The way we grew up and our lifestyle, being kids from the inner city of Los Angeles. вЂњвЂ¦with The Original Dom Kennedy, it was a time for me to take stand-in music. In an interview with MTV News reporter James Lacsina, Kennedy described the project as something that was a testament to himself in the rap game as well as the city he proudly represents: In early 2011, Kennedy released his 5th studio mixtape The Original Dom Kennedy, a tape meant to reflect KennedyвЂ™s individuality and sound as an artist. Kennedy also began releasing an extensive amount of visual material at this time, including From the Westside With Love music videos for songs such as вЂњ1997вЂќ, вЂњLocals OnlyвЂќ, and вЂњThe 4 HeartbeatsвЂќ. Gaining over 100,000 internet downloads, With the success of From the Westside With Love, Kennedy became a major player on the independent circuit, traveling for performances throughout and outside the country including a show in Dijibouti, Africa.

However, with the release of From the Westside With Love in 2010, Kennedy became a major hit throughout the underground hip hop scene in L.A. Within the first hours of dropping the mixtape, Kennedy amassed over 10,000 downloads, officially solidifying his name among some of the top rappers in L.A. After his 25th Hour debut, Kennedy released 2 additional mixtapes in 2009 Best After Bobby (the title referring to вЂњBobbyвЂќ Robert Kennedy), and Future Street/Drug Sounds.ДЇor the Best After Bobby mixtape, Kennedy collaborated with West Coast heavy hitter DJ Sour Milk and the Los Angeles Leakers, producing an instant buzz in underground circles across the country.

Overdoz 2008 album