Verndolla$
Southside, QGTM
“A Queens legend…”
For our second Spotlight we got the opportunity to speak to Dolo about his origins, inspirations, and aspirations. The Bronx painter gave us detailed explanations to some frequently asked questions and opened up to us about his motivations. Dolo has been an active for years hosting many of his own art shows and events where he often provides a stage for singers, rappers, and poets. We at Pour L’ame thank Dolo for his vulnerability, honesty and time. Follow and support Dolo on his journey as one of the more talented fine artists in the NYC Area.
Where did the name Verndollas come from?
$: The thing about my name is it came around twice. At first they was calling me Vern dolla for no reason just to cut my ass. Then when I got older and I moved I was getting a couple dollars from my mom every day for lunch. I always saved a dollar for after school so I could have a snack playing ball so my friends were always like why you always have a dollar? So they started calling me Vern dolla too. And then I’m fly so the nickname kinda stuck.
Where was your intro to music?
$: Just from my mom playing Caribbean music on sundays to clean and playing like light fm music on the way to school and stuff. I’d question it and then I’d really just fall for the melodies. The music was diverse but the melodies were always fire. Then the first time I heard rap was cleaning on a random Sunday. The neighbors was playing their music mad loud for mad long and I was tired of hearing it so I told my mom I was gonna play some music. I turn on the radio and the first thing I heard was Window Shopper by 50 cent. And that’s how I started falling in love with rap. I got to Highschool and I’m around all my niggas that’s in Pearl Boysz and we all love music. Me and PurP freestyling and all that it was litt. At this time I started bumping entire albums, ScHoolboy had dropped oxymoron, earl sweatshirt had dropped, then Joey Badass dropped Before The Money. Bro, when I tell you I listened to that whole album and learned all the lyrics so fast... I’m in school rapping his shit mad nice. My friends was like if you rapping his shit this nice, why don’t you make your own shit?
How do you feel your Caribbean roots impact your rap music?
$: Just the way I say words, I pay close attention to word placement, flow, what does it mean?
Who would you say really influenced you in rap?
$: I think the people who really molded me was definitely Joey, Earl, and Tyler together. Rocky influenced me but more in the sense of understanding how to seize opportunity. I feel he showed that anybody can do this shit. If he knew me I’m pretty sure he’d fuck with me because we’re into the same shit.
Take me through the process of writing your first song and coming into your own.
$: The thing is I had been making bars in my head since middle school but I was scared to share because you know how middle school is, people put on shows. Then I got to highschool and PurP rapping in the basement and I’m like I could do that shit too! And people was fucking with it. Then I was posting like full verses on Facebook and people were showing wild love to it. I’m still hesitant though as much as people were asking for it I was good with just playing ball. So mid season, Marcus got sick and stayed home for like a week. Before he went home he told us “I’mma go home, I’mma make a whole album, watch.” Of course we ain’t believe it. He left and came back with a whole album, bro. We was like damn Marcus really did it. So after that we were in my same bedroom, having my girl hold the phone and all of us rapping into it. We just took off running after that.
So at this point, what made you really dedicate to this path?
$: So at this point we hit August (the project not the month), it’s like a personal classic of mine. I’m in a relationship, she cheated on me, all my niggas had went away to school. I was depressed. Nae was calling to check on me from school and I didn’t want them to have to do that. So I look on Facebook and I see PurP talking about being bored so I hit him up. I pulled up on him and he was like if you’re sad get on ya rap shit. Some of those verses I already had just saved and then whenever I was sad I just kept writing verses and that’s how my musical journey really started.
“Now I’m not bothered by any of that stuff because August taught me how to vent.”
So what did August mean for you as an artist and as a person?
$: The message of August is everyone has a bad day, week, month, whatever. Now I’m not bothered by any of that stuff because August taught me how to vent. As an artist it’s just a great beginning. I don’t rap the same anymore but it gave me a great foundation.
You mentioned that your sound changed, talk to me about that transformation.
$: When I made August I didn’t really know how I wanted to sound. Now, I started bumping more druggy artists and it spoke to me because I’m the demographic. I started experimenting, micro dosing acid while I was creating, doing shrooms while I was recording, etc.
Where did your sense of style come from?
$: My mom used to dress me a lot so I used to pay attention to fashion a lot. I used to model for gap as a kid but I only remember my mom taking me for photo shoots. My mom used to make my clothes and then I told her how I wanted to dress. Then I started making my own clothes at times.
When it’s all said and done, what do you want the legacy of Verndolla$ to look like?
$: A Queens legend…
