(Self-released, digital)
St. Albans likely isn’t the first place music listeners expect to yield a talented rapper and hip-hop artist. But Dominic French, who records as D.FRENCH, could change that perception. With his third digitally released album, West End North Side, French wisely reminds us that conflict, hardship and loss exist in the most unsuspecting nooks, even small cities in northern Vermont.
His musical career has arced, he said in an email to Seven Days. After feeling like he had to escape his hometown to be accepted by the world, he now takes pride in his roots. “West End North Side is a stamp on where I come from and a culmination of all that got me to where I am today,” he wrote.
Stylish and introspective, French’s newest raps pay tribute to his former stomping ground and offer a nod to where he now lives, just outside of Boston — fittingly, in Watertown’s West End.
Using slickness, candor and consistent lyrical delivery across eight sonically divergent tracks, French demonstrates acumen, leverages a hardened pedigree and comes to terms with radical changes. He uses powerful words and illustrates a compelling portrayal of the suffering that can exist in a place many might consider picturesque.
“Never Switch Sides” begins the album with meditation and a reassuring declaration of French’s allegiance to his home turf, his friends and, most notably, his family, including his late father.
He sets his domestic priorities with ponderance: “If it’s us against the world, you can trust me when I say, it don’t matter what they throw at you, I’m standing in the way ’til the grave.”
Music started for French in St. Albans, where, he said, he also “spent some of my darkest days.” His father died there in 2019. Refining these fresh songs helped him grieve and reinvigorated his passion for the craft. “These songs represent a healing process and exposition of my demons, fears, and faith in myself to push forward,” he wrote.
West End North Side showcases a more seasoned French than is heard on his first two albums and subsequent digital singles. With wider perspective, he’s a poet no longer running from his past but wholly embracing it.
Mirroring his escape from desolation, darkness and outright depression, tracks such as “Daylight” hear French acknowledge tough choices he made out of necessity. His stoic reflections play out over an alluring mix of contemporary beats as he impresses with speed and precision in his vocal rhythm. “Heaven” continues French’s search for light and inspiration even as, he says, “life will make you cold, pain will make you melt.”
Several other Vermonters make lively appearances on the album. Artists Jun Fargo, Wombaticus Rex and Kasidon, respectively, infuse unique personality into the final three songs, including the irresistibly funky bounce “My Days.”
D.FRENCH has stayed his course as a songwriter, drawing inspiration from the challenges he’s overcome along the way. And even though he now resides in a bordering state, he’s created in West End North Side an admirably distinct, lasting addition to Vermont’s hip-hop and rap catalog.
West End North Side is available at dfrench.bandcamp.com.
This article appears in Apr 5-11, 2023.
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