Get Home Safely

After grabbing headlines with a critically acclaimed mixtape in 2010, Dom Kennedy is joining the ranks of skillful Southern California newcomers like Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q, who all seem intent on redefining West Coast hip-hop for the 21st century. An equally wary and affectionate tour of his Los Angeles hometown, *Get Home Safely* demonstrates Kennedy’s unhurried flow, hypnotic stream-of-consciousness lyrics, and easy facility on the mic. Over a backing of sun-dazed synths and heavy, languid beats, Kennedy offers a slow-rolling tour of L.A. neighborhoods (“Intermission for Watts,” “South Central Love”) and keeps it local with guest spots from fellow L.A. natives TeeFlii (“Still Callin’”) and Nipsey Hussle (“Pleeze”). And while *Get Home Safely* is largely a laid-back affair, Kennedy brings it hard with the blaring brass and stomping drums of “The 5 Year Theory.\"

Released on his own imprint, Other People's Money, independent rapper Dom Kennedy returns with Get Home Safely, an album of chilled-out and narrative hip-hop.