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Dom Corleo Interview: Underground visionary breaks the mold of West Coast rap

Many of the burgeoning stars in today’s hip-hop underground, whether they classify themselves as rage or pluggnb, all have one thing in common: They know Dom Corleo.

Raised predominantly in Sacramento and the Bay Area in California, Dom’s start in rap around five years ago has led him to encounter many of the new wave’s finest, long before they made a name for themselves in streaming and on TikTok. SoFaygo, Slump6s, Autumn!, Summrs and Xhulooo are just a few who have been connected with Corleo prior to their respective blow-ups — exemplifying Dom’s ear for great music and star potential.

“You can always tell [when an artist will blow-up], it’s just somebody’s mindset,” he said. “You’ll be like, Yeah he gon’ go up, because he worked for this sh*t.’”

Much like his peers, Dom is on a similar trajectory to success. Although he has only really been releasing music on DSPs for about two years now, his previous work on SoundCloud — when he went by pxpidom — did an excellent job at showcasing his sound. Whether it be tracks like 2019’s “trip 2 saks” and “Number Nine” featuring Faygo, Dom’s music saw him build toward the “cult fanbase” he’s always dreamed of.

“Those are real fans, it’s organic,” he said of cult fanbases. “I want everything with me to be organic and not artificial. Nothing fake. Those are the fans that are really going to defend you and f**k with you in the long run.”

To help attract these loyal listeners, Corleo has had a busy 2022. Along with dropping his Travis Scott-inspired March project Forgive Me For My Sins, singles like August’s “Penthouse Shordy,” which has eclipsed 800,000 plays on Spotify, and last month’s Yung Lean-inspired “Ginseng” have built a great deal of momentum for the youngster.

After making waves with these hits, Dom performed his first “back-to-back-to-back” shows in early October as the opener for Lancey Foux and Joony‘s current “Life In Hell” tour. Met by enthusiastic attendees who reciprocated great energy, Dom brought out SSGKobe at the Oct. 4 San Diego show, playing an unreleased song they collaborated on.

With all these blessings coming to him lately, Dom is determined to keep ascending, moving to Los Angeles to work on music for his upcoming untitled album. Set to contain 10 songs, Corleo wants his music to keep deviating from the typical West Coast sound that he was always surrounded by growing up, saying “that sh*t is not me.” Infusing alt-rock is one of his main goals for the album, ultimately making him an artist “that really intrigues people,” which he said is the key component of establishing a cult following.

Amid his rise to underground acclaim, Dom chatted with OGM host Hakeem Rowe to speak on his recent song with Destroy Lonely, the effectiveness of group chats for underground artists, meeting Lancey Foux, living in Arizona, his influences, dealing with trolls and much more in our latest Our Generation Music exclusive interview

Check out Dom Corleo’s OGM exclusive interview below!