, man. 2009 is all about My Deranged Music Inc. company and the digital distro deal I have. I have a lot of things planned and if timing is right it will be a great year with what I have in store for people.

SD: I kind of want to get right down to things. What comes to mind when I say Marley Marl? I mean, c’mon [laughs]. Few people have the pleasure of meeting and working with the dude and you have the pleasure to have him love your beats and help you grow as a producer! What’s Marley like? I’ve always pictured him as intense, all about his business, but a real cool dude when it comes down to it all.

Domingo: All I can say is without the world having Marley Marl there would not have been a Domingo in the Hip Hop game. I am always grateful to Marley and he knows it. He is to me the greatest hip hop producer ever. Marley to me is the man who made a lot of history happen in this game and a lot of cats wouldn’t be who they were without him too. Until this day I can call Marley when I want and see him when I want he has always been a real friend.

SD: You say that without Marley, there’s no Domingo. Do you truly believe that was the case? What did Marley do for you that you probably couldn’t have gotten for yourself? Would it have something to do with the Management group you joined? Talk about MORE legendary company!

Domingo: Yeah, I mean, hey, I never shopped my music to no one and when I did he picked me up within a week’s time. Marley took me to a lot of places with him back then and showed me the ropes on how music should sound when it is finished. He showed me tricks in the studio that, ’til this day, I still use. I was managed by his manager Francesca Spero for a very long time and she had Rush Producers Management, which she ran with Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen. I was down with that and at that time they managed almost every producer in the game; from Easy Mo Bee to Large Professor to Buckwild. So to be down with that was CRAZY! Francesca taught me the legal ropes of the game and I soaked it all in like a sponge back then (maybe that’s why I got the potbelly, because I haven’t leaked out the info and it all built up…[laughs])

SD: Don’t get me wrong, we are talking about a lot of legends here, but you are without a doubt in that very exclusive group. You are not shy about calling yourself “the most underrated.” Why would you say you are the most underrated? Are there any people that you’ve been around that you feel are underrated as well, possibly for the same reasons?

Domingo: Well, for me, I feel like someone who has put work in anything they do and get overlooked for [their]many great things is [being] underrated. I do think some cats in the game are very underrated, including some emcees. I am not gonna name names in this one though. I will say whether I am considered underrated or not. One thing is for sure, my mark in hip hop has been made just like a dog pissing on a hydrant: the spot has been marked and even if it dries up you cant take that marked spot away….(unless you clean it [laughs]).

SD: What determines the “underrated-ness” of a producer? Is it appreciation, exposure, recognition? Does this label differ somewhat with MC’s? How?

Domingo: It might be a combo of all 3 and it goes for emcees as well.

SD: Ever miss being an emcee? You were doing the microphone thing for a bit, correct? Is there a particular producer that catches your ear on the microphone past or present? How difficult is it, to do both and have a steady focus on both? Why did you stop?

Domingo: I do not miss the emcee thing at all because I found my niche in the game and ran with it. Large Professor definitely was the best at that for me back in the days. It is difficult to do both because you gotta have an ear for beats and the ability to write some ill shit and to me Large Pro had it all…oh yeah!! Diamond D as well.

SD: Your catalogue is tremendous, man. I got a lot of request to ask who your favourite person to work with was. I’ll go ahead and ask that and even extend the question to who was the hardest person to work with? Why? Were there particular artists where beats just clicked automatically and others where some work had to be put in?

Domingo: [laughs]. Man, thanks. It’s kind of a nice catalogue. I have enjoyed every moment of working with every artist. There was never an artist I found as the hardest I ever worked with. I am grateful to have worked with all the artists I did, I will say that again. Big Pun is one that I hold highly just because he is a Latin that shook the game up at the time he did and to have been a part of that is the best and favorite moment.

SD: You mentioned Pun, is there one artist you’ve worked with who just completely set a new standard for rhyming on a Domingo track and changed your outlook on how MC’s should approach your beats?

Domingo: Big Pun [laughs]. He murked that “Dream Shatterer” beat.

SD: Do you have any cool stories about working in studio?

Domingo: It will be in my book, how’s that for a good answer? [laughs]. But, I will say that one of my moments was working with Shaquille O’Neal back in 1996 working on the Cant Stop the Reign album. That is a real genuine person right there. Every time we had a session in his house it was like a family get-together. It was me, Shaq, Peter Gunz, and Lord Tariq. It was a good time. We were just vibing off of each other and making music. Shaq can freestyle too. Don’t sleep on homie right there; he can do it off the top of the dome pretty good.

SD: Shaq? Word? I heard that recent Kobe freestyle [laughs], I wasn’t too impressed. He could rip a mic in his time though? I have Shaq Fu in my drawer, Blue Chips on VHS and the “Skillz” single laying around. He stayed busy!

Rza, Dr. Dre, Showbiz, L.E.S., Rockwilder, and Juju amongst others. These names are in contention for second place in terms of the best produced track on Capital Punishment as far as I’m concerned. “Dream Shatterer” is the best all around track on that album, bar none. When you hear that these names are going to be on the same album, does that make you step your game up? What about the original (produced by Buckwild), was that just not the right fit in the first place? Did you have any say?

Domingo: I appreciate that homie, thanks. I was kind of the last man standing on that album because my version of “Dream Shatterer” got done after the album was complete. From my understanding, they couldn’t clear Buckwild’s version with the Barry White sample. Pun called me himself and asked me to come to the studio and he gave me the a cappella and I took it home. Pun had [the beat] for like 3 years, he asked me never to sell it (YES, I knew Pun when he was Big Moondog). I dropped the a cappella on the beat and it went perfectly. Buckwild’s version for the record was hot as well. Read about the session for “Dream Shatterer” in my book [laughs]. To be continued.

SD: It seems that Latin bloodlines run all over hip hop and usually run in close quarters. Would you say that’s an accurate observation? One thing I’ve always loved about the Latino culture is family; how important to you is family in Hip Hop? Seems like you created a rather large family in the industry right off the bat; did you always have someone to sort of “call on” for help or for a hook up at times? No doubt, they must’ve pushed you too.

Domingo: Yeah, man, Latins as you know, have been rocking in the game since day one, so we been here since that time. I built the better part on my career by meeting the artists and getting directly at them. Fat Joe back in 95 gave me that final push into the game…by…well again it will be in the book.

SD: Is there one particular track that stands out to you, strictly from a production point of view? What was it about that beat; a particular moment? The artist? The situation? Is your best yet to come?

Domingo: I feel that on every record I have done I gave it my all. Love it or hate it, you had Domingo at his best for that moment. I have grown musically over the years so there will always be a better beat then the next. I think though, the “Dream Shatterer” beat will always be that one because everywhere I go or any conference I speak at, when I mention I did that beat the people go “damn that was a hot beat.” So, I gotta say that one. Is my best yet to come? I would say so, [in terms of] my best overall [work] in the game as a Producer, CEO, Executive Producer.

SD: Coming out of NY, it seems that you always have the crazy task of meeting up to a certain standards, a certain level. NY, not only being the Mecca of hip hop, but having its own defined sound; as a producer this must be a pain in the ass [laughs]. How do you cope with this continuous NY pressure, if there is any? Similar to the Capital Punishment situation, are you consistently feeling motivated to elevate your beats?

Domingo: I used to be that way but now, man, the way I see and hear how hip hop has evolved into many brands I try and expand my sound outside of that NY realm.

SD: Seems like you’ve messed with a few shows including The Bernie Mac Show, Adventures in Hollyhood, and Oz. I flipped when I heard RJD2’s joint used as the Mad Men theme song. We’ve noticed with a show like Entourage or even The Wire that Hip Hop does have an important role in transitioning a scene or it can play a vital role in telling the story or aiding it. Have you considered exploring more in the musical score role? What is your opinion of Hip Hop becoming more instilled in TV? In terms of your craft, how does something like TV challenge you?

Domingo: First off, man, I enjoy doing score music. A lot of people don’t know there is a world outside of hip hop. This is Domingo in another form and man, the ASCAP royalties are CRAZY! [laughs]. I have done a few movies as well. I had music in Carlito’s Way, One Tough Cop, and Bones (something else a lot of people don’t know). It is not necessarily hip hop instilling itself into score TV music but you, as a producer, instilling your sound into score music. Be it hip hop or rock, it is your music that you’re instilling into the world further by using television to reach people. I think it’s a beautiful thing that hip hop can be used to express certain movie or TV situations with music and make viewers understand the music a little more and not just look at the genre negatively.

SD: I feel like conducting a score is a much more complicated task. Yet another complex task is using samples. You’ve messed with a variety of them. What I’ve begun asking a lot of producers that we interview is how they feel about our site. We take an album, and collect the samples used (one way or another) and post those samples up for everyone to view. There are naturally a few ways of looking at this, but we normally get a 50/50 response on whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. How do you view it? Are we “killing hip hop” as some might say? No hard feeling if you do think so [laughs].

Domingo: [laughs]. That is a good question, homie. I particularly don’t care if you post them up. I mean, how is anyone who is an aspiring producer ever gonna learn how some one like myself or Premier chopped up a sample or looped a sample a certain way if you don’t hear the original and compare the technique. It is not killing hip hop at all in my eyes.

SD: I’ve actually heard whispers just from other hip hop cats and such that you’ll be involved with a Kool G Rap or Canibus project. Is this True? What’s your position on it?

Domingo: Yeah man we are in the beginning of that project and it is the real deal. Two powerful lyricists on one album! I am executive producing a KGR and Canibus duo album.

SD: Wow… I’ll let that marinate until it’s release then [laughs]. Before this interview gets any longer, I’ll cut it off here. Any last words for the gang? Any projects coming up that you want us to know about? Go ahead, promote!

Domingo: Hey man, thanks for the time as well and for everyone that loves my music or hates my music, thanks for the positive and negative support throughout the years. As I mentioned, yes, I am writing a book all about myself and my career in the game as one of the best Latin producers to do it in hip hop, underrated or not. I hope it will inspire some and give insight into the game. I have an Unreleased album coming this year with songs from KRS, Kool G Rap, Rakim, Big Pun (“Dream Shatterer” Remix was never heard), Chino XL. I also have a few artists I am gonna rock with. One is the winner of my Emcee Competition from this year his name is Corey Reyez. Also, my man Mr. Dubie from San Diego. Also, look out for my EP with Pack FM called “I Fuckin’ Hate Rappers,” which is a QN5 music release. As many of you might know, I support and rep my homies over there, as well. The music doesn’t stop, it continues. Til the break of dawn!!

SD: Really appreciate your time Domingo. Keep on doing what you are doing and the hip hop world appreciates it, I guarantee you.

Domingo: No doubt fam. I appreciate the hip hop world as well…to be continued

• Domingo on MySpace

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