Somehow or another, a whole summer has gone by with barely a peep from LA warm weather icon Dom Kennedy. However, it looks like he might be setting his sights on windbreaker season, announcing the impending release of the third installment of his fan-favorite album series, From The Westside With Love, on October 15. To solidify his return to the projects that made him such a staple of Golden State house parties and ocean drives, he has dropped the first single, “Rollin Papers.”
In typical Dom Kennedy fashion, “Rollin Papers” features a mellow beat that invites top-down, seat-back, afternoon cruising paired with his laid-back, descriptive rhymes, complete with all the forcefully-enunciated “r” sounds you could ever hope for.
The past five years or so have seen a string of consistent releases from Dom, including his Half-A-Mil pairings with Hit-Boy, but enthusiasm for new Dom Kennedy music hit new highs this summer, partially as a result of a 2020 that saw him tapped by both New York rap legend Nas on “City On Lock” and rising Los Angeles R&B star Blxst for “Got It All.” With his years of consistency finally receiving some recognition, it looks like his persistence — and fans’ patience — will pay off with the return to the Westside Love revolution we’ve all been waiting for.
Listen to “Rollin Papers” above.