This week in Freak Scene, we catch up with Gabriel Aviv, also known as Dome Lettuce, and sometimes Podrepus. The Western Mass. rapper and producer tells us how he got his start, and why he thinks hip-hop doesn’t get the credit it’s due around here.

Gabriel Aviv is nearly always making music: he’s rapping under the name Dome Lettuce, or DJing as Podrepus, or playing in a handful of other bands he’s part of.

With the release of Stonebottom in June, Aviv has put out more than a dozen LPs and EPs as Dome Lettuce since his first release in 2020, along with a bunch of singles that showcase his ever-advancing lyrical flow and skill as a producer. As Podrepus, he has released three albums of more electronic-tinted music, including last month’s Some Club Songs.

Dome LettuceStonebottom

Aviv, 23, has been immersed in music since he was a teenager, splitting time between his mom’s house in Northampton and his dad’s place in Easthampton. Now entering his last semester of college, at Hampshire, Aviv would love for music to become a career, but in this (lightly edited) Q&A, he says that making music is its own reward.

What's the origin of the name Dome Lettuce?

Dome refers to head. Lettuce refers to weed. Dome Lettuce equals pot head, weed head etc. Not so clever but in my defense, I was 17. I think it’s catchy though.

Dome LettuceCHOPSZN

What inspired you to want to rap?

I started writing raps casually when I was like 13 or 14, but didn’t start really recording them until I was 15. At this point I was mostly just inspired by my favorite rappers and felt compelled to try rapping myself as I had already been making beats for a number of years. By the time I was 16, however, I had started to understand how I could use rap as a tool for me to address and cope with the issues I was dealing with in my real life and it was at this time that I really started to take rapping seriously, finally beginning to release my music publicly on Soundcloud. Some of the artists who really inspired me to take rapping more seriously include people like Danny Brown, Earl Sweatshirt and Freddie Gibbs, just to name a few.

What differentiates Dome Lettuce from Podrepus?

Dome Lettuce is my main musical project that I put the most time into and it’s the vehicle through which I release my original hip-hop recordings. Podrepus is more of a side project through which I release more dance or electronic type stuff and is also the name under which I DJ parties and other events. I started producing music before I started rapping and initially, I was making more electronic-type stuff before I began to gravitate toward hip-hop, and my passion for that music never went away however it wasn’t until a few years ago that I started publicly releasing the electronic stuff I had been working on.

podrepusSome Club Songs

You're very prolific. Can you describe your creative process?

I spend most of my time and energy making music. My ultimate goal is to turn music into a career but the truth is I really am making for the sake of making. I just can’t seem to go longer than a day or two without creating before I start to feel depressed. Sometimes I go into the process of creating with a clear plan in mind but more often than not I just follow my ears and over time the project I’m working on takes shape naturally. I’m usually working on lots of different things at once actually. Right now, I have like four different Dome Lettuce projects I’m working on, and then like five other albums under various other acts, including Podrepus as well as a couple different bands that I’m a part of.

Hip-hop in Western Mass. isn't as visible as other kinds of music. What's the scene like?

There are a decent number of people out here who make hip-hop but unfortunately the venues seem reluctant to book hip-hop shows, which makes fostering a real community quite difficult. It’s really frustrating because to me it feels like a reflection of the fact that even in a “progressive area” such as Western Massachusetts, there remains a population who refuse to acknowledge hip-hop as a genuine and valid form of art, equally (if not more, considering its cultural relevancy) deserving of space and attention as other genres like rock and folk that seem to receive never-ending support from the local community. Part of me likes to think that if my music really takes off, I can help change this fact though. And shoutout to all the local heads out here who stay dedicated to hip-hop despite this ongoing hostility. The music is more important than anything else and I believe that eventually our community will receive more widespread recognition.

That’s it for this week! I’m away, so we’ll catch up on new concert announcements when I’m back. In the meantime, previous issues are available in the online archive. Freak Scene is free, but donations help make this happen and are gratefully accepted. If you’re able, please consider a paid subscription!

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