"Although I didn't write this song, it spoke to me in a way that made me feel as if it was my own story,” Brandon said. “I found myself playing it over and over again in my bedroom, remembering situations that I've been through.”
Check out the video for yourself below.
Fast forward to 2020—Davo has embarked on his own career, focusing on a reinterpretation of the sounds of Reggae that have been engrained into his being since his early childhood. Tinny Jamaican sounds are steeped in the ethos of contemporary hip hop and R&B. “Psychedlic, Trippy, and Turnt,” are the three words Davo uses to describe his amalgam of sounds: “my music will have you tripping and feel some type of way. If you meditate, just close your eyes, you could just find yourself in a whole other place. [But] I also like to turn up, you feel me?”
Davo just released the music video for his recent single “Say Something.” The music video was directed by Tory Lanez, a longtime friend and collaborator of Davo. “He’s kind of like a brother, I would say, because we grew up together,” Davo explains. “I’ve known him since he was a kid in elementary school.” Though he is older than Tory, Davo was always impressed by Tory’s ruthless work ethic. Throughout their respective careers, the two have consistently pushed each other to write more, produce more, and just go harder and farther than what they initially thought was possible.
Photos by B. Seales
The two might be work-oriented, but they know a good time. “Usually, when me and Tory work together in the studio, we’re clowning, having fun, making jokes, smoking a little weed, you know. Actually, not a little weed, but usually a lot of weed,” Davo says with a laugh.
“Say Something” was repurposed from a song Davo’s father wrote with Bob Marley, the classic “Could You Be Loved.” “I actually took those words, the lyrics ‘say something’ from my dad. My dad had a song with Bob Marley called “Could You Be Loved,” and towards the end of the song, you started hearing someone in the background chanting, ‘say something, say something. Reggae, reggae says something. Rocka Rocka says something.’ That’s my dad and a couple of other band members, maybe even Bob, in the back singing together.” Davo was, like millions of fans, always drawn to that record. While freestyling in the studio, he found himself singing the words that his father sang forty years ago.
“Say Something” is a millennial interpretation of the famed song from The Wailers. “It’s really about when you get into the situation with a girl and you’re like boom, you like her, you guys like each other, but you’re afraid to say something,” says Davo.
Davo’s working on so much music, it’s almost difficult to keep track. A joint rock album with Davo’s younger cousin Young Justo is in the works, titled Rockstar Dreams. He’s also working on a project that captures his tendencies for 80s sound and glamourous production. Davo’s father will also be featured as a guitarist on some of the upcoming tracks. “It means a lot to me, because my father is a legend,” Davo expresses with almost a sense of reverence. “It means I have a song with a legendary guitarist that played with Bob Marley.”
It would be reductive to label Davo’s career break as ‘sudden.’ Although he’s receiving more attention now than he has before, the praise, to him, is overdue. “I’ve been doing it for so long. A lot of people don’t know how long I’ve been behind the scenes with Tory. I’ve been there helping and pushing and working with him and behind him.” The success might have been delayed, but Davo’s not bitter: “Everything happens for a reason. I’m ready more than I ever was before.” He’s also confident in his abilities and the unique skills he’s bringing to the table: “Y’all really going to get more familiarized with my sound.”
He’s right: Davo is bringing his contagious Jamaican exuberance and psychedelic insights to the forefront of the often-stale walls of contemporary R&B. He exudes the markers of a rising superstar, bathed in the music of previous generations, and the ins and outs of the machinations of the music industry.
As Davo said, “Until the next time, love, peace, and chicken grease. God bless, Y’all. I’m out of here.”
But despite having diverse sounds, the project is incredibly cohesive and has that rare power of good music to not only supplement emotions, but actively change them. Spirituality is a core tenant of Dianna’s craft and that’s clear not only in her music, but how she describes her daily life. “I like to call it my daily ritual,” Dianna states as she explains her quarantine routine. “I usually like to get outside as soon as I wake up and just connect with the elements and get all of those downloads from nature.”
office caught up with the New York creative to discuss Shapeshifting, spirituality, and how the world needs more Medicine Music.
How are you feeling? How has quarantine been for you so far?
Oh god [laughs]. It's been a rollercoaster of different emotions. When it first started, I felt like my world was crashing down for so many factors. People are dying and sick around the world. All of my shows being cancelled and not being able to link with my band members anymore—it's just a lot. I've accepted it, and I feel like I'm in a better flow state now.
Where have you been located?
I live upstate, but I'm always in New York City—well I used to be—because that's where my manager is, my band is, so I would just commute and take the bus.
Do you have a daily routine set up yet?
Yeah, I like to keep it open and leave space to flow. I like to call it my 'daily ritual.’ I usually like to get outside as soon as I wake up and just connect with the elements and get all of those downloads from nature. Then I'll just read. I used to be able to make music, but my laptop broke which has been super hard for me because I literally can't create what I want to right now. But it's just a challenge to find other ways [to create]. So, I've been practicing guitar and just writing more.
How were you first introduced to music?
It started a long time ago. My dad was a DJ in the Bronx. You used to call it the Boogie Down—when all of that first started. My mom always loved to sing. She'd play Donna Summer or good old school songs around the house. At church I became a part of the choir.
When did you realize it was something you wanted to pursue full-time?
I actually didn't want to. I wanted to be an actor for a really long time. I went to an art school, SUNY Purchase. We had a lot of different creative type people there. I was there for acting, [but] I did still sing in the talent shows. I ended up meeting a producer, he was like 'hey, can you sing on one of my tracks?' I was like, okay, yeah that could be fun. My manager, who at the time was [just] my friend, was an arts management major, and she had to come out with an end of the year project kind of like a showcase. What we did is create an EP, but I wasn't taking it seriously, I was just doing it for fun. And we had a whole EP release party, and the whole school showed up and it was just wild. I was like, 'damn, I guess this is something I should try to do.' From there it kind of took off.
Does acting still interest you?
Yeah, I definitely, definitely want to do that later on the road. There are so many cool shows coming out. I love the indie films and the Netflix and HBO series that are out these days. I'd love to be a part of that one day.
What's the difference between acting and music for you?
They're pretty [closely] related. [They] both embody all the different parts of yourself, or your different personalities, or your different ways of being. I feel like they're closely tied. With music it's more of a creation. With acting, you're putting on a show.
What's your creative process for creating music? How do you start a project or a song?
It depends. If I'm jamming to something that someone sent me, I'll just set up my laptop and I have a microphone that I put on top of books in my room and I'll just jam on it and sing a couple times. Something that I really like to do is add harmony and add ambient noises because I don't know how to fully play an instrument, so I use my vocals to replace that. Add little weird noises.
Let's talk a bit about Shapeshifting. How did that come together?
I have these weird dreams where if something is chasing me, I'm able to turn into another animal or being. I've had those dreams since I was a young girl. Recently I've been looking at what the word 'shapeshifting' really means. And it doesn't only mean the physicality of it, but I feel like I shapeshift when I make music because I don't stick to one genre or identify to one thing. That's where the name comes from. The project is just all over the place. The first song that I came out with was "Date With The Moon" as a single. I actually didn't know at the time that it would be a full EP or project, I was just creating with my band just to create. "Euphoria" was the hit of the EP. I've held on to that song for so long. I made it a year ago I think, but it didn't feel like the right time to put it out and I feel like "Euphoria" really holds the EP strongly together because it's such a beat song in contrast to my other slow, ambient, vibey songs on there.
How were you feeling when you made "Internal Lullaby" and how were you feeling when you made "Euphoria"? What was the difference in your psyche at those points?
Oof, okay. So different. "Euphoria" is like, I'm living out my psychedelic Rockstar dreams. Me and Aren, who's the guitarist, we pieced that song together when we were planning a trip—literally a trip—to go upstate and trip, and we were watching The Doors, and old videos of The Beatles, and just creating that imagery and that lifestyle. That's where my head was at with "Euphoria." With "Internal Lullaby," it was all about how I feel when I'm at home. I face a lot of seclusion from the people that I love and my friends because I live upstate.
When you make music, is it for yourself or for other people?
Okay: always for myself. I feel like music is my personal Dharma. It's my purpose in life. It's something that I can do and hours will pass by and I didn't realize that it's ten o'clock at night and I started at four. When you love something that deeply, that's what you need to be doing.
Does spirituality play a role in your music?
Yeah, completely. That's another part of my Dharma. Part of having a purpose in life is giving it back to other people. That's why I have such a wide range of music, because I like to put messages in my music that can help uplift other people, or help people connect more to themselves especially in times like this. I feel like we need more Medicine Music.
What’s good Neal?
What’s good with you?
How are you living today?
I’m coolin’, everything just slow motion right now.
What are you listening to these days?
Max B and Pop Smoke new album.
What have you been thinking about?
New and smart investments I can make.
I watched your video for 1942, always love to see a creative approach to music videos. What was the inspo for going animated?
Honestly we just had no choice at the time because it was like peak corona so we had to just do what we could to get a video for that song because everybody loved it.
I read you’ve got your own label, how’s it feel to be the master of the cut at only twenty-two?
That was always my initial dream to be my own boss and never have to work for anybody so it’s great. Fortunately I got to learn the in and outs of the business aspect of music this early due to certain mistakes and just being a sponge paying attention to every detail.
If there’s something, though, you wish you could tell yourself when you first started getting into hip hop at eighteen what would you say?
I would’ve reminded myself not to trust anybody in the industry, I put my trust into the wrong people early on outta desperation to get out the streets and help my family. Where are you going next? What’s next is a new project, probably gonna be my best one thus far.
