DaForce Dawg leads our December 2025 cover story — a bold voice, a fearless journey, and a sound built for the future.
There’s a stillness behind the eyes of DaForce Dawg — the kind of quiet earned only by those who’ve spent a lifetime listening. To him, music isn’t noise; it’s confession. Every chord remembers his childhood, every lyric forgives it. The man in this frame is more than an artist; he’s proof that rhythm, when lived with honesty, becomes prayer.
The sun leans low across the water, spilling gold over the surface of the marina. A quiet hum of wind brushes past the deck, and somewhere between the ripples and the reflection, DaForce Dawg sits still — eyes half-closed, mind already composing. His shirt reads Unknown Source Music, a symbol of both independence and identity. The world around him slows, but inside, tempo rises. Every silence is a prelude; every thought, a drum waiting to drop.
This isn’t performance. It’s peace. The calm before creation. The kind of moment that belongs entirely to an artist who’s seen the noise, mastered the rhythm, and learned that true power doesn’t shout — it resonates. Before he steps into the next chapter of his journey, before the next record spins or verse unfolds, DaForce lets the sound of stillness remind him where it all began.
For him, music was never an escape — it was a mirror. From childhood jazz chords to global stages, from homemade demos to worldwide collaborations, DaForce Dawg carries the same energy he felt as a boy watching his father play riffs that sounded like prayers. Now, decades later, the rhythm continues — not louder, just clearer.
And with that calm confidence, the story begins.
Dominic LaForce, better known by his artistic alter ego DaForce Dawg, is the kind of artist who reminds the world what timeless truly sounds like. He doesn’t chase the rhythm of trends — he builds new ones. Over decades of music, collaboration, and evolution, DaForce has become one of the most respected independent figures in hip-hop and production, carving his path through consistency, curiosity, and raw creative instinct.
Born into a household alive with jazz, Dominic’s earliest memories are melodies. His father, a gifted guitarist, introduced him to music not through lessons, but through living example — switching effortlessly between left and right-handed play, improvising with a grace that seemed otherworldly to a child watching from the sidelines. That was where DaForce’s fascination with sound began. Before he knew the language of theory, he understood the language of rhythm.
By five, he held his first guitar. By nine, he was behind a drum kit. And by ten, he was forming bands and performing at school talent shows, fearlessly mixing pop, rock, and hip-hop covers with his own early verses. Those formative performances — energetic, innocent, and bold — foreshadowed an artist who would never confine himself to one sound or one scene.
As hip-hop began its cultural takeover in the late 80s and early 90s, DaForce felt at home in its rise. Artists like Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and Eric B. & Rakim weren’t just soundtracks — they were teachers. They taught discipline, courage, and the freedom to fuse worlds. That eclectic foundation would define him forever. By 1994, he released his first single, followed by an EP that hinted at the sonic vision he’d soon perfect — a balance of classic craftsmanship and forward motion.
Today, DaForce’s artistry stands as a bridge between eras — the analog warmth of jazz and funk meeting the digital pulse of modern hip-hop. His catalogue — including Poverty & Riches, Urban Poetry, The Celebration, and the introspective DaForce vs. DaForce Dawg — maps out an artist in continuous dialogue with himself. Where others seek reinvention, DaForce seeks refinement. He studies his past as deeply as he experiments with his future.
Behind the mic, he’s a lyricist of texture and tone; behind the board, he’s a meticulous producer with a craftsman’s patience. His sound has always been described as cinematic — music that doesn’t just play, but moves through you. Whether it’s the sharp storytelling of Survival or the pulse of End of Rhymes, his music lives in emotion, not algorithm. Every project carries purpose. Nothing is accidental.
But DaForce’s creative empire stretches far beyond the studio. As co-owner of Unknown Source Music, a rising Canadian record label, he’s shaping an ecosystem of independent artists built on community rather than competition. The label’s structure — part cooperative, part creative collective — runs on collaboration and mutual growth. With a tight-knit team of professionals and student volunteers, Unknown Source Music operates like a family determined to elevate talent from the ground up.
Among those within the circle is his long-time collaborator and label mate Curtis Dayne, with whom DaForce shares both musical chemistry and mutual respect. Together, they’ve built a recognizable sonic signature that travels easily across radio and festival circuits around the globe. It’s music made for real connection — energetic, honest, and unmistakably theirs.
Even as the industry changes around him, DaForce remains unbothered by trends. He’s aware of how the balance between beats and lyricism has shifted in modern hip-hop — where rhythm often overpowers message — yet he approaches it with quiet acceptance. To him, change is a constant, not a crisis. What matters is authenticity. “Music must still mean something,” he says, a sentiment that guides every creative decision he makes.
And beyond artistry, there’s discipline — the kind that grounds longevity. DaForce runs both his business and his music with structure and simplicity. “Needs before wants,” he often reminds younger artists who seek his advice. His method is rooted in self-respect: protect your art, honor your business, and never lose joy in the process. It’s that balance — between spirit and structure — that has allowed him to sustain his pace for decades.
Offstage, DaForce lives deliberately. He spends time in meditation, reflection, and faith, balancing the intensity of creation with moments of stillness. His inspirations today range from Slick Rick’s storytelling to KRS-One’s philosophy and the sonic clarity of Miguel Caos — artists whose music, like his own, reflects conviction.
As 2025 draws to a close, DaForce stands at another creative peak. He’s preparing to release Warriors Vol. 3 in early 2026, along with an Unknown Source Music documentary series that chronicles the label’s journey from grassroots ambition to global recognition. The upcoming year promises not just new projects, but new perspectives — a continuation of a lifelong dialogue between man, music, and meaning.
When asked what keeps him going after all these years, DaForce doesn’t pause to find an answer — it’s already written into his rhythm. “I make music because I love it,” he says. “I want people to feel it.” That simplicity is his secret: the humility of purpose and the certainty of passion.
His story is proof that authenticity doesn’t age. The boy who once performed at school talent shows, electrified by the crowd’s cheers, has grown into an artist who commands global respect — not through spectacle, but through sincerity. DaForce Dawg is not chasing the next wave; he is the current. His legacy, like his music, doesn’t shout — it resonates.
And as he stands on the cover of Lifoti Magazine’s December 2025 Issue, DaForce Dawg looks not backward, but forward — steady, grounded, and endlessly creative. The journey that began with a child watching his father play jazz in a living room has evolved into a global symphony, one built on love, discipline, and sound that never stops moving.
To understand DaForce fully, one must hear him speak — measured, wise, and full of rhythm even in conversation. The following pages feature our complete exchange with the artist, where every answer feels like a verse and every thought like a lyric in motion.
Q&A with DaForce Dawg
Melissa Ryan: The multifaceted Dominic LaForce aka Daforce — producer, hip-hop artist, actor, entrepreneur, and label owner — has worn many hats. Walk us through your music journey from the beginning to the present. What are the most defining chapters of your life as an artist? For the cover story, give us the line that introduces “DaForce” in your own words.
Daforce Dawg: Daforce ready for the world. As far as I can remember I can here jazz playing in the house Oliver Jones, Wayne Shorter who my dad knew personally , I'd hear my dad playing riffs just like George Benson for hours. I'd watch him switch from playing left handed then switch to right handed with the strings upside down and still play the song the same way. That's how my journey into music began. I wanted to do it all when I was 4. my dad had given me a bass and 2 guitars that he wasn't using only to find out years later the pickups weren't working and one of the guitars the strings on the fret board was too high off the fret board. The only reason I found out was because we were moving across the country so my mom threw the bass and one of the guitars away and I freaked out so she told me the truth.
Melissa Ryan: Your first instruments were guitar at five and drums at nine. When you produce today, what is the first audible decision a listener could point to and say “that is the guitarist in you” or “that is the drummer in you”?
Daforce Dawg: Actually most people don't know me for any playing because the truth is I was always surrounded by great musicians all of them were light years ahead and I said no way I'm competing against people like my dad or Oliver Jones or Wayne Shorter. Plus eventually I'd gravitate to doing hip hop and a Little Rock.
Melissa Ryan: You formed your first band at ten and played school talent shows. What did those early rooms teach you about pacing a performance and holding attention?
Daforce Dawg: Oh wow I kinda was a show off thinking back luckily the adults took it easy on me knowing he's a kid and doesn't know he could be offending someone and plus i didn't hold back from nothing. I'd play all the popular songs like thriller and doves cry i even played Run Dmc's Rock Box and that's when I decided to rap all the kids loved it.
Melissa Ryan: If someone has never heard your music, which keywords would you personally use to describe your overall sound and style?
Daforce Dawg: I'd say something like a melting pot of old souls. Something like the Hulk meets Starwars and they battle it out with the marvel hero's.
Melissa Ryan: Who or what serves as your deepest inspiration — musically and personally — and how do those influences surface in your day-to-day practice?
Daforce Dawg: i have a lot of artist who inspired me deeply from the Temptations to the Beatles, Supremes, Producers Holland Dozier and Smokey Robinson to MJ, Prince, Madonna, Lennon, Rakim, Dmc, Tupac, Daddy Kane, Jimi, Kravitz yup i took it all in and still inspired so many more.
Melissa Ryan: Run DMC, LL Cool J, Eric B and Rakim were foundational for you. Name one lesson you took from each that lives in your writing or production. When you say those artists “became influential” in your music direction, define direction as a set of rules you actually live by. What did they teach you to subtract from a beat? What did they license you to risk in tone and posture? What discipline did they make non negotiable when you step to the mic?
Daforce Dawg: I learned a lot from those 3 names LL showed you to be yourself be the best no matter what people think. Rakim and that supreme confidence and that word scheme has you feeling beat up years later after grasping what he said. And Run Dmc owning that fusion and showing us it's ok to like other music and incorporate it into yours.
Melissa Ryan: Compared to when you started a music career some decades ago, is it easier or harder to be a musician in 2025? Where exactly is the friction now versus then?
Daforce Dawg: I think it's harder now for because many more people are doing the same thing at the same level. Nobody can stand out that far and above like in the past. But technology is easier for artist to grow. But luckily for me I have been able to get more radio play around the world so in that sense it easier than before.
Melissa Ryan: What is the one thing you will not do — ever — in the pursuit of success in music or business?
Daforce Dawg: I will never do something that makes me unhappy. I do music because I love it and want people to feel it.
Melissa Ryan: How central has music been in your life. Were family and friends supportive of this path. If you weren’t a musician today, could you see yourself doing anything else?
Daforce Dawg: Yea of course I was pretty good at sports, I think I'd be in business as I'm in business now. Yes for the most part friends and family are supportive but you have those that take your progress as a personal attack on them like your trying to say your better than them which is stupid in my opinion as a artist you are serving the people entertaining the people you. I'm no better than the people taking care of me. I'm only better than the people that is hating on progress because that's not their choice it's mine.
Melissa Ryan: What is the first thing that comes to your mind when creating a new project? What is the one thing every song must have for it to be solid?
Daforce Dawg: My main thought is what's the purpose and how will people be affected by my choices of words what will the consequences of this or that.
Melissa Ryan: While it’s difficult, can you pick out a few of your favorite songs from your discography ? What was it like producing them and where did the inspiration for them come from exactly? What makes it so meaningful to you?
Daforce Dawg: I like the song survival the name says it all. Working on that song was great because I felt the whole world can relate to that feeling and reality. I like end of rhymes because it's a song about overcoming all odds and it was inspired by Floyd Mayweather. I felt he had to do a lot to prove he's great at what he does.
Daforce Dawg: For daforce vs Daforce dawg i would resequenced it in a way fans would easier understand the meaning of what's happening. In short it's the battle of one person showcasing his art as an artist and battling himself as Daforce dawg and the world seeing that battle. One song from Urban Poetry would be what u talking bout and from the celebration would be end of rhyme.
Melissa Ryan: Do you think music today is enjoyed more for the beats and rhythms or for the lyrical content? Biggest myth about “underground producer” you’ve had to kill?
Daforce Dawg: I think in today's format lyrics and the message is less important and it's more about the beat. Very simple lyrics with simple subject matters and a pulsating beat that's the formula for today. This change, people change it's all part of it. The myth ok well many people we are stuck in the underground and we are not making money and not capable of making commercial music. And we don't understand chord structure and various different modes and styles of music.
Melissa Ryan: Walk us through your first video shoot from setup to final export. What did the camera teach you about breath, blocking, or stage energy that the studio could not?
Daforce Dawg: Well for the video I was ready because of the stage performances I had done as a youngster. A video to me was just another performance video but a polished one. But it is much different than studio work because in the studio their is no visual your performance is in sound only.
Melissa Ryan: If a film director asked for a music-driven role tomorrow, which existing DaForce track could be a character’s motif, and why?
Daforce Dawg: Maybe a song off daforce vs Daforce dawg because it has that theme vibe to it maybe Bad Up it has that vibe a well and maybe dreadful.
Melissa Ryan: You have at least twenty collabs with artists around the world and often work with label mate Curtis Dayne. How does everything work? What do you look for before you agree to a feature or a joint?
Daforce Dawg: My main thing i look for in a collab is what will be the main purpose of doing it and what will I get out of it and what will the world get out of it. Yes working with Curtis is cool because we were able to build a sound around our collabs which is easily recognized by our fans right away. Curtis Dayne's main concern was that our music could play at all kinds of festivals around the world he loves seeing people happy and enjoying his gift to the world.
Melissa Ryan: You are signed to Unknown Source Music and also a part owner. Unknown Source Music looks quite interesting. It is a complete package of a record label. Tell us how the label operates, whether you sign independent artists, how many artists are currently on the roster, and what is the mission of the label today?
Daforce Dawg: The unknown source music is built like a co-op mentality people on the label lend their support to each other that's what the new group called Foundation 6 is built upon that premise. Yes we sign artist who really do this for real and are dedicated to the craft. We have about 12 artist on the roster currently.
Melissa Ryan: You mentioned a core staff of six plus volunteers at Unknown Source Music. Who does what, and how do you keep the machine moving with indie resources?
Daforce Dawg: We have an A&R , we have an office manager, graphic artist, two social media manager, photographer/videographer, plus some student volunteers that help out we keep them happy they promotional tickets, money, tickets to event etc.
Melissa Ryan: What advice would you give a younger musician who is torn between school and studio grind?
Daforce Dawg: I'd alway encourage a musician to stay in school just in case things in life and has a education to fall back on. Music can come after. Unless it's like some unique situation you can't pass up.
Melissa Ryan: You balance music and entrepreneurship. How do you run both at a high level without compromising either?
Daforce Dawg: Very easily , business comes first it's built upon rules and principals as for the music part is the artistic side and created freely. Simply needs come first then wants. You have to be able to afford the wants.
Melissa Ryan: What three songs or albums are living in your playlist this month and why? Pick one and break down a small detail you love like tempo feel, bass movement, or a line that makes you rewind.
Daforce Dawg: I'm listening to Victory by Slick Rick top 1to 5 story tell of all time and he has a calming voice and raps at a pace you feel what he's saying. 2nd temple of hip hop by Krs one and of course he's the ultimate spokes person for hip hop. Lastly Miguel Caos it has that prince like vocals mix with that higher frequency range clarity. The musical changes in the song.
Melissa Ryan: Outside of music, what practice keeps you sharp — reading, film, sport, travel, community work — and how does it translate into measurable creative output?
Daforce Dawg: I think a balance of everything that was mentioned above is what keeps me on point and sharp. I spend a lot of time meditating and praying.
Melissa Ryan: What does the next page in your career trajectory look like? What does the rest of this year and the start of 2026 look like for you? Do you have plans to release more new music or a full album soon? Are you currently working on new projects?
Daforce Dawg: Yes we will be releasing a new mixtape warriors vol 3 for 2026 and hopefully a 20mins unknown source music documentary series 1.
Melissa Ryan: You've always championed music. Seeing you on this cover has a direct impact on readers. So, do you have any final recommendations or a message for Lifoti and its readers to check out?
Daforce Dawg: I'd like to deeply thank you for the opportunity to talk about my music to the world and thank you Lifoti for your contribution to the world.
• • •
With Issue 23, Lifoti Magazine continues its promise to elevate voices, honor craft, and deliver culture with intention. As the year ends, this issue stands as a reminder that true artistry comes from depth, longevity, and the willingness to evolve without losing one’s center. For anyone who loves music, film, fashion, literature, or the unshakable spirit of creative pursuit, this edition is not just a release—it is an experience. Readers are invited to explore the full journey, immerse themselves in every story, and witness the harmony of perspectives that define this December volume. The complete issue is now available online, and we warmly encourage every reader to spend time with it, to share it, and to support the artists and storytellers who make each page meaningful. Dive into Issue 23 at the official link, and let its rhythm carry you into the new year.
Printed Edition: Get your December 2025 Issue 23 delivered — order your printed copy here
Digital Edition: Instantly access the full magazine — download the digital PDF here
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