Here in the studio with us today is a special guest. One of the best in the industry, Dominic Brown. Welcome to the show. First time being here right?Yes, first time on the show. Glad to finally be on. Thanks for having me.
Happy to have you as well. First off, congratulations on the birth of your daughter. What's it been like as a first time father?It's been sort of crazy for me. Amy and I have had to make a lot of adjustments lately. We have to change our schedules around a lot, me especially as I'm trying to juggle music and my family at the same time. It's nothing we can't handle. Since the moment my daughter was born, I've enjoyed every little moment. Just knowing that I created someone so precious is mind blowing. I feel nothing but happiness when I'm holding her and looking into her eyes. It's one of the best feelings and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
You and Amy managed to keep the birth private up till now. Even before, it was months before the news broke out that she was having a baby. Why the secrecy?We just felt like so much of our life was already so public that we just wanted to keep this part of our life to ourselves. We kept her being pregnant a secret for a while until we were ready for people to find out. Only our close friends and family knew about it at first. We were both happy about the news and just wanted it to be special with our love ones.
I think we all can understand that. Now that the news is out, many of us are wondering about her name. Care to share?(smiles) It took almost towards the end of Amy's pregnancy before we found something that we both liked. We ended up naming her Mya and she has my last name of course.
Mya Brown. Wonderful name. Now we hear that you and Amy are now engaged. Walk us through how you proposed to her.We've been engaged since last year, but no one outside of our family or close friends knew about it. I proposed to her after one of our evenings out. She said yes, like I knew she would, and it's been great since then. We talked about getting married before Mya was born, but obviously that didn't happen. Other stuff got in the way so we put it on hold for now.
Congratulations on getting engaged. You said that you've been engaged since last year so the engagement was supposed to be kept secret too?Yeah. Again we just wanted to keep it among us and just enjoy it ourselves. It just becomes so much when our personal lives get out, and people just have so much to say about it. Neither one of us wanted our special moment to be ruined. I think at a certain point though that it leaked out, but the media was more focused on making me look bad.
Since you are engaged now, have the two of you thought about a wedding date?We had a small conversation about getting married right away but preparing for Mya's birth changed things. Right now planning for the wedding is on hold. I still want to marry her, but so much is going on right now. We don't want to be overwhelmed with too many things. I'd rather us slow down and take things slow. That doesn't mean that I'm having second thoughts or anything. I just want to enjoy every moment. I want us to be happy and proud about being engaged as well as the birth of our daughter. It'll happen when it's time.
You now have one child with her, and Amy had a son already. Are there plans to have more children in the future?At the moment, I haven't talked to her about this, and she hasn't mentioned anything. We were planning on having a baby someday but we weren't really trying at the time. (smiles) With the way I do things when we are together, it was bound to happen though, and I was happy when she told me. She had a son already and he already seems like he's mine. I treat him like he is, and everybody is okay with that. I'm happy to have a little girl now, and maybe in the future if Amy wanted to have more kids I wouldn't reject to the idea.
We know how you and Amy came to be. There's been accusations made that you cheated on her with Tisha when you first started dating. Any truth to this?Not at all. Around the summer when I started connecting with Tisha again, Amy and I were just friends at the time. I was trying to talk to her and make it more but she blew me off at first. So of course I was single and doing my own thing. Everyone likes to believe, including Tisha, that I was cheating on Amy at this time but I wasn't. We were never a thing at the time all of this was happening. It wasn't until Amy and I started to get serious that I ended things with Tisha. She would always try to push up on me and try to get me to fall back into old bad habits. I never did cause I didn't want to hurt Amy like that. So what the media or Tisha says about me cheating on Amy back then are all lies. It never happened.
Since you dated Tisha and it was a public relationship, do you ever get tired of it being brought up in the media even though you're no longer with her?All the time. I feel like it's all the media wants to focus on instead of my current relationship. I get tired of having it brought up cause we're no longer together. No one ever says anything about Sierrah or Tanya, who I've also dated in the past. It just gets exhausting after a while. I think that maybe I'm partly to blame for that since I continued to associate myself with her. I'm painted as a player, and with that people expect me to be always running back and worth between her. That's what I've done in the past so I can't really be surprised that that's how it is now. They want a juicy story and sometimes I supply that when I make the wrong choices. The whole situation has really just taught me to be careful about my actions. It's something that I'm trying to work on this year. I just think that my anger and stubbornness just holds me back sometimes. It's a work in progress.
Right. You've been in the headlines a lot over the past year and not for music. You've been accused of coming between Drew Westbrook and your ex, Tisha Jackson's relationship, along with assault on Tisha as well.Unfortunately I have and it's not something that I'm happy about. I feel like everyone is always taking the word of what the media or Tisha is saying. I'm always painted as the bad guy, and my side of the story is never told. People jump to conclusions and believe everything that they read. So when all this stuff came out about me, I was pissed off.
I'm sure many can relate to that. Being unable to defend your side would be frustrating to anyone. Specifically what in the news made you mad the most? Mainly the stuff they put together to make me look bad. The made up sources that somehow knew what was going on. I don't feel like I came between them at all. It was all on her. From the start, Tisha could have told me she didn't want to see me again, but she didn't. Instead she puts it all on me like I charmed or forced her into cheating with Drew. That was all her, and in honesty I wasn't trying to go there with her again. I've learned a long time ago that she and I don't work as a couple. She's all about drama, and that's not something that I want in a girl. I'm not for all the arguing, and the accusations that I'm somehow cheating. I've never cheated on her and she knows that. Yet she makes up lies to make me look like the bad guy. I just can't be with someone like that. I don't have the energy to deal with it, which is why we haven't gotten back together, other than messing around.
Continuing with the accusations from the media, you said that the reports were false. Was any of it true?A few things that were mentioned were true. For instance, the part about me making her prove her loyalty again was true. She's played me many times before in her interviews with all the lies. The summer, when we started to mess around again, she wanted things to be how they used to be. She kept wanting me to tell her that I love her, but I never did. I just wasn't feeling it, and one of the things that she knows about me is that I'm stubborn as hell. Like once you make me look like a fool and piss me off, I'm difficult to talk to after that. I don't like giving my heart to a girl, and then made a fool of. She did that numerous of times, and then on top of that she's also dating Drew at the time. Telling him that she loves him. At that point, I'm like why are you surprised that I'm not showing you love like I used to anymore. She was basically getting the best of both worlds by running back and forth between me and Drew. Yet in her eyes, I'm the worse cause I'm being stubborn and not letting her play me for a fool. I'm not about chasing after women. I can be with any girl I choose, and during that summer I wasn't about to make an effort with her. It sounds wrong, but when you consider how she was playing both me and Drew I don't care.
Way before Drew and Tisha dated, you and him were friends and even did a song together. Do you think that you'll be friends with him again? No. We messed around with the same girl. She and I were hooking up while they were together. We had beef for a while cause of it. There's no going back from that. I'm not sweating it either cause it wasn't like we were that close to begin with. He got my leftovers, and it's cool. I wasn't tripping when they started dating either. I don't care who she ends up with.
It's been reported that she's now dating rapper, YoungHood. How do you feel about them being together?Before now, I would say that I'm happy for her, but now that's changed. I don't really bother myself with caring about who she's with. She's a grown woman, and she can be with whoever she wants to be. It never phases me but I do know that she could never do better than me. She messed up when she started playing me and sabotaging our relationship. Tisha is never going to find another man that will love her the way I used to. She likes to think that I never did, but that's not true. In the beginning, I loved her, and I would have done anything for her. After the rehab situation, that's when it all changed. I stopped caring, and fell out of love with her. I think that she's beautiful, and sometimes that gets me caught up in her again. My feelings don't go any further than that though. She's not who I fell in love with all those years ago and its for the best. I'm not that guy for her anymore.
To recap, over the course of last year, you and Tisha were seen hanging out together and now you seem to have separated yourself from her. What changed? It's all been building up for sometime now. I'd been feeling this way for a long time, but I never really ended our friendship. We would just have these periods where we would stop talking for a while. Eventually, I would always get sucked back in though. Towards the end when the assault accusations happened and the cheating, I made up my mind to stop caring. The whole story about me hitting her on purpose was a lie. What actually happened that night was that I picked her up and dropped her on the bed. It never went any further than that and if anything she was the one that was hitting me. People made a big deal about it cause she ended up with this bruise on her head so I ended up in jail. She bailed me out and we talked. I ended up making the dumbest decision that night by cheating on my girl. I almost lost her messing around with someone that doesn't even deserve my time. I hated myself for that cause mainly I broke my promise to her. I told her I would never hurt her and for me to break that promise almost cost me everything. She was pissed and ended up kicking me out for a while. I deserved it and I told myself if I ever got her back again, that I would never do something so stupid in my life ever again. Luckily she forgave me.
Let's move on to Tisha's latest album, which features several songs speaking on her relationship with you. Have your heard the album?Yeah, I have. I knew more drama was about to happen when I read the title. I was hoping that maybe I would be wrong and that she dedicated the album to just Drew. As predicted though, she didn't and had a lot of dis tracks about me and my girl. This was just another reason why I made up my mind to be done with her. I'm sure after this interview is over, she'll be blowing up my phone mad about what I'm saying about her. I don't care though. I'm always ignoring when she's dogging me out, but I'm not running from it anymore. I'm going to be open and honest about how I feel. I find that people appreciate that more when you can be honest with them. That's all that I want to be. I'm going to be real and not be afraid to say things. If I come across as a jerk then that's just how it is. I'm no longer censoring what I say to protect her feelings. She wants to play these games so lets play.
She managed to say quite a lot on her songs in regards to you. All of them being negative. How would you respond?First thing first, I just want to say don't come after my girl. I'm cool with you saying things about me but leave her out of it. I hate that Amy is caught up in all this drama from my past. She says she's cool with it and she's never really liked Tisha anyway. They've had beef since before we started dating, it's just gotten worse. All of the stuff she said about me hurting her is not true. I'm not a player like she makes me out to be. When I'm in love with a girl, I give everything and I'm all about her. Amy already knows this, which is why I haven't addressed this till now. I don't have to prove my love to her cause she knows she's the only woman I care about. Unlike Tisha, she doesn't have to be insecure. She knows who I'm coming home to at the end of the day. We have a family together, and I'm in love with her than I've ever been with anymore. I would never try to jeopardize what we have.
This isn't the first time, she's made you out to be a player. Why do you think she does so?Jealousy. She can't have me like she wants to and now she's trying to get back at me the best way she knows how. She's great at running her mouth and making up false stories about me. She's bitter cause of how badly things worked out. I know I hurt her and she's hurt me as well. I've apologized a thousand times, and I wish I could take them back. I wasn't there for her at a certain point, and things just went down hill from there. She's managed to repay me back ten times over for that. Our relationship has been bad for so long that it's become toxic. I find myself slipping back into old habits sometimes, but I've learned to let it go. I've accepted a long time ago that she and I don't work as a couple.
If you could go back in time and do things differently, what would you change?I would have just remained friends with her. I mean yeah, we had some fun times, but there's too much bad blood there. I would prefer if we just stayed good friends. Getting into a relationship with her or anything else is complicated and messy. I wish we would have kept things all business instead of mixing business with pleasure. I think we both would have been better off if we hadn't of gotten into a relationship with one another. I'm sure she probably feels the same now after everything that has happened between us.
We've all heard the tracks in which Tisha has addressed you on her latest album. Do you plan on releasing a song to answer back?The moment I heard the songs, I was pissed off as hell. So of course I had to go into the studio and let all my anger out through my music. I've recorded some songs that respond back to her songs. I plan to release one of them soon maybe. The others may go on the collaboration album that I'm working with Kato on or a few of the EPs I'll be dropping this year. I just have a lot to say on the matter and people will be able to hear my side soon. I'm great at expressing how I feel in my songs. I don't plan to delicate all my songs about her though as I don't feel like she deserves an album worth of my time. Just the release of a couple of songs should be enough to get my point across about this whole situation.
Switching to a positive topic, let's discuss your music. After a year, you've released a new single, which debuted #1. How does that feel after all this time?It feels incredible. I've missed being apart of the industry for a year. I sat back and watched everyone else shine. I was still at home working in my studio, getting ready for the comeback I knew I was going to have. It felt really great when I came back with a new song. It felt like I never left. I always feel like that every time I leave and return back. For the song to be #1 for two weeks straight was just a blessing. I'm glad that people are feeling the song as much as I do. When I was recording the song, I of course had Amy on my mind. I love her to death and she's been the inspiration lately to all my songs. I've dedicated most of my upcoming album to her. I always have a lot to write about but it feels better when I'm with the right girl. I love making music about her and that's what this song is about. She's perfect to me and one of a kind. I've never met anyone like her before. In a way, I'm glad that the other relationships I was in didn't work out. They prepared me to be a better man and to be in a better place for when she and I met. I consider myself lucky.
Congratulations on being back and the success of your new single. We all can't wait for the album. Will this be the year the album will be released?Yeah. I've been putting it off for way too long, and I'm going to get it done this time. Earlier on when I started writing and recording for the album, I decided on the album having 20 songs. Now things have changed as I'm just planning on it having ten songs instead. The reason for that is cause I just want to do a quick release. The album has been delayed for so long that I just want to release it and move on to a new era. I'm making it a priority of having it out so no one has to ask me anymore about it. It's coming out this year for sure.
One of the albums we'll be looking forward to hearing this year. You're king of collaborations, who can we expect to make an appearance on the album?(laughs) I've been told many times that I feature too many people on my songs. So all I can say is just a couple of people on the album but I want to leave it as a surprise for now. I'm aiming to not feature too many people on this album. I think my fans want to hear more of me for once. I'm hoping to make that happen. A couple of songs have already been released. 'Tell Me Where It Hurts,' was the first single from the album. It featured one of my good friends, Jennifer Armstrong. The second single from the album was 'Now or Never.' That single was just featuring me, and was a success just like the first single. 'Perfect,' is the third single to be released from the album and probably the final one. The rest of the songs will be heard when the album is out. I'm hoping that will happen possible this summer or in the Fall. I'm more focused on other projects right now.
Keeping us in suspense. Well played. Let's discuss the special projects. We know about the collaboration album with Kato. What else can we expect?I teased maybe sometime last year about an EP I was planning to drop. I plan on getting that out this year. It's called 'In My Feelings,' and it's self explanatory. The EP will mostly feature songs that express how I was feeling about certain things. There's actually a song on their that I wrote regarding how I was feeling around the time of the summer fling situation with Tisha. The song is called 'Switch Up,' and my fans can expect to hear it on the EP. It was one of my favorites on the EP to record. Another one of my favorite songs, is a song called 'Write Me Off.' It's a personal favorite of mine mainly cause it comes from a time when I was dating an ex who pretty much straight used me to become famous. When she got what she wanted, she disappeared. Being who I am, that's something that I always have to deal with it. I'm forever wondering if a girl is interested in me or using me to make herself famous. It's hard sometimes when you get used like that. I wouldn't wish that feeling on my worse enemy on any given day. Nobody likes being played. It can break you.
In the past, you've ventured outside of music by doing a little acting here and there. Do you plan to act again in the future? I haven't really thought about acting in a long time. I guess if the right role presented itself then I would possible consider it. Lately I'm just focused on my music that it probably isn't likely to happen again. I've lost a lot of time between when I first started till now. I feel like I have a lot of making up to do. I'm always pushing myself to be better than what I am now. I want to push the limits and take my music to greater heights. I think people have been sleeping on my a little since I've been away. It's time to wake them up, and show them why I'm the best at what I do. I will say though that I have taken an interest with producing. I've produced a lot of songs for some of my close friends in the industry as well as my own songs. I would like to continue to pursue it more and to be on the same level as some of the greatest producers in the industry such as mISTER_b and The Wolverines.
Now this next question might get you into trouble, but we're curious. Who do you think you'd be with if you weren't with Amy?(laughs) Damn, that's a setup question. There's a lot of beautiful women in the industry. I would definitely date another industry girl cause I feel like they would understand my lifestyle better than a regular girl would. I don't have anything against regular girls cause I've dated some. I just have better experiences with industry girls, especially if they're already successful on their own. I try not to mess with anyone, if I can help it, that's not successful already. I've learned from my mistakes of messing with girls that aren't and paid for it. Girls are always trying to latch on to me, thinking that I'm going to get them the fame that they desperately want. I hate being used like that, so I have to watch out for it. Getting back to the question though, the one girl that comes to mind is Mercedes. I've had the biggest crush on her for years now. I think that she's sexy and real talented.
We knew you would say that. You talked about her in the 'Anaconda' song you released on SoundCloud a year ago. What made you want to do the song?It was one of those songs that was just for fun. I think I might have been single at the time or something when I wrote it. I was thinking about who my next girl would be. I just was messing around one day on a beat and the song just sort of came together. I received a lot of love and hate for that song. My fans liked it, while the haters just thought that I was disrespecting women. To me, it shouldn't have been taken that far. I was doing a shout out of the women I like. Maybe some of the things were said may have been offensive but it was out of fun. I probably wouldn't have a chance with most of them especially the ones that are good friends. Some of them I've already been with, and just mentioned them again. In my honest opinion, anyone that was offended by the song was probably bitter cause I didn't mention them. It was just a song, don't care about people's feelings.
You seem to know what you like and don't like. Tell us what your idea woman would be, and what you look for in a woman.I love pretty girls. All kinds of girls but I have a thing for white and foreign girls the most. I just think that foreign girls are exotic. When it comes to appearances, I'm like any man. I love a woman with real hair and a curvy body. I do occasionally date skinny girls, but they have to look really good. As far as what I look for in a woman, I like one that is classy as hell. I don't like a lot of drama, which is why I get along with Amy so well. We barely fight and she's always so chill about everything as opposed to what it was like dating Tisha. I was forever fighting with Tisha cause she likes to be controlling as hell. She likes to make you bow down to her and I'm not with that. I'm not into you trying to tell me what to do and expect me to be a punk for you. I feel like I'm the one in charge, and that's why we clashed a lot. With two dominant people of course there's going to be problems. Another big thing for me is that I like a woman that knows how to keep our business private. I don't like a woman who likes to run her mouth too much. If we're having problems or you're mad at me about something, come to me about it. Don't run to the press telling them our business. That's a turn off to me. Don't believe me, ask Tisha. That's why we're done now.
Watching you grow up in front of us all, you seem to have slowly transformed into not caring about the negative things people have to say about you.At a certain point, I just have to be like that. It was like the more famous I got, the worse the hate got for me. In the beginning, I found myself trying to make sure I got everyone's approval. I wanted to always have a good image back then, but that's a real challenge in itself. Looking back, I see how crazy that was. You can never please everybody. It's just how things are, and I'm not into trying to do the impossible. I've learned to have no censure and to do and say what I want. I don't care what people say.
What advice would you give to relatively new artists who are just entering the music industry now and unaware of what's to come?The biggest advice that I could give a new artists is to make it all about the music, and to keep the ones that were with you before you made it. I've pushed a lot of people away and I regret that now. You can easily get caught up in this industry and lose sight of what's really important. It's easy to to get caught up in a dream, and chasing after things that don't belong to you. The fans make us who we are and at any given time that could all disappear. So it's just important to stay humble and remember where you came from. I've been fortunate enough to have most of my close friends from before along with some new ones. Everyone in this industry doesn't have your best interest at heart. A lot of these artists are just trying to use you to make their name bigger. Artists that are just starting out aren't aware of this and I feel like it could be avoided. That's why I think of myself as a mentor to Kato cause I have more experience in some ways. I can advise him on what not to do. I've been through the worst of it, and to be able to share what I've learned feels great.
There we have it folks. That was Dominic Brown. You can buy his new single, 'Perfect,' featuring Amy-Jayne now on iTunes!
