What is Dominic Fike’s ethnicity? Everything we know about his parents

Dominic Fike

Dominic Fike has come a long way from making music in his bedroom and uploading it on SoundCloud to landing a multi-million-dollar record deal with Columbia Records. To some, it may appear as if the musician has reached too high too fast but that was hardly the case.

On the contrary, the road to success hadn’t been easy for Fike as he grew up in a difficult household and has a complicated relationship with his parents. Though it is unknown how the family dynamic fares today, there is no denying of the trials and tribulations he has faced.

Hence, this article will offer details about Dominic Fike’s ethnicity and his parents.

Dominic Fike is of Haitian and Filipino descent; he is half-black and half-Asian

Dominic Fike and his mother
Dominic Fike and his mother

Dominic David Fike was born on 30th December 1995 in Naples, Florida, and is of American nationality. The discussion around Fike’s racial identity came into being when his profuse use of the N-word in his early raps subjected him to immense backlash from listeners who questioned his race.

Fike has since clarified that he is of African-American and Filipino descent as one of his parents has roots in Haiti and the other hails from the Philippines. Therefore, he is of African and Asian ethnicity.

Though details about his parents are relatively private, Fike has made it known about the absence of parental figures for most of his life. While his mother’s addiction to drugs and struggle with substance abuse often landed her in jail, his father was neglectful of his family.

In a 2019 interview with Complex, Fike says; “Most of the male figures in my life were real shitty. People that I was supposed to call ‘dad’, they were real shitty to [my mother], to us.”

Growing up without proper parental guidance, Fike took on the responsibility of looking after his younger siblings, Alex (brother) and Apollonia (sister), when his parents were not available. He also had two elder brothers who would sometimes take care of him.

Dominic Fike

Fike’s much-awaited debut EP Don’t Forget About Me, Damos was set to re-release on October 16th, 2018. However, the date was not just slated for his debut, it was also the day he would be driving his mother to jail as she was required to serve out a jail sentence on drug-related charges.

It is known that Fike specifically chose the date coinciding with the two events to connect his future endeavors with his past, as a reminder of why he is pursuing his career. He states his reason as;

“Yeah, the day I released the tape, I had to take my mom to jail for two years. So that’s what happened that day…The point of it was, ‘Don’t forget about mom’. She just got transferred to prison, so right now she can get an Ipad and listen to us.”

This was not the first-time occurrence, as Complex reports that his mother was “incarcerated throughout his middle school years”. Describing his home life with his mother, he says;

“I lived with this f*cking lady that was a super crackhead. When my mom was sending money for me to get shit for school, she’d spend it on drugs and I didn’t know. That’s why we didn’t have A/C for like a year.”

Thus, Fike was exposed to drug usage from his young days and had a difficult childhood.

Dominic’s first paycheck was used to hire a lawyer for his mother

Dominic with his mother

In December 2017, while Fike was under house arrest for assaulting a police officer, he released the EP Don’t Forget About Me, Demos. One way or another, label executives stumbled upon the EP and found Dominic’s output to be highly promising. So, there ensued a bidding war among various label records to sign a deal with Fike.

According to Nick Wyatt, Fike “went with the highest bidder” to provide for his family, especially for his mother. Consequently, he signed with Columbia Records for $4 million.

“I really needed money for [my mom’s] lawyer, straight up. That’s why we couldn’t settle… It was like now or never, they gotta get some crazy amount of money.” He told the Complex.

Dominic used the first paycheck he received from Columbia Records to hire a lawyer for his mother to help in reducing her jail time. She was subsequently sentenced to two years in prison.

Furthermore, Fike’s song ‘Babydoll’, which is the third track on his debut EP, has references to his estranged father and his mother’s struggle with drug abuse. The lyrics give a little insight into his family life as he sings;

“Find me on Miami concrete/Lookin’ for somebody different ‘cause my daddy was a pimp/My mama had her issues but I miss her anyway”