We were lucky to catch up with Definite Origin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Definite thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
“Biggest risk I took was believing in myself to be a full time dad. My journey with being a parent has been rocky from the beginning to currently. From paternity test, to court rooms, to custody battles.. the whole nine yards. My kids originally were living with my big sister, and when she fell short I had to step up. Nobody on all sides of my kids life felt I was capable of stepping up. It fueled me to do so. What’s crazy is I had just came off of a 13 city tour, and had no idea I would be walking into the biggest life change I’ve ever experienced. Somehow through prayer, finesse , and hard work I made it work. Shortly after getting them in the first year Covid 19 hit and the job I was just promoted on had no hours to offer me. I was stressing out cause I had just took on a bigger responsibility.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
For those who don’t know I’m D.O. , aka Definitely Original. You can find my music under Definite.Origin on all platforms. Im an artist, brother, father, uncle, growing philanthropist, and business owner. I’m also a publisher/owner of Main Peers. In addition to these roles I’m currently a Expansion Associate for Leaders Of Tomorrow Youth Center as well. I help finding instructors to help keep the arts active in schools in the DMV. I began making music at a very young age being inspired by local artist in my area like J-Rock, P Gutta, Cub Dallas and more. My favorite rappers was DMX as a kid and soon after the rap group The LOX. Listening to hip hop made me want to write every day. Starting with poetry in the 6th grade and then picking up the pace a turning them into rhymes acappella. Rhymes at the lunch table, kicking bars straight off the paper hours after you wrote them in the hood. All these experiences made me want to become a rapper young. Early in my career I started recording in local studios but, in 2010 I began recording my own music with a Pro Tools Kit. This was before the DSP’s were a big thing so we sold units out of the trunks of our cars. Having my supporters and fans coming to me to purchase was so fulfilling I kept rapping. Cultivating a better sound, with better concepts, better production, and better music year in and year out. Now I have 13 projects in my catalog over the time of my music career. Over the years of grinding a learning the game I have learned how to collect the royalties that are owed to independent artist an I soon will start teaching this to interested artist in my area. This will be added to my resume and with this skill I will do my best to help artist regain there freedom an learn how to use there talents to live, opposed to praying for record deals or working jobs you have no desire to keep. With selling merch, creating music, working with kids, and connecting artist to opportunity I feel teaching artist about ownership is what I’m most proud of. The education I’ve obtained over the years, my hunger for more , and my desire to keep being a rap artist no matter what, is what sets me apart from other artist.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I learned to never trust a person. Only trust what they’re capable of. Meaning in business it takes a while to gain trust or to be trusted. You must trust the type of people to be exactly who they present themselves to be. If a person is known for being late trust he will be late. Trust that time is not his/her friend. If a person is violent trust them to fight. Pretty much pay attention to a persons reactions, and actions to understand how you can or cannot trust them. Good example is setting deadlines for folks to follow and then when the deadline hits who you trust to meet it doesn’t. Whole time you know they party hard, stay up late, use drugs, and is never reliable. What makes you think they will be, when it counts?
Have you ever had to pivot?
A time I had to pivot with my career as an artist was seeing how things go for me in group fashions. When working on projects with others, or creating and representing a brand I learn that it doesn’t work well for me. I had to pivot into being a solo artist more then ever because I learned how I may dream an how a peer may dream can differentiate. I had to learn that, that is ok as well. Instead of setting deadlines, or goals for others to reach I had to learn to set them for myself to create my own destiny for me an my career. You must be able to manage yourself before attempting to manage anyone else.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://solo.to/mainpeersonly
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/definite_origin/
- Facebook: Adam Commodore
- Twitter: @definite_origin
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@definitelyoriginal6768
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dotfocus?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Image Credits
EOP Photography – Nyia Curtis
Various Photoghraphers