Music has always been known and used to bring people together, helping create bonds through a human experience. Playing music, such as the drums and the bass guitar, since he was three or four years old, Dominick Cole, senior, knows just how powerful music can be.

“Music has always been a part of my life; my family is extremely musical, and both of my parents are proficient in both voice and instrumentation. All of my aunts and uncles can either sing or play an instrument, so music is just kind of in my blood,” Cole said.

“Dominick’s interest in music began as a young child. Around the age of two he would dance around to what are now old 90’s R&B songs. He was never off beat, even as a toddler, and he would try to mimic the sounds of the artist, whether it be the singer’s voice, or the music itself. Watching him grow up it showed me that he doesn’t just enjoy music, but music resides inside of him,” Candice Cole, Dominick’s mother, said.

Cole not only plays instruments, but also writes all of the songs that he produces. He attributes the inspiration for his songs to the experiences that he lives through every day. “I don’t look to someone else and ask for their lifestyle as my inspiration; anything that I have rapped before is something that has been personal or close to me,” Cole said.

As far as musical inspiration in terms of hip-hop, Kendrick Lamar is among Cole’s favorite due to his “insane lyrical ability.” Other influences include Big K.R.I.T. and Wiz Khalifa because they keep their music down to earth.

He does not like to stigmatize his music under any specific genre because of all the different elements that he puts into his songs, but if he had to pick, it would be a fusion of hip-hop, rap, and R&B. With no specific crowd or generation in mind Cole says, “I want my audience to be the 12 year old kid that doesn’t know what he’s going to do the next day at school, all the way to the 55 year old man that’s struggling with his wife at home.”

Some of the songs that he writes are just for fun, but others have a more significant meaning. His song “Alive” talks about never letting anyone kill creativity because once that is gone, he asks what the purpose of life is.

Metro Boomin and Mike Will Made It are some of Cole’s favorite music producers because their productions are innovative and widely loved. “If you turn on the radio to any hip-hop station those producers have probably made 60 percent of the songs you hear,” Cole said.

Cole’s favorite song that he has written so far is “Lights On” because it is a fun and open song that both men and women would be interested in listening to.

According to Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, “Education in the arts is more important than ever. In the global economy, creativity is essential. Today’s workers need more than just skills and knowledge to be productive and innovative participants. To succeed today and in the future, America’s children will need to be inventive, resourceful and imaginative.”

For Cole, creativity proves to not be a problem because he shows his creativity by coming up with all of his songs. “I write every song that I sing because it wouldn’t be real for me if I didn’t make the song. I am my own artist, and I feel like music should come from a single person rather than a group if it’s going to be real, and you’re going to touch people.”

This past New Year’s Eve, Cole performed his songs at Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee in front of about 1,500 people. “It was my first real show where I felt like I was making a major connection with the crowd,” Cole said.

All of Cole’s music is available to download from SoundCloud, but his songs are not available for purchase yet because he is dealing with some music contracts right now. He also believes that it is more important to build up his name now, and then the money will come later.

Looking to the future, Candice Cole said, “Being a mother, I want to see that whatever Dom does, he is happy and successful in doing it, and if it happens to be music then so be it. Dominick is very smart and talented, and whatever he puts his heart, mind and effort towards, while being humble and hardworking, he has no other option than to be successful.”

To listen to all of his music click here, or go to SoundCloud and search Rex Cole.

Featured below are short samples of four of Cole’s songs: “Embody Peace,” “Road Dogs,” “Alive” and “90’s Babies.”