We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Della Downey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Della below.
Della, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Besides my single tracks, my most meaningful body of work is my EP ‘Love, Yours Truly’. When I first thought about this concept I was thinking about someone I had been intimate with and the relationship foundation was not good. Although I still to this day have love for this person, it took a lot including me moving to a different state, to realize some things. I wanted to write him letters through music to myself, and to men I loved.
Starting with UPGRADE, I am very inspired by Beyoncé; that is where UPGRADE came from. The first line “Time flies by when you’re having a little fun” is something that everyone has heard and can relate to. It’s about how much fun I had with a man I loved but also what it is that I need and how I’m that chick that will ultimately help you UPGRADE your life.
MAYBE is kind of self-explanatory. I was very wrong about it but I thought that MAYBE I was falling in love…
RERUN… now RERUN is a sexy one. I pushed my limit with vocals here but I wanted to express the intimacy that came with what we had and that I wanted to do it again. One of those “I just can’t get enough of you” tracks.
SIMONE’S INTERLUDE is a break from talking about the one I fell in love with to the one that really hurt me before him. This track is a letter as well presented in the form of a phone call with a friend having her say encouraging words that brought me back to myself.
Lastly and my favorite (other than UPGRADE) is AGAIN. AGAIN means a lot because it reflects on the mending of relationships. Granted, this hasn’t happened with me and the man I discuss throughout the EP but there was some kind of hope there at some point. To want someone to get to know you AGAIN,
Each individual track is meaningful because I was finally able to express myself and my emotions through an art form that made me feel good! My mom who, may she rest in paradise, actually helped me with the beginning stages and gave me her opinions on what she did and didn’t like. Her love for me and my voice, as well as her support, was the only thing that allowed me and forced me to make finishing this project a priority. It’s the beginning of me finding myself through music, and I intend to keep going for both me and my mom.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hi, I’m Della Downey. For those of you wondering, I was born and raised in East Orange, NJ, and moved to Los Angeles in 2016. I always had a heart for music but I’m not the artist who just “knew” this was where I wanted to be. Creativity, I was born with but it wasn’t until my last year of college that I was pushed to hop on the mic. The man that I sing about on my EP ‘Love, Yours Truly’ is actually also the one who pushed me to get into music as I was focused and got my degree in digital photography. After the push, I was able to see myself actually doing this. I said you know what? Maybe this is the path for me! I haven’t stopped since. I feel that it is important not to just work on yourself and your craft but to apply it in different avenues to get closer to your goal. For example, when it comes to getting into the industry, know your role, set expectations for yourself, and do your best. Take classes, and apply for agency jobs so you can get hands-on knowledge from industry professionals that you can apply to your life and your plan. Putting yourself in a position to learn is probably the most important part of the process. To be mindful of that as well.
I love to help others. If there was any way I could be of service, it would be to co-write songs, graphics, creative direction for videos and photoshoots, as well as doing background or dance for other artists’ videos as well. What sets me apart is that I know that there’s more to learn and I’m actually willing to do the work to get there.
The main thing I want people to know about me and advice for themselves is to never give up on something you have your mind and heart on. Working alone is cool, working with others is better because you get to retain different perspectives other than your own. Don’t give up on your dream just because you feel it’s taking forever to get there, keep going. Give yourself grace for the times that you feel like you aren’t doing enough. Once you reach a goal, you already know you have 10+ more goals to reach, I can’t emphasize this enough… DONT GIVE UP. I’m proud of myself for getting this far and it’s been 3 years that I have dove head first into this music game and I’m still not where I would like to be but look at me now… getting interviewed.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
In 2021 my mother, who I considered one of the closest people to me, we were like soulmates, told me she was diagnosed with cancer. In November 2021 I dropped my entire life that I had built, reputation, friends, my job, and my apartment to go and be with and help her. She asked me to be her caretaker when she was going to get surgery and that was the greatest honor (and hardest) that I have ever been given. My mom trusted me with her life, and to make decisions for her when she couldn’t.
During this time, I was taking care of the home I was raised in by myself, taking care of our dog, all while praying that my mom would survive and trying my best to find any kind of joy in my day. I hadn’t sung anything in months, my mom finally came home and I still didn’t have it in me to sing. One day, I decided to try and produce, write, and record something myself on GarageBand to find joy/ distract myself from everything happening and she said “It’s so good to hear you singing again”, That pushed me to keep going.
I would write down my songs on a piece of paper and tape them to the wall in my childhood room. I would “perform” them for her to see what she thought and she would give me an honest opinion. As a 26-year-old, being your mom’s caretaker is emotionally taxing and REALLY harder than it sounds. In August 2022, my mom passed away and it was the worst time of my life. I am still grieving her presence and it’s been over a year. Her words are what keep me resilient. Her constant support of allowing me to be free to do whatever I dreamed of kept me resilient. Her unwavering belief in me especially in making a name for myself in music, is what keeps me resilient.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
Social media although sometimes toxic can be a great resource for marketing yourself and your brand. It is important to really find your niche and stick with it but also to expand. Something that Tyler, The Creator said in an interview is people tend to post something and then never talk about it again. If you’re releasing something and you’re supposed to love it why not repost and share it 100x over? Don’t dim your light just because it’s not automatically getting the traction you think it should. Keep posting what you’ve already posted someone will catch on.
For me, I still promote the song that I dropped in 2020! I’m also expanding from my EP by creating polls and asking my audience what it is that they want more of from me. For example, for merch, I am taking my time to plan out specific pieces, that will then bring my audience back to listen to my EP again.
Another thing that I am doing is collaborating with friends to work on outside projects as well. As a creative, my niche is love. Love of self and others. My goal is to find other ways I can be of service. We are producing mental health kits that will again go back to promoting my EP as well as other creative’s podcasts, dances, meditations, yoga practices, songs, etc that can help the community thrive.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/dellaxmusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ladell-downey/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/dellaxmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBHrIt1u9WhsbRvErS36V3g
- Other: https://linktr.ee/Dellaxmusic
Image Credits
Tyler Anderson JoAnne Triplett