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SiR 2019

SiR

Photo: Christian San Jose

News
SiR Is 'Chasing Summer' & Making Dreams Reality sir-chasing-summer-and-little-help-kendrick-lamar-others-making-his-dreams-reality

SiR Is 'Chasing Summer' And, With A Little Help From Kendrick Lamar & Others, Making His Dreams Reality

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"It feels different, it feels evolved and it feels like a great direction. And I'm really proud of the work to say the least," the Inglewood singer/producer says of his vibey new album 
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 24, 2019 - 3:08 pm

You may have already jammed out to SiR's big 2019 summer mood single, "Hair Down," featuring the one and only Kendrick Lamar. If so, you already have a good starting place for understanding who the smooth R&B singer/producer, born Sir Darryl Farris, from Inglewood is. The vibey track is driven by SiR's warm, rich vocals over a slow-bubbling trap beat, elevated even further into the golden summer sunset by Lamar's verse. It's confident but laid-back—two words which also describe the artist himself well—a true slow-burn of a fire track.

"Hair Down" is the first track and the lead single to SiR's third album, Chasing Summer, which he dropped during Labor Day Weekend, on Aug. 30. It is his second LP released since he was signed to heavy-hitting Los Angeles label Top Dawg Entertainment. As he explains, it sets the tone for the rest of the album and also marks a major point of growth in his musical career and self-confidence.

"This time I was more direct about what I wanted, and I think that's huge. Your intentions when you go into things have to be put in the forefront if it's important. So this time around when I went into sessions, I was very vocal about exactly what I wanted, and the sessions went a lot better when I did that," he recently told the Recording Academy over the phone.

You recently dropped Chasing Summer, which is just such a perfect mood as summer comes to an end. What has the experience of this release felt like for you?

Man, it's one of a kind. Being the type musician I am, I'm very involved with each release, and this one feels different than the last two. Everybody around me was locked in, not just me. All the musicians and all of my team, my management had the common goals set almost a year ago, and just were building on this idea. So, it feels different, it feels evolved and it feels like a great direction. And I'm really proud of the work to say the least.

That's amazing, and I'm sure that's a really just great feeling to sort of be marinating in right now.

Yeah. It's awesome. It's definitely new territory for me. I'm just trying to keep up with myself now, which is fun.

 "It's a very honest album, and I think that's a big reason why people gravitate towards it because I didn't really hold back this time around. I kind of made sure I was as honest as I could be and I think that's shining through for sure."

I love that. Can you speak to what your main vision for this album was?

The vision for the album is, it was all based off of my life on the road and all my experiences that I had accumulated over the last three or four years. With seeing my peers and just dealing with personal relationships, business relationships and trying to balance home and the road, and just my evolution as a human. I kind of put a lot of it into wax. It's a very honest album, and I think that's a big reason why people gravitate towards it because I didn't really hold back this time around. I kind of made sure I was as honest as I could be and I think that's shining through for sure.

I feel like it really does. I wanted to talk about the producers on the album. You worked with a handful of different people including Kal Banx and Sounwave from TDE as well as Boi-1da and a few others. How do you feel that working with these different creative minds helped challenge you and shape the trajectory of the album?

I'm going to answer this question, but I have a very specific thing about me that I really like. I work with people that want to work with me, so I don't chase beats; there's no rhyme or scheme. I didn't select certain people. I just put my head down and kept writing songs until we felt like we had a body of work. And then, what I do with most of my production is I'll get players to come in and add actual instrumentation to a good beat so that it has more life to it. I'm hands-on with all my mixes and masters. With all of the production, I was blessed to have really talented musicians around to help just elevate the sound, and I think that helps so much, man.

Working with cats like Boi-1da was an honor, of course, but I wouldn't hold him in higher regard than I would a Kal Banx, who damn near had six records on the album that he helped me produce and work on. So, I feel like everybody added their own sauce to it and it ended up being way bigger than I expected. But as far as like who produced what, I think that's not as important as the overall body of work, and we all knew that. With Kal, he wasn't worried when I told him I got a new base plate on the recipe. He didn't ask any questions, he just knew it was going to be saucy. You know what I mean?

I think, like I said, we all had a common goal. Once I laid out the plan and the vision for everybody, they were on board. So, we went into the every session with a specific goal in mind and we executed properly and I think it's going to pay off for all of us in the long run. I'm so excited for Kal. I'm excited to share this moment with him and see the response to his hard work, and it's all a blessing, really and truly.

It really seems like it was everything you would hope for in the studio, that everything is moving forward and flowing together, even with all the different people.

Yeah. I learned a lot from November and just how I kind of let a lot of people in the process in certain points where I didn't really necessarily mean to. This time I was more direct about what I wanted, and I think that's huge. Your intentions when you go into things have to be put in the forefront if it's important.

So this time around when I went into sessions, I was very vocal about exactly what I wanted, and the sessions went a lot better when I did that, and I think that helped give people an idea of what they should be doing when they come around. If you're a producer, I might not need you to make a whole beat, but I might need you to make these drums, or I might need you to play keys. Just be prepared to translate what I need, I'm not coming to you to get what you need. I produce myself, so I think this time around I was able to really fine-tune things the way I like, and it shows, man. This is my baby for sure. I feel like this is a very special project.

The album opens with "Hair Down," featuring Kendrick Lamar, which you also released as the lead single. Can you give a little bit of the backstory on that song and video and what it was like working with him?

That was probably the first song I wrote for the album that we were probably going use as a single. We usually don't try to shoot for singles, you know what I mean? When we're building a project, we'll make sure that the songs can all stand on their own two legs. As soon as I did that one, it just felt like what I wanted the album to look like, and to me it was the perfect starting point. It was the perfect launch point for what we were trying to accomplish, and I didn't get the [Lamar] verse until two months ago or something like that. I wrote that song probably a year ago while we were on the road at [TDE's 2018] Championship Tour.

That's not something you ask for. It was something that we talked about, but that's not something that you ask for. It's like the Jill Scott thing, I didn't really ask for that. You got to let them make that decision. I think with working with artists like Kendrick, Jill Scott and Lil Wayne, it's a blessing and I think I do everything I can to just make myself someone that people want to work with. I think I do a good job of standing on my own two feet, and that's something that I had to embrace over the last two years.

Just working with your idols is always awkward. It's weird. I met [Childish] Gambino at the BET awards. I wish I could take that back because it was so awkward, you know what I mean? And I still go through the everyday life stuff of I'm human and if I see somebody that I'm not used to seeing, it's going to be weird. This year, I had to really step outside of that and become SiR, and really accept that. I think it shined through when I sat and talked to people about the project, they were more open to it because I was more confident in myself, and that really helped a lot, just giving me that confidence. [Lamar's] conversations are more important to me than that verse ever will be. I'm appreciative of the verse for sure, but I can really say that's my mentor. This dude really takes care of his team and really cares about us, man. So, it's definitely a blessing to have him on deck.

And what would you say the biggest thing you learned from the collaborators on this project?

Spread love. Because I feel like most of them, they didn't have to do what they did. Miss Jill, she's getting so much love on her acting career, as she should be. She really doesn't need to feature on anything. All of these artists, they got their own things. People are looking for them and checking for them.

When I get on, if I'm ever in a position to bless somebody, and I feel like they are working hard and they've got their thing together, I definitely would want to be what they are to me. I'd want to be a blessing and give back to the community. They see that I'm a part of the same community, I have the same common goal with music. It's not me trying to get on or be a flashy type. It's not that. I really care about the music. So, I think they saw that and they wanted to reciprocate the same kind of love I'm trying to get off it.

That's all it's really about, is spreading love and giving back to what you want to see thrive and flourish. And I think they really see something in what we got going, and I was just lucky. I really feel like it's the right place at the right time, but I don't want to make it that simple. But I feel like they really are just spreading love, man, and they blessed me. I'm still in shock. I can't really process it. It's all new territory for me. It's lovely though. I don't take it for granted.

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How would you describe the L.A. music community now? From that explanation, it sounds very supportive and nurturing, but I'm interested in your perspective, whether it's just like that with TDE or just in your experience with who you've worked with.

L.A. is a weird place. It's very divided, with the people that are actually from L.A. to the people that come out here and claim L.A. The music industry's a weird place in general. I'm from L.A., so I definitely abide by the L.A. rules before I abide by the music industry rules. But when it comes to the music scene, there's a small community. What I'm learning is the further along I go in my career, the community gets smaller and smaller, and that's a great thing. You find people that are like-minded, and you got to let some friends go sometimes.

But for the most part, the goal is to find common ground that you can really build on. And I feel like I've found my community of people, from Mind Design to Kiefer to D.K. the Punisher to Kal Banx to all of my musician friends, The Catalyst, my band. My brothers, and just all of the musicians that I've been working with for the last 10 years, I still work with the same cats. L.A. is small, it's big, but at the time it's small, and I really want to keep it that way. I'd appreciate it if it stayed that way.

What does that summer mood look and sound like to you?

Well, summer mood has that sunset tint to it. It's like, to me, this album is best listened to riding down Malibu about six o'clock sunset. That's the vibe. I'm a Cali kid through and through, and I hope it translates through with the music. I think we hit it on the ball. If you want a glimpse at what summer's supposed to be, just take a listen to the album, close your eyes, and it should do the trick.

Stepping back, who are your biggest influences?

Oh man, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway. These are people that my mother listened to when I was growing up. I grew up in the church, so I love Fred Hammond and Noel Jones. I don't know if you know who Noel Jones is, he's a preacher from L.A., his voice is so crazy. My mom sang background for Chaka Khan back in the day, and Michael Jackson. So, I grew up with an ear to R&B for sure, from the '60s, '70s, '80s. Of course I have hip-hop influences, but my spectrum is wide. We could have a 30 minute conversation about all the music I listen to, I promise you.

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of The Beatles. "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" has been on repeat for a couple of weeks, then Innervisions [Wonder's 1973 album]. I go back and forth between [Wonder's] Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. Then, my real guilty pleasure is John Mayer, I'm a huge fan.

I love it.

I think with music, and this is my advice to young people, it's like careers almost, you won't know what you want until you taste a few things. I think Gary Gee says that. You got to taste things to know what you want to be. I feel like music is like that too. You can't just listen to country music because you're from the South. You've got to listen to something else just to try it. You don't know, you might like classical music. If you never listen, you will never know.

I did a lot of that when I was younger and I found my vibes for sure. But I listened to some stuff that people probably wouldn't expect. But I think that helps to shape me as a musician in general. I definitely don't shy away from exploring and trying to find different vibes that I really like. One of the most fun parts about music to me, is exploring and finding new things that you never would expect you to enjoy, you know? So, yeah, my spectrum is wide, it's a rainbow for sure.

Growing up in a musical family, how do you feel like that impacted your journey to becoming an artist?

I can't really explain it because it's weird for me to be the artist in my family. I still wake up and kind of laugh because I never expected this. When I was younger, I didn't want to do music. When I was 14, my mom would make us sing in church every Sunday, and I got sick of it. That's when I kind of decided I didn't want to do music. I went on about my life, at about 19, 20 started working dumba** jobs and that turned into me wanting to find something that I was passionate about, and turns out it music was it all along. I had to step away to kind of find it for myself.

But I started really getting serious about music when I was 22, and then I ended up going to school, graduated in 2011 from film school, and just never looked back from there. I think that was what I needed was to really find it for myself, because my brothers' all sing or write songs, and my mother is still active in the industry, and they always said it was what we needed to be doing. I just had to see it for myself and I think that made me a better musician. My life experiences helped shape how I write songs. I appreciate my time away from music, but also I'm glad I found my way back because I don't know what I'd be if I wasn't a musician. I'd probably be—let's not even talk about that.

I'm blessed. My family is amazing. My brother is an amazing singer/songwriter. My older brother Daniel, he's an amazing rapper and he's the writer, and we're all supportive of each other. I know that I probably wouldn't be where I am today without the support of my family and them pushing me to be a better writer and a better musician.



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Smile. : @jackmckain

A post shared by SiR (@inglewoodsir) on Sep 21, 2019 at 2:56pm PDT

You come back to where you're supposed to be at some point. You touched on it a little when you talked about your influences, but what advice do you have for younger people that have a passion for music but aren't really sure where to start to pursue music professionally?

Don't be afraid to be wack. Don't be afraid to fall on your a**. You got to start somewhere. But it's just like anything else in life, and I could preach this to the ends of the earth. It doesn't matter what you decide to do or when you decide to do it, but it's about staying dedicated to it and really working at what you want. If you want something then put it in the universe. Write it on a piece of paper, say it every day when you wake up and just don't worry about when it's going to happen. Just keep working.

I think that's the best thing I ever did for myself. I put my head down, I shut the f*** up and I worked for five years on music, and didn't try to release anything, didn't try to do anything. I got to the point where I was so ready to go that I had three projects worth of music ready to go, and we started with Seven Sundays and from there worked our way into being with TDE and all that.

I really developed my craft first and made sure I was confident in what I wanted to hear. So, I think for anybody that wants it, just don't be afraid to fail, and keep working at it. It's not easy, none of this is. But I feel like if you want something, you can just really work at it and it'll come. You just got to be willing to f***ing eat dirt and mud for a little bit. Eventually, hard work pays off, no matter what you do. If you want to sell ice cream, sell ice cream every day. Get up, get your cones right, make sure your freezer's at the right temperature, make sure your music's playing and hit the block and get on that ice cream.

Janet Jackson's Iconic 'Rhythm Nation 1814' Turns 30 Today & We Still Have Work To Do

Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith & Jay Rock

Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith & Jay Rock

Photo: Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Interscope

News
TDE Concert & Toy Drive Is On Dec. 18 tde-holiday-concert-toy-drive-feature-performances-kendrick-lamar-jay-rock-sza-more

TDE Holiday Concert & Toy Drive To Feature Performances From Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, SZA & More

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The legendary L.A. hip-hop label, home to Kendrick Lamar, SiR, ScHoolboy Q, SZA, Jay Rock and more, kicks off their sixth annual community-centered, donation-based concert and community day on Dec. 18
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 17, 2019 - 1:38 pm

Today, heavy-hitting Los Angeles hip-hop label Top Dawg Entertainment announced the details for their sixth annual holiday concert and toy drive. The two-day, community-focused event will take place at Nickerson Gardens in Watts, with the TDE artist-led concert taking place tomorrow, Weds., Dec. 18, followed by a "Local Community Day" on Dec. 19.

According to a press release, the donation-based concert will feature "performances from TDE's entire roster and surprise guests." The epic TDE roster is made up of GRAMMY winners Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, past GRAMMY nominees ScHoolboy Q, SZA, Ab-Soul, as well as powerhouses SiR, Isaiah Rashad, Lance Skiiiwalker, Zacari and REASON. Last year's special guests included past nominee Travis Scott.

https://twitter.com/TopDawgEnt/status/1204874970024665088

🎅🏾🎄6TH ANNUAL TDE XMAS🎄

WED 12/18 • GATES OPEN @ 11AM

BRING AN UNWRAPPED GIFT FOR FREE ADMISSION.🎁🎁🎁 #TDEXMAS19 pic.twitter.com/iX8JFSrjUa

— TOP DAWG ENT (@TopDawgEnt) December 11, 2019

Gates for the special show open at 11 am tomorrow; TDE asks that attendees bring an unwrapped gift for free admission and notes that "any and all donations" will be accepted to share with those in need in the local community.

Read: SiR Is 'Chasing Summer' And, With A Little Help From Kendrick Lamar & Others, Making His Dreams Reality

"The annual event is embedded into the ethos of the L.A. label and extremely important to TDE as it focuses on giving back to the same community and neighborhood that gave TDE CEO Anthony 'Top Dawg' Tiffith and many others in the TDE family their start," the press release notes.

Nickerson Gardens is a large, long-standing affordable housing community in Watts, a neighborhood that has historically been on the frontlines of racist policies, heavy policing, gang violence and income inequality. In addition to Tiffith, fellow TDE leader Punch, as well as Jay Rock, grew up in Nickerson Gardens. 

Day two of the event focuses on bringing as many people as possible in Nickerson Gardens with holiday cheer and hope.

"The annual Community Day provides the Nickerson Gardens community with things that all children and families should have around the holidays, such as gifts, clothing and food. Above all else, the annual event provides the community with hope and real-life examples in the artists and people who make up the TDE family that no matter where you come from, you can do something positive and put yourself in the position to give back to your community," the press release continues.    

"TDE encourages everyone who attends the event to respect the neighborhood and residents and work toward continuing to foster community by volunteering/getting involved and just having a good time when you show up."

Jay Rock One-On-One Interview | 2019 GRAMMYs

The concert and toy drive will happen concurrently on Dec. 18, with gates opening at 11:00 am. Exact start time or lineup (although TDE confirmed all of their artists will perform) details have not been shared yet; you'll have to show up with a donation and see for yourself. The Local Community Day follows on Thurs., Dec. 19 and will take place from 10:00 am–6:00 pm. Both events will take place at William Nickerson Recreation Center, 1590 E 114th St, Los Angeles, Calif. 90059.

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Brandon Lucas

Brandon Lucas

Photo: Tony Bee

News
Brandon Lucas On Hope, Dr. Cornel West & New Label brandon-lucas-talks-staying-hopeful-working-dr-cornel-west-empowering-dance-producers

Brandon Lucas Talks Staying Hopeful, Working With Dr. Cornel West & Empowering Dance Producers Of Color

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GRAMMY.com recently chatted with the Inglewood-born singer/producer, who shared nuggets of wisdom from working with Dr. Cornel West, his vision for his new label, the music that moves him and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 9, 2020 - 4:50 pm

One might not expect activist/author/scholar Dr. Cornel West to put out house music bangers, but thanks to singer/producer Brandon Lucas, this is one gift the craziness of 2020 has brought us. For the debut release on Lucas' Purple Label Sound imprint, "Got That Hope" features a much-needed inspirational sermon from West set to a pulsing, energetic house bass line and echoed by Lucas' enchanting vocals.

It's the debut dance track from the Inglewood-born artist, who got his start singing in his local gospel choir and later in an R&B group. He first worked with West around 2008, helping him bring his powerful words online and into the digital space. They will be releasing more music together next year, as part of their shared vision to honor dance music's Black roots. This is also the mission of Purple Label Sound, to uplift fellow up-and-coming house music producers of color and bring in more a diverse audience with it.

"You can't talk about the great funk tradition without talking about house, techno music, all different kind of bodies—straight, queer, trans, all connected through the depths of their humanity and allowing what is inside of their souls to overflow. That is what the rave is all about. That is what the groove is all about," West said in a press release for the song.

Brandon Lucas · Got That Hope - Extended (feat. Cornel West)

Read: How Contemporary Musicians Are Embracing The Spoken Word Album

GRAMMY.com chatted with Lucas right before he delivered a killer debut [virtual] festival set for Rave The Vote, a star-studded voter engagement concert series aimed at mobilizing the dance music community. He shared nuggets of wisdom from West, his vision for the label, the music that moves him and more.

So, you recently released your debut single, "Got That Hope," with none other than Dr. Cornel West. Amazing! What is the message and feeling that you hope listeners get when they hear it?

Music, I think, is a medium that crosses cultures and languages and color lines and political stances, and it brings people together. This song is a message of hope. And during this unprecedented time of literal craziness, it's something to get people moving and grooving and all that beautiful stuff, because you have to find the joy in your struggle to even get through it. So that's what this song is about, but also giving people that stimulus like "Hey, there can be some hope," and getting them to move into that mode.

Whatever you went through during this pandemic, whether it's been good or bad, whether you're affected by the political climate and the racial strife, I think that everyone is exhausted right now. Dr. West always says, "I'm not an optimist, but I'm a prisoner of hope." It's basically saying "Hey, I don't see anything that's going great right now, but I'm going to stay hopeful because that's the only thing that's going to sustain us."

I love that. It's real.

Right? I'm telling you, it's real. And by the way, not to talk too much and not get to your questions, but I created this music at the top of the pandemic, around March. And I was talking to Dr. West yesterday, he reminded me, he was like, "Brother, you remember when you told me you were with your friends in the desert?" And this is when it was hot on the streets, on Fairfax and Beverly where I live, it was going down. And my friends who were semi-public figures, they were like, "Brandon, there's protests." And I couldn't even go home because there was a curfew, but I just felt convicted being in the middle of the desert with my White friends just chilling, while they were not thinking about it.

Fast forward to a couple days after, I wrote him a letter about it, I told him what was going on, everyone was so amazing, this awakening I think has been so powerful for many people across political lines and racial lines. I think that this song of hope brings everyone together in that mindset, because we are so divisive, we need something that pushes us together.

Can you tell me more about Dr. Cornel West's lines in it?

He says, "Still got that hope in you, but you don't talk about the hope, you enact the hope. And it's in your music, that is the blues, a narrative of a catastrophe lyrically expressed but doesn't allow the catastrophe to have the last word."

Okay, so I started working with Dr. West back in 2008, 2007, something like that. And this is when he first came out with his book Hope on a Tightrope. Hope has been a part of his messaging for a long time. Right now, in the news he talks about how he feels that Biden is a neo-liberal disaster, and Trump is a neo-fascist catastrophe. This is Dr. West. He does not hold back how he feels, and he's going to tell it like it is no matter who it is, you know?

But to that point, we can't let catastrophe have the last word. You're going to go through things. Bringing it back to house music, house comes from that black music tradition where these people from cast-out communities would come to warehouses to party all night and to let that funk out, right? These are your Black, brown, and a lot of queer communities coming together, and the roots of the Black tradition is letting that suffering speak through your music. And we've seen that throughout history. With my music and with this label that we're launching, Purple Label Sound, we hope to bring that back in a meaningful way for house music, in a way that makes sense and that's been in the Black tradition for years.

I would say the Black tradition is the American tradition. It's very American. So it's not really a racial thing, it's really about bringing us back to the roots of who we are with this music, and adding that extra culture to it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGAuUUXpGMe

GRAMMYs

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I want to talk more about dance music's roots. As you said, it was created by Black, brown, and queer people—and that's not necessarily reflected in the overall space currently. How do you believe that the dance community as a whole can better celebrate, honor and return to its roots?

In the same way I think a lot of industries should. But, to that point, I feel that the dance community is one of the most inclusive communities that I know. I've been doing music and been in the entertainment world for years. I'm from L.A., from Inglewood, so I've been in it. I grew up in the gospel church, and in the R&B world. I was signed to an R&B group back in the day, I did that whole boy band thing.

But when I found house music, around 2010 or so, I found these communities to be so inclusive and so welcoming, the people all the time that you meet in it. It's a beautiful thing. So, to that point, I think that the dance community is in a unique position to do it, but it takes stepping outside of your comfort zone. It takes doing that work to go outside of just who your friends are. A lot of times, your friends don't look like you just because of where you live and who you're about, you know?

And there are a lot of amazing Black Americans or Europeans from the African diaspora who have been killing it for years in the dance industry, like Jamie Jones, Seth Troxler, and the other giants. They get the recognition. Because they've been in it, those of us who are also in it now are a little bit more digestible to people. I think, just like a lot of communities, that unconscious bias runs through, that people don't think about. People who are good people, who are not racist, just go for who makes you feel comfortable, who are your friends. And that's it.

So, with this label, we're going to be a little bit more intentional about—and it's not exclusively Black and brown artists, by the way, but it's what we're focusing on—marketing our artists in a way that I know that these artists of color should be marketed. It can't be cookie cutter. We're going to do it in the traditions of the Bad Boys, the No Limits and the Cash Moneys—the way dance music is marketed today is not the only way.

I honestly feel that most Black people today, when they think of EDM or deep house or house music, they just think "oh, that's techno." A lot of them don't have any clue that it came from us. That's because what gets put on a pedestal, what gets pushed out there to the mainstream, is not what sparks their ears. And by the way, urban music, Black music, the biggest market [today] for that music is White people. So it's not like if we push more of an urban voice in the dance community that it's not for everybody—it's going to be for everybody. It's just making it more accessible to ears who are more used to a more urban thing. That's it.

Read: Aluna On New Album 'Renaissance' & Making Dance Music Inclusive Again

This has me thinking of a really great conversation I had with Aluna recently—I love her and I'm super inspired by what she's doing now as a solo artist.

She's awesome.

She talked about how she, as a Black woman, felt like an outsider in the dance world even though she was part of a duo putting out big dance hits. Once she learned who first created dance music, she realized it's the way things are being marketed and who's being pushed to the top, and she wanted to change it. And she talked about seeing one or two Black girls dancing in the front at their shows, so she was asked "Where are the other Black girls and what can I do to make this feel more inclusive?"

Well, to that point, I know a lot of girls who love techno, and a big handful of them are Black. But it's not a lot of our faces in those scenes, and I've been in the dance community, going to a lot of shows in the underground and music festivals, so I've been around the scene for a long time.

She's right. I've been in worlds where, when you're Black, you're the only face there. But I think it's really a mindset thing. And, from the start, I understood that there was some connection that I felt. When I first heard house and techno songs, like from Kaskade and Above & Beyond, and Avicii, all of those back in early 2010, Eric Prydz—I felt a connection to it. I was like "Whoa, that chord is kind of like a church chord. Oh wait, I know this song, we used to sing that at church." Or "Oh, this is like an R&B track."

At first, I was excited because I loved the music and the musicality. And even with artists like Skrillex, [where some] people were like, "Oh, this noise," I understood what he was doing musically. I understood the chords. It was crazy sounds but I understood it as an artist and as someone who's been in gospel and R&B forever. For a lot of my friends in that space it was new to their ears, but knew when it was a remake of an old classic song that my mom used to play. I knew Black people would love this music if they were exposed to it the right way.

And I think you're right, what gets elevated a lot of times, is non-urban music. When people think dance music, techno music, house music, you don't think urban music. But it's not either/or. There can be urban music that is deep house, that's tech house. But to be honest, I think that a lot of the Black artists that get pushed to the forefront are people who've been doing it forever. The legends, who should be respected, and who we should be pushed forward and lauded. But what about the new cats? Everyone that people talk about, they're in their fifties. We love them, and they're amazing, but who's got next?

And I am talking to Black and brown artists in the space, who are excited about what we're doing [at Purple Label Sound]. The A&Rs, they just don't get it, they just don't get me. They think it's too urban. What's "too urban?" House music is urban, technically, it started off that way. Since then, there's been amazing contributions worldwide, including from the European scene, in Italy, in Sweden. At the root of it, I think if you elevate the right music in the right way, I think it can cross everybody. You know what happened was, and I always say this, I think Beychella made a big impact on house music.

I had a lot of my Black friends who went to Coachella for the first time [in 2018]. They'd been hearing about Coachella, for a while, but when Beyoncé was headlining, it was like, "We're going to Coachella." When they finally went, I had so many friends like, "I'm going back. Oh my gosh, EDM. Wow, this is amazing. Now I get it." Now they feel the music and the culture, and they're starting to understand it, because of Beyoncé.

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Related: Beyonce Created A Space To Celebrate Black Culture At Coachella & More Things 'Homecoming' Taught Us

I want to talk a bit more about Purple Label Sound, because "Got That Hope" is also the debut release from it. What's your hope and vision for the label?

Purple Label Sound came about before even my foray as an electronic artist. I created a few songs, I started creating them during the pandemic. I had time for myself with the self-isolation. And really, it was like, "Wow, what am I about? What do I want to do?" And then the racial strife started to happen, and I created a song with Dr. West. But even then, I didn't understand what I wanted to do as an artist. Of course I was going to release some music, but my focus has always been to elevate other people's point of views, and to take other people to the next level.

I've been working with talent on the music end, on the influencer end and on the actor end for years. My day-to-day, what I do best, is to take people's voices and take them to the next level, and then to great careers. That's what I want to do with this label, is to elevate careers and use my resources and my expertise as an artist, and as an entertainment executive, to help these voices be elevated and marketed the right way to support their ventures. And then I realized I should be putting myself out there too. And the music just kind of ballooned into something where, I was like "I guess I should be doing this as well."

It got to the heart of it. I kept having a lot of people come to me and talk about loneliness. I'm one of those strong friends, where friends talk to me a lot. And it was a reoccurring theme of loneliness and "what am I about?" The music that we're initially putting out is what we call deep gospel. We want to inspire people. That's how came about.

My next release, "Is My Living in Vain," is coming up soon and we're dedicating it to a comrade, a brother of mine, a friend who took his life during this pandemic. He came up with us in the industry, he was an A&R executive. I think you guys have a charity in his memorandum actually, the Quinn Coleman Fund.

I really want to make sure that during this time of pandemic, house music still has a place. It's about joy, about dancing, and about partying, but you have to do that to get through the darkness, right? And so, that's why we're talking about hope, we're going to be talking about loneliness, talking about being introspective, and having music that can move us and get through this.

Yes, Purple Label Sound is about elevating these underrepresented voices, but really it was a call to action for myself—and to the world at large—to take everything that I've done in my life and bring that together to create this label to make an impact on the music industry.

What's one of the biggest things you've learned from working with Dr. Cornel West over the years? I'm sure that's hard.

Yeah, there's so many nuggets. At one point I was inundated with his message so much, it's like I have his talking points in me. He stays on message. He's been saying "last year is the same thing as this year, same thing as two years ago." But I think the biggest thing [I learned] is leadership through service, and using your success and everything you have to generously elevate other people around you. That's the only way you become great. Greatness comes from using, as he says, "the magnanimity of your success." I think that's the biggest one, but there's another big one that's helped me throughout my career, my life, my friendships, and just getting through everything. It's, again, leading through love and service. Being a leader, and leading with your heart, with love and with service.

And one more, I really love how he has a good balance of telling it like it is and being a freedom fighter. He's also amazing at having really thoughtful and curious intellectual discussions with people who he may not agree with. To be honest, the only times you ever see him being in a heated debate is when the other person is disrespecting him. He always says something like, "I'm a gangster, but I'm coming by the blood of Jesus." I really respect how he's always been able to balance having engaging conversations with people across the political spectrum that don't agree with him. There's a mutual respect, and you can intellectualize and hold to your convictions and disagree with someone and hold them accountable and still love and respect them.

That's the hard work.

Yeah. Usually when you hold people accountable, you do it out of love. If you don't care, you won't say nothing.

Watch: Positive Vibes Only: Kierra Sheard And Karen Clark-Sheard Deliver Striking Performance Of "Something Has To Break"

That's real. What kind of music did you grow up listening to?

So early on, it was a lot of, obviously, gospel. I grew up with Kirk Franklin and the Clark Sisters. The song I have coming out, "Is My Living in Vain," is a deep house cover of the Clark Sisters, who just had a Lifetime biopic come out about then, amazing. J. Moss, Fred Hammond and all those guys, and Yolanda Adams. But also, of course, Michael Jackson and Prince. My three titans going into high school were Missy [Elliott], Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill. And I would say also the neo-soul vibe of Erykah, D'Angelo, Musiq Soulchild. Those are the people who I've studied.

Donny Hathaway, Kim Burrell. You know, R&B, soul and gospel. And of course, I'm a West Coast dude, I'm from Inglewood, so, I love, love Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and DJ Quik and Suga Free. I'm a West Coast hip-hop guy, for sure. I love Biggie, love all of the people on the East Coast, Wu-Tang and all them. All those are great, but I am West Coast, I love it.

Read: Gene Farris Talks "Space Girl," Rave Safety & The Return Of The "Bedroom DJ"

And what was sort of the point when you first got into house music, or first were curious about it and sort of dove into that scene?

Well, I've always been into four to the floor songs. Anytime when Justin Timberlake came out with his stuff with Timbaland, like "SexyBack." When Britney [Spears] came out with "I'm A Slave 4 U," and Madonna came out with her songs. I was always into drive-y songs, the disco songs.

But I really understood what it was when I started to hear it in college, when Afrojack had a song playing at the time. I was in the music industry program at USC, and a lot of my friends were into house music. I was exposed to really good stuff, really quick and dove deep into it. So that's how I got into it, by my friends around me in college. I started going to raves, and I really started really listening to the music. My roommate would just give me playlists, and I dove right into it immediately in like 2010, as soon as I got a whiff of it. My first rave was HARD Haunted Mansion or some shit. [Laughs.]

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What's your biggest hope for 2021?

I hope that our nation can heal. And I hope that we can party again, man. [Laughs.] I want to travel! I want to go back to Mykonos. I want to go to Tulum, and Croatia, and Ibiza. Shit, I want to go to Miami and New York! I want to travel the world again, and I hope that we can heal as a nation, and as a world. That's my biggest hope, that we can heal, and that people have done the work that this pandemic, and this unique time in history has given us the opportunity to do.

It's really unique, and I'm so blessed to have—I saw that early on in my team. Me and my best friend, Marquees Ezekiel, we were at his house, working from home. He had just built an at-home gym, because we couldn't work out anywhere and had to work out. And the idea of this label just came about. It was like, "Let's go." It's so amazing how God moves, and how that inkling of idea, three, four months ago became this. But it's not overnight. I've been doing this music thing for years. I've been in the industry for years, and it's beautiful, it's crazy how the universe guides us, places everything in the right mode, to set it up the right way to be here and to talk to you.

Soul Clap Wants You To Rave The Vote This 2020 Election

De'Wayne

De'Wayne

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De'Wayne Talks L.A., Jimi Hendrix & Thom Yorke dewayne-talks-top-gun-jimi-hendrix-radiohead-finding-himself-la

De'Wayne Talks "Top Gun," Jimi Hendrix & Radiohead, Finding Himself In L.A.

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We caught up with the Houston-born singer/rapper at the show he recently headlined in Downtown Los Angeles, as part of Dr. Martens' new music and film event series
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 28, 2019 - 10:23 am

You can't contain De'Wayne. His energetic, raw sound evokes old-school hip-hop, punk, psych rock and '90s R&B, giving texture and grit to personal lyrics about family, growth, disappointment and uncertainty. As he explains, he's reinvented his sound several times over, given the time and space he took to explore and find his identity as a young man on his own in the City of Angels.

At 19, he left behind his close-knit family in Houston for Los Angeles, and now, five years later, he's really found his groove.

At Dr. Martens Presents: De'Wayne, the second-ever L.A. show in the new music and film series hosted by the London shoe brand, the rising artist brought rock star swagger and energy as he jumped and grooved around the stage at the crowded warehouse-turned-experimental-gallery, Superchief L.A. Along with the drummer and guitarist in his live band, De'Wayne performed an upbeat sampling of his music released the last few years. Before they ended with his latest track, "Top Gun," they took their time jamming out to Jimi Hendrix's "Red House."

The L.A. Dr. Martens series (there is also one in New York) is curated and documented by his friend, another talented up-and-comer, vibrant filmmaker/music video director Erik Rojas. In true punk fashion, this event featured impromptu live art in the form of free flash tattoos, by Jane Lee Hernandez, a San Diego-based tattoo artist De'Wayne had recently met and invited.  

The Recording Academy caught up with De'Wayne shortly before his explosive show. Read on for our full interview with the burgeoning talent. 

De'Wayne

De'Wayne at his L.A. show

You're about to go on stage here at the Dr. Martens Presents show you're headlining. How are you feeling?

It feels like it's about to be something special for me, at least because we just put out new music. We kind of started a whole new scene with what we're making and how I'm feeling, where I'm trying to go with it. It was perfect timing. I'm nervous but it's going to be great. I think that [Dr. Martens] is making something good for us.

thank you to everyone who came out tonight and made today so special for me! shit was beautiful. people raged and thanks to everyone who got tattoos. hope it was an experience you won’t forget it.

— de'wayne jackson (@idewaynejackson) October 24, 2019

What's your biggest hope for this live performance or even going on stage in general?

It's just to show people a great show. I just pride myself with putting on this show and giving people something great. And just to have, I'm more thankful as well that we could get this platform to play the show and to have people come and give them more of an experience. I'm hoping to give them an experience. Honestly, something special.

Hell yeah. Keep people coming to shows, get them out of their houses.

Exactly. I love the commitment that they have to make. It's a free show, but it's still a commitment. And I want to give them more than they're expecting.



View this post on Instagram


entertainment tour has two more shows left!!! wtf!! literally blood, sweat, a lot of tears and glitter and pure happiness have been put into this.

A post shared by de'wayne jackson (@idewaynejackson) on Nov 28, 2018 at 9:11pm PST

What does it mean to you to be a part of this new event series?

You can't really downplay the opportunity. When I heard about it, I was very stoked and, like I was saying earlier, the fact that it's even lining up with us putting out music and it's just perfect. It feels really good. I feel really thankful, a lot of gratitude around it, honestly.

You've been working with Erik Rojas on a short film around it. How has it felt to work with him and tell your story that way?

It's been amazing because Erik's been my friend for about four years now. He saw me when I was still working multiple nine-to-fives and figuring out my sound. I really had a long time, like two or three years, which a lot of artists don't get, to develop, understand myself and what I want to make it my art. He was there through that.

So to see us both meet at this point feels great. he's doing his stuff on a high level and we want to take it to that level as well.

And it's probably nice to have someone helping tell your story who also understands you on a deeper level.

Exactly. When we were filming, we were going back to my old apartment and my old jobs and he knew the right questions. Even me telling my story to him again, he was just like, "Damn, that was some real stuff going on that we were dealing with," getting to this place right now. For us to tell that story together visually, it's beautiful. All the shots are really great too.

I'm excited to see it. And then yesterday you dropped your new song "Top Gun." Can you give us a bit of back story on it?

Yes, "Top Gun" dropped yesterday. It's my favorite song, honestly. I just started working with these producers that I love and have helped me create this [new] sound. It was the first song we did in our session. We met on basically a blind date and we ended up creating "Top Gun." So for it to be over a year now and finally putting it out, just makes so much sense for us. It's all lining up. You never know, but it lines up really perfect.

What was the emotion or the mood that you were putting out when you were writing the and recording the song?

I don't want to say angry, but I feel like my music is always me watching what's going on, having empathy and being able to understand it. You know, to tell stories that I see on the daily. And the air is so heavy nowadays. It's just meant for me to speak on the story of a "Top Gun," somebody who can't even understand or deal with middle class or lower class [people]. This person is so high above us, and doesn't even understand what we go through.

So it was more like, you got to stop being like that, the separation. So that's where it came from. And being from Texas too, I was able to dig in a little bit deeper into that. I was trying to stop the division with the song, that was the main purpose of it.



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last night was a dream bro!! entertainment tour ends in houston texas the place that raised me and the venue ive been wanting to play since i was 13. my mom in the crowd. my dad there, we shared a moment i don’t think ill ever forget. i left everything on stage plus a few tears. this run i will forever be thankful for. thanks @waterparks thank you @awstenknight for the opportunity. i love you foreal. my brother @domstepanian went crazy on the guitar! THE [circle] forever and ever. p.s everyone on this tour was pretty

A post shared by de'wayne jackson (@idewaynejackson) on Dec 2, 2018 at 11:00am PST

How do you feel that Houston influences your style and your sound?

I love being from Houston, especially where I'm from. But as far as sound, it was never much of an influence for me. It was more how we were living and more my family, growing up religious, and having a dad who was the total opposite of my mom, who was such a Southern belle. That's all my music is, inspiration from my family and life. So Texas, it's done a lot.

When did you move to L.A.? And how has it shifted your music career?

I moved to L.A. four years ago, not knowing anything, not knowing what I was doing. I was 19, straight out of high school, so I pretty much grew up here. A lot has changed. I was from a family that kept everybody very enclosed with a lot of rules. So L.A. has also done a lot. It was a huge transition and huge, huge transformation.

I really became a man here, like understood who I was, because I didn't know who I was at 19. I mean, you still don't know, even as 23 or whatever. But L.A. has been a big thing for me. I'm thankful for it, even the pain and the bad sh*t.

Who are your biggest role models and musical influences?

Role models, that's still my family. They give me so much inspiration on what I say and write about. And my influences are just life, and also legends. [I listen to] a lot of Radiohead, I love Thom Yorke. I got Jimi [Hendrix] tattooed on my leg and he's also playing right now. [De'Wayne smiles and points to his phone.] Kendrick Lamar, you know?

Living life gives me so much inspiration and so much of what I need to say. So that's where I get it from, just taking it day by day.

La Santa Cecilia Cover Radiohead's "House Of Cards" | ReImagined

Lalah Hathaway

Lalah Hathaway

Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

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Lalah Hathaway Honors Late Father Donny Hathaway watch-lalah-hathaway-honors-late-father-donny-hathaway-moving-grammy-salute-music

Watch: Lalah Hathaway Honors Late Father Donny Hathaway In Moving GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends Performance

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Find out which of the soul icon's songs she sings in the powerful on stage "family affair"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 7, 2019 - 10:22 am

Five-time GRAMMY-winning songstress Lalah Hathaway is perfect artist to pay tribute to the late, great soul Donny Hathaway, and not just because she's his daughter. For the 2019 GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends she offered her sultry, powerful vocals to showcase the unstoppable love present in her father's music.

Lalah Hathaway On Father Donny Hathaway's Legacy

"He's been gone, this year, for 40 years, so this is a very auspicious occasion. I'm so glad my mom is here; I'm singing with my sister, so this is a family affair," Lalah told the Recording Academy backstage before the show.

"His legacy is one that I'm discovering every day... It will just carry over oceans, it will influence people and bring people peace and joy forever," she added, reflecting on the unending power of his music.

Read: Lalah Hathaway On Mental Health Awareness: "You Can Never Look At A Person And See What They're Going Through"

With her sister Kenya Hathaway, the pair offer a powerful rendition out their father's GRAMMY-winning song "Where Is The Love." Originally released in 1972 as a duet with Roberta Flack, the powerhouse pair earned their first GRAMMYs for the song, taking home Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus at the 15th GRAMMY Awards.

The fourth annual GRAMMY Salute extravaganza took place in the heart of Hollywood earlier this year to honor all of the Recording Academy's 2019 Special Merit Award recipients. Donny Hathaway was one of a handful of artists presented with the Recording Academy's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award during this year's show. Black Sabbath, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Billy Eckstine, Donny Hathaway, Julio Iglesias, Sam & Dave and Dionne Warwick are the other 2019 recipients.

In addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award artists, the Trustees Awards, given to Lou Adler, Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, and Johnny Mandel this year, celebrated exemplary contributors to music, outside of performance. Additionally, the Technical GRAMMY Award was presented (posthumsly) to API Audio Co-Founder Saul Walker and Florida high school choir director Jeffery Redding was celebrated with the Music Educator Award. The big night was filled with love, gratitude, celebration and a whole lot of amazing musical tributes.

You can watch the full GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends show, including the Hathaways' full performance and the other tributes to Donny, on Oct. 18 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check your local listings).

Watch Jessie Mueller Honor Lou Adler & Carole King At GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy and its Affiliates. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy and its Affiliates lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy and its Affiliates.