Post by Adam B on Jul 19, 2005 10:25:05 GMT -5
D. Fenominal Interview
by Adam Bernard
D. Fenominal (Left) with the Anger Management / Just Cel Records team
He's heard on virtually every college and underground Hip-Hop radio show in Connecticut, but how many fans out there really know who D. Fenominal is? The man himself sat down with The Reality Box to give listeners a window into his world and explain where he's from and the long and winding road, major detours included, he's taken to get to where he is today.
Adam Bernard: For starters let's talk about your name. How did you become D. Fenominal?
D. Fenominal: A couple years ago I was hanging with this kid name Miguel. I got locked up doin my crimes, of course, like every rapper. I had no name (but) I was rappin and writing poetry, and he told me he had a hot name for me, Phenomenal. I took it to the next level and said let me mess with it so I started it with an F and spelled it in Spanish. At that point my name was Rah The Fenominal. As time progressed I had to come up to date, we're from the hood we don't say The we say D, so I turned The into D and D turned into Definitely. "And the D stands for Definitely" will be the name of the first album I put out, this spring or summer.
AB: Did you just say you were locked up? I would have never thought that about you.
DF: I was 16, 17, stealing cars, selling drugs. I had to step back and see 'what am I really on the planet for? To send the message or to be the message?' Being the message is being in jail for everyone to see. I didn't want to be that. After my time up north I decided that street time wasn't for me. I actually have the story of how I got locked up on the album. There are lot of songs on the album that will explain to people who I am. KRS-One had said it at one time, if you have a name represent that name. I try to be that, D. Fenominal.
AB: How did you link up with Anger Management and Just Cel Records?
DF: That's a short story in its own ways. Back in 1999 - 2000 I was dealing with label called Street Dreams out on Long Island. We did a lot of things out there. We wanted people to promote our music and push it the right way. My manager, Keys, called in to Dana (pictured above), who's company was called Elm Tree Productions at the time. We linked up, he was cool. I felt what he was thinkin and what he was plannin. The problem was the Street Dreams people weren't in agreement with what Dana had planned. They had gotten our connections overseas but something personal happened within the company that screwed up that. The company broke down, in turn I went my way, Dana went his way, everyone went their way. At the time I was with a friend, Dee Roundtree. We put up a label together. We had no connections, I felt we needed to move forward and a management company would be the ones to do that. I had Dana's number and said what's good. We linked up, again things fell out, only Dana and I were agreeing, once again another camp fell apart. Me and Dana's relationship was so strong and we had done so much by now that we had enough to progress. I had Just Cel Records (the name is taken from the second part of his son's name, Marcel). I told Dana I don't want you to be tied down to one company and I don't want to be tied down to one company so how are we going to do this? We decided a management company. It was its own entity altogether. He needed a name so I said since he was always an angry motherf**ker I said how about Anger Management. He took over that I took over Just Cel Records. And then there's the production company MAD Beats (Making All Dope Beats).
AB: What part of CT are you from?
DF: I'm not even from CT, I'm from Long Island. I'm from across the water but I feel like from CT. That's why we're always in a rush. That's how much love I got for ya'll, cuz that's the love you got for me. The ferry is the belt of our foundation, it keeps the pants up between CT and Long Island. There are artists on Long Island who won't say they are. There might be artists who are from CT who won't say they are. Nobody has the balls to say the names like that. We're bridging the gap between those two areas that don't get a lot of love. We call it The Colt Movement. Like somebody with a hood on drinking.
AB: You've been making a fair amount of moves within Connecticut. What has surprised you most about the CT Hip-Hop scene?
DF: To tell you the truth what has surprised me about CT's Hip Hop scene is that there's so many people involved in the music industry. There's too much support in Connecticut for it not to be considered major.
AB: What's disappointed you about it?
DF: Nothing really, so far so good. I've been to the clubs. There was shoot-out at one club, but other than that everything has been positive. It's always been worth the trip. Everybody's friendly everybody wants to make moves, it's very strange to find that nobody's out there like that.
AB: Do you feel commercial radio in Connecticut provides artists with ample avenues to be heard and/or critiqued?
DF: It does have avenues. Right now from what I know I know they play unsigned hype at times but I know they can do more. They're riding what everybody else is riding on. They're bandwagon stations. They're not independent like college stations.
AB: Yeah, but the college stations don't have any kind of range.
DF: That's that major thing that hurts college stations. I'm sure someone will come along and hear what CT and Long Island have to offer and grab it. That's what independents are all about, maybe we can set the stage to become independents on our own.
AB: What moves are you making to become more known in other areas?
DF: What we're doing now, we're trying to connect with people in California and Internet radio is a real hot item. You can reach a lot of areas without even going to the areas unless you're invited to them. Philly, Massachusetts, California. We're trying to progress, get out there, get known. That's a major push for WVOF. You'd be surprised who writes fan mail. I'll get fan mail asking about D. Fenominal and where can they get a copy of the song. I think Internet radio is a major plus for the entire music industry.
AB: Where else have you traveled with your music? What other scenes have you had the opportunity to experience?
DF: Florida, we're working on California and overseas. Mostly been in Massachusetts, we've been hitting Connecticut hard lately. Orlando, Charlotte, South Carolina, up and down the east coast. It's like I go there for 15 minutes and I'm on to the next spot. We just got back from Baltimore, hittin New Orleans next week. The more we spread the better it is for us.
AB: What would you say has been your most valuable experience as an artist?
DF: Doing a performance. A performance is the most energetic thing you can do. It gives you a chance for people to see how you do outside of a booth. When you go on stage it's you and what you can offer. There are a lot of performances I go to where the artist doesn't even sound like they do on radio because of all the tools they can use in the studio, they forget how they sound. And there's the connection you have with people..... plus the hoes. <laughs>
AB: Any performance especially special to you?
DF: Nassau Coliseum back with the Street Dreams gang. Oct 13th, 2001. 20,000 people there. I spit two, three songs, my mic was low, but by the last song everyone got everything leveled out. By the end I got that hollerin and that clappin, a standing ovation, it feels great to know I have the potential to be a major artist like that.
AB: You've performed in front of 20,000 people. Most of the artists you're working with now haven't. Do you ever see an artist that's a little too jumpy, or full of themselves?
DF: Most every time we open for a show there's someone who goes on before us or after us that does more than they need to do. They grab the mic too tight, that's what separates me from them, they have so much more to learn to be themselves on stage and let themselves go. I like being on there with one hype man and for every sentence that has something funny or characteristic I try to show that as far as movement. A lot of work is put into stuff like that.
AB: Any final words?
DF: There is one thing I want to say, there's a person who inspired me in the game. When people say who inspired you they say Biggie Smalls an 2Pac, but I believe the greatest rapper of all time is LL Cool J. He's been around forever. Some say he's a womanizer, but if the women are going to be buying records, be a womanizer. I want people to realize that dude is a real important person, he needs to get a lot more respect than he does.
by Adam Bernard
D. Fenominal (Left) with the Anger Management / Just Cel Records team
He's heard on virtually every college and underground Hip-Hop radio show in Connecticut, but how many fans out there really know who D. Fenominal is? The man himself sat down with The Reality Box to give listeners a window into his world and explain where he's from and the long and winding road, major detours included, he's taken to get to where he is today.
Adam Bernard: For starters let's talk about your name. How did you become D. Fenominal?
D. Fenominal: A couple years ago I was hanging with this kid name Miguel. I got locked up doin my crimes, of course, like every rapper. I had no name (but) I was rappin and writing poetry, and he told me he had a hot name for me, Phenomenal. I took it to the next level and said let me mess with it so I started it with an F and spelled it in Spanish. At that point my name was Rah The Fenominal. As time progressed I had to come up to date, we're from the hood we don't say The we say D, so I turned The into D and D turned into Definitely. "And the D stands for Definitely" will be the name of the first album I put out, this spring or summer.
AB: Did you just say you were locked up? I would have never thought that about you.
DF: I was 16, 17, stealing cars, selling drugs. I had to step back and see 'what am I really on the planet for? To send the message or to be the message?' Being the message is being in jail for everyone to see. I didn't want to be that. After my time up north I decided that street time wasn't for me. I actually have the story of how I got locked up on the album. There are lot of songs on the album that will explain to people who I am. KRS-One had said it at one time, if you have a name represent that name. I try to be that, D. Fenominal.
AB: How did you link up with Anger Management and Just Cel Records?
DF: That's a short story in its own ways. Back in 1999 - 2000 I was dealing with label called Street Dreams out on Long Island. We did a lot of things out there. We wanted people to promote our music and push it the right way. My manager, Keys, called in to Dana (pictured above), who's company was called Elm Tree Productions at the time. We linked up, he was cool. I felt what he was thinkin and what he was plannin. The problem was the Street Dreams people weren't in agreement with what Dana had planned. They had gotten our connections overseas but something personal happened within the company that screwed up that. The company broke down, in turn I went my way, Dana went his way, everyone went their way. At the time I was with a friend, Dee Roundtree. We put up a label together. We had no connections, I felt we needed to move forward and a management company would be the ones to do that. I had Dana's number and said what's good. We linked up, again things fell out, only Dana and I were agreeing, once again another camp fell apart. Me and Dana's relationship was so strong and we had done so much by now that we had enough to progress. I had Just Cel Records (the name is taken from the second part of his son's name, Marcel). I told Dana I don't want you to be tied down to one company and I don't want to be tied down to one company so how are we going to do this? We decided a management company. It was its own entity altogether. He needed a name so I said since he was always an angry motherf**ker I said how about Anger Management. He took over that I took over Just Cel Records. And then there's the production company MAD Beats (Making All Dope Beats).
AB: What part of CT are you from?
DF: I'm not even from CT, I'm from Long Island. I'm from across the water but I feel like from CT. That's why we're always in a rush. That's how much love I got for ya'll, cuz that's the love you got for me. The ferry is the belt of our foundation, it keeps the pants up between CT and Long Island. There are artists on Long Island who won't say they are. There might be artists who are from CT who won't say they are. Nobody has the balls to say the names like that. We're bridging the gap between those two areas that don't get a lot of love. We call it The Colt Movement. Like somebody with a hood on drinking.
AB: You've been making a fair amount of moves within Connecticut. What has surprised you most about the CT Hip-Hop scene?
DF: To tell you the truth what has surprised me about CT's Hip Hop scene is that there's so many people involved in the music industry. There's too much support in Connecticut for it not to be considered major.
AB: What's disappointed you about it?
DF: Nothing really, so far so good. I've been to the clubs. There was shoot-out at one club, but other than that everything has been positive. It's always been worth the trip. Everybody's friendly everybody wants to make moves, it's very strange to find that nobody's out there like that.
AB: Do you feel commercial radio in Connecticut provides artists with ample avenues to be heard and/or critiqued?
DF: It does have avenues. Right now from what I know I know they play unsigned hype at times but I know they can do more. They're riding what everybody else is riding on. They're bandwagon stations. They're not independent like college stations.
AB: Yeah, but the college stations don't have any kind of range.
DF: That's that major thing that hurts college stations. I'm sure someone will come along and hear what CT and Long Island have to offer and grab it. That's what independents are all about, maybe we can set the stage to become independents on our own.
AB: What moves are you making to become more known in other areas?
DF: What we're doing now, we're trying to connect with people in California and Internet radio is a real hot item. You can reach a lot of areas without even going to the areas unless you're invited to them. Philly, Massachusetts, California. We're trying to progress, get out there, get known. That's a major push for WVOF. You'd be surprised who writes fan mail. I'll get fan mail asking about D. Fenominal and where can they get a copy of the song. I think Internet radio is a major plus for the entire music industry.
AB: Where else have you traveled with your music? What other scenes have you had the opportunity to experience?
DF: Florida, we're working on California and overseas. Mostly been in Massachusetts, we've been hitting Connecticut hard lately. Orlando, Charlotte, South Carolina, up and down the east coast. It's like I go there for 15 minutes and I'm on to the next spot. We just got back from Baltimore, hittin New Orleans next week. The more we spread the better it is for us.
AB: What would you say has been your most valuable experience as an artist?
DF: Doing a performance. A performance is the most energetic thing you can do. It gives you a chance for people to see how you do outside of a booth. When you go on stage it's you and what you can offer. There are a lot of performances I go to where the artist doesn't even sound like they do on radio because of all the tools they can use in the studio, they forget how they sound. And there's the connection you have with people..... plus the hoes. <laughs>
AB: Any performance especially special to you?
DF: Nassau Coliseum back with the Street Dreams gang. Oct 13th, 2001. 20,000 people there. I spit two, three songs, my mic was low, but by the last song everyone got everything leveled out. By the end I got that hollerin and that clappin, a standing ovation, it feels great to know I have the potential to be a major artist like that.
AB: You've performed in front of 20,000 people. Most of the artists you're working with now haven't. Do you ever see an artist that's a little too jumpy, or full of themselves?
DF: Most every time we open for a show there's someone who goes on before us or after us that does more than they need to do. They grab the mic too tight, that's what separates me from them, they have so much more to learn to be themselves on stage and let themselves go. I like being on there with one hype man and for every sentence that has something funny or characteristic I try to show that as far as movement. A lot of work is put into stuff like that.
AB: Any final words?
DF: There is one thing I want to say, there's a person who inspired me in the game. When people say who inspired you they say Biggie Smalls an 2Pac, but I believe the greatest rapper of all time is LL Cool J. He's been around forever. Some say he's a womanizer, but if the women are going to be buying records, be a womanizer. I want people to realize that dude is a real important person, he needs to get a lot more respect than he does.