Domino (producer)
Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Domino (rapper)
, a different American rapper.
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
.
, Siguenza claimed in a 2006 interview that the nickname
"Domino" came from his friends in high school:
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 10Msampler
. By the time he joined the Hieroglyphics
in the mid-1990s
, Domino concentrated solely on beat making and production
.
honing his ear and craft with old and rare funk and soul
records. He met Hieroglyphics
' founder Del tha Funkee Homosapien
through a frequent customer, Elektra Records
A&R/producer Dante Ross. 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.
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.
Domino (rapper)
Shawn Antione Ivy, known as Domino, is an American rapper born in 1972 in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in Long Beach, California. Being a Crip himself, he auditioned for the Bloods & Crips project in the early 1990s. He is the first rapper, in order of appearance, in the title track Bangin' on...
, a different American rapper.
Damian Siguenza, known by his stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
, Domino (born November 9, 1970), is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, manager, DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, and one of the members of the Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
-based underground hip hop
Underground hip hop
Underground hip hop is an umbrella term for hip hop music outside the general commercial canon. It is typically associated with independent artists, signed toindependent labels or no label at all....
collective
Musical collective
Musical collective is a phrase used to describe a group of musicians in which membership is flexible and creative control is shared. Such entities have transitioned from the traditional hierarchical configuration that features either a frontman , or a plurality of band members in tension for...
, Hieroglyphics
Hieroglyphics (band)
Hieroglyphics, also known as the Hieroglyphics Crew and Hiero, are an American underground hip hop collective based in Oakland, California. The collective was founded in the early-1990s by rapper Del tha Funkee Homosapien...
.
Biography
Born in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, Siguenza claimed in a 2006 interview that the nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
"Domino" came from his friends in high school:
Domino began his music career as a rapper
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, but by 1989-90 had switched almost exclusively to beat making, following the purchase of a Casio
Casio
is a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946, with its headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Casio is best known for its electronic products, such as calculators, audio equipment, PDAs, cameras, musical instruments, and watches...
FZ 10Msampler
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
. By the time he joined the Hieroglyphics
Hieroglyphics (band)
Hieroglyphics, also known as the Hieroglyphics Crew and Hiero, are an American underground hip hop collective based in Oakland, California. The collective was founded in the early-1990s by rapper Del tha Funkee Homosapien...
in the mid-1990s
1990s in music
For music from a year in the 1990s, go to 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99This article includes trends in popular music in the 1990s....
, Domino concentrated solely on beat making and production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
Musical career
In 1991, Domino was living in the back room of 'The Groove Merchant' Record Store in the Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
honing his ear and craft with old and rare funk and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
records. He met Hieroglyphics
Hieroglyphics (band)
Hieroglyphics, also known as the Hieroglyphics Crew and Hiero, are an American underground hip hop collective based in Oakland, California. The collective was founded in the early-1990s by rapper Del tha Funkee Homosapien...
' founder Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Teren Delvon Jones , better known as Del the Funky Homosapien or Del tha Funkee Homosapien, is an American MC.-Early life and beginnings: 1990-1997:...
through a frequent customer, Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
A&R/producer Dante Ross. 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
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
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.
Domino is known for his combination of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and funk style sounds, creative sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
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
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Full Circle
Full Circle (Hieroglyphics album)
Full Circle is the second album released by the Oakland, California-based, underground hip hop collective, Hieroglyphics. The album was released on October 7, 2003 by the group's own independent record label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings....
. 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
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
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.
O.C. (rapper)
Omar Credle , known by his stage name, O.C., is an American rapper who has been involved with several renowned underground hip-hop groups and also released many solo albums.-Recording career:...
, Goapele
Goapele
-Early life:Goapele's South African father Douglas Mohlabane was an exiled political activist who struggled against the Apartheid System. Goapele's New York-born Israeli Jewish mother Noa had been attending protests since the age of 12. Noa attended Friends World College and was studying in...
, 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
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
-Reception:The game was very well-received by most critics, scoring an outstanding 92 on Metacritic based on 18 reviews for the PS1 version. IGN gave the N64 version of the game a 9.1 out of 10 praising the gameplay for "genius control, combo system and design" despite little criticism with sound...
series and his songs featured on the HBO Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
Series.
Domino has recently been associated with Dan the Automator
Dan the Automator
Daniel M. Nakamura , better known by the stage name Dan the Automator, is a Japanese-American hip hop producer. He founded the record label 75 Ark, which was distributed by Tommy Boy Records during its short existence....
and Amp Fiddler
Amp Fiddler
Joseph "Amp" Fiddler is an American keyboardist, singer, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan, U.S.. His musical styles include funk, soul, dance and electronica music. He is probably best known for his contributions to the band Enchantment, and as part of George Clinton’s...
. He is working on many new projects, including a solo project and Bay Area rapper Richie Cunning.
Production Discography
- 1998 - 3rd Eye Vision3rd Eye Vision3rd Eye Vision is the debut album of Oakland, California-based, underground hip hop collective, Hieroglyphics. The album was released on May 24, 1998 by the group's own, independent record label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings.- Track listing :...
- HieroglyphicsHieroglyphics (band)Hieroglyphics, also known as the Hieroglyphics Crew and Hiero, are an American underground hip hop collective based in Oakland, California. The collective was founded in the early-1990s by rapper Del tha Funkee Homosapien... - 1993 - No Need for AlarmNo Need for AlarmNo Need for Alarm is the second album by hip hop artist Del the Funky Homosapien. It was released on November 23, 1993 on Elektra Records. It was a complete departure from his G-Funk influenced first album and without the assistance of his older cousin, Ice Cube. Primarily produced by Del and the...
- Del tha Funkee HomosapienDel tha Funkee HomosapienTeren Delvon Jones , better known as Del the Funky Homosapien or Del tha Funkee Homosapien, is an American MC.-Early life and beginnings: 1990-1997:...
Studio albums
| Album information |
|---|
| No Need for Alarm No Need for Alarm No Need for Alarm is the second album by hip hop artist Del the Funky Homosapien. It was released on November 23, 1993 on Elektra Records. It was a complete departure from his G-Funk influenced first album and without the assistance of his older cousin, Ice Cube. Primarily produced by Del and the...
|
| Both Sides of the Brain Both Sides of the Brain Both Sides of the Brain is the fourth studio album by Del the Funky Homosapien. The song "If You Must" is notable for being featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 as well as having its own music video.-Track listing:...
|
| 93 'til Infinity 93 'til Infinity 93 'til Infinity is the debut album by Souls of Mischief. The group consists of four members and is a subgroup of the hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics.-Album information:...
|
| Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution is the fourth album from alternative hip hop group, Souls Of Mischief. The album was released on the Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings label on October 24, 2000.-Track listing:#"Intro"... |
| Ascension
Pep Love Paulo Peacock , better known by his stage name, Pep Love, is an American hip hop artist and motivational speaker. He is also one of the founding members of the Oakland, California-based underground hip hop collective Hieroglyphics.... |
| Power Movement
Tajai Tajai Massey, known by the stage name, Tajai , is an American rapper and producer. He is one of the four founding members of 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... |
| Triangulation Station
Opio Opio Lindsey, known by his stage name, Opio, , is a member of the four-member, Oakland-based underground hip hop group, Souls of Mischief, and the eight-member, underground hip hop collective, Hieroglyphics.... |
| Fear Itself Fear Itself (Casual album) -Album:-Singles:-Personnel:Information taken from Allmusic.*engineering – Matt Kelley*mastering – Tom Coyne*mixing – Casual, Chris Trevett*photography – Michael Lucero*production – Casual, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Domino, Jay Biz*scratching – Touré... Casual (rapper) Jon Owens , known by his stage name Casual, is an American rapper from Oakland, California and one of the founding members of the alternative hip hop collective Hieroglyphics... "Thoughts Of The Thoughtful", "Be Thousand" |
He Think He Raw
|
| Smash Rockwell
|
| 3rd Eye Vision 3rd Eye Vision 3rd Eye Vision is the debut album of Oakland, California-based, underground hip hop collective, Hieroglyphics. The album was released on May 24, 1998 by the group's own, independent record label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings.- Track listing :... |
| Full Circle Full Circle (Hieroglyphics album) Full Circle is the second album released by the Oakland, California-based, underground hip hop collective, Hieroglyphics. The album was released on October 7, 2003 by the group's own independent record label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings.... |
Compilation albums
| Album information |
|---|
Hieroglyphics B-Sides
|
| Hieroglyphics Oldies, Vol. II
|
| Over Time Over Time (Hieroglyphics album) 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.... |