on March 29th, future modern presented “Heaven and Hell” by @dominosmusic, out now on @catalogworks

🎩 artist’s 1st ever 1/1 music nft and Catalog nft

🎩.5 eth reserve

🎩 performed with a live band same night at the peppermint lounge for nft la

follow us down the 🕳️🐇

step back to 2020. covid-19 had just changed all of our lives. a new normal had the world coming apart at the seams (or streams). nothing would ever be the same. domino wrote “Heaven and Hell” in the midst of that turmoil.

everyone was stuck at home wondering what to do now. some worked from home, others stacked water and toilet paper, still others took up painting and baking sourdough bread. domino decided to see the tragedy as an opportunity to get on his grind.

he started twitch streaming and grew an organic following by hosting online events for the music community in la. then, he added educational panels, fostered discussions about the George Floyd protests, and posted art contests.

Domino’s been a tech buff; as a kid he built a computer with his brother. he had long been familiar with crypto and got into trading stocks in 2019, so the move into NFTs, where art and music met crypto and the finance world, made much sense.

he started throwing NFT art events where he would have viewers submit art. he even did a whole gallery show around it. his streams helped onboard artists to web3 early and connected them to collectors, including @Loopifyyy’s first interview.

Domino quickly became an important figure in growing the NFT community writ large at a time when almost no one made that type of content. he was also going through a relentlessly creative period and had a hunger to perform.

a natural performer, Domino has been on stages since he was 8 years old. growing up he was a magician, from which he took much of his theatrics and branding including his stage name Domino.

Domino is a musician of the moment, and artist forged in the new millennium’s socioeconomic upheaval. born in italy while the Air Force stationed his dad there, Domino would eventually settle in san jose, california, where his dad became the cop, as it was “all he knew”.

the father experienced severe trauma which eventually pushed him from the job. then the Great Recession of 2008 hit, and that really rocked his family.

outside of his austere home life, Domino turned to the rebellious, independent culture of hip hop, drawn in by his b boi uncle.

Domino gravitated to the dance community and within a short time all his homies were b bois too. breakbeat, drum n bass, and four on the floor are all present in domino’s sound to this day.

his musical taste ranges from french bossa nova to experimental jazz to big band to madlib. live instrumentation is crucial for domino, “the energy translated into music needs to have a live component...

“I needed to stream [at that time] but the connection and energy of live performance feels so vital in translating the nft work.”

low-key, he’s gonna be working with a live choir on an upcoming project.

things really took off for Domino with the release of his album Presessence. his music and visual art have done several hundred thousand USD in sales and established him as one of web3 music’s most well-known stars.

you gotta respect the grind through which domino built his web3 following. he always knew he didn’t fit the mold of a traditional label musician, but he had the drive to make it on his own.

“there's never been a moment in time when i was like i gotta go find a deal. i’ve always known my value and worth and how i can build a grassroots community. i knew i had the power, it would just be hard work...

“i had to work so many jobs living in la and doing music for the last 7 or 8 years. web3 was life changing. as soon as you create these explosive moments, the community will come to you.”

Presessence is vol 1 in a trilogy on making it big as a musician. on the album you hear Domino winning a grammy and most of the songs take place while on his way to the awards show.

“Heaven and Hell,” which is not on Presessence, invokes legendary rappers and figures in music history and inscribes domino as a star in that exclusive galaxy. it feels like a spiritual bridge between volume one and two, which comes out soon.

“Heaven and Hell” is a moment of stepping into power. the upcoming second album in Domino’s trilogy will be about dealing with the emotional side of success and how people treat you once you’re a star. and Domino’s star is rising fast.

he was recently featured in Rolling Stone as a top NFT artist in an exclusive collab between Rolling Stone and Coinbase.

right now, Domino is in full creative mode: focused on new releases, live performances, and setting up a staking program (follow him to stay posted on this as it rolls out), and finding innovative ways to give back to his supporters.

he is down-to-earth in person, despite his lyrical braggadocio. he’s tech-savvy but he enjoys low-tech human connections. (LOW-KEY ALPHA) he plans on putting a little something extra together for the collector of “Heaven and Hell,” since it will be his first 1/1.

the track holds nothing back, and Domino comes out spittin flame from the jump. “Heaven and Hell” is a high-powered litany of references rattled off over a rainy piano and drum beat. Domino’s verbal virtuosity is on full display.

the bars are shifting, as rhymes and references merge and dissipate in twists and turns as inextricable as life and death. can heaven even exist without hell?

we congratulate Alec Dalel for collecting Domino’s first ever 1/1 music NFT, “Heaven and Hell!”