Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daemon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Daemon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I’ve recently become obsessed with the “future” of hip hop. We’ve done so much with what folks might consider “digital” soundscapes, autotune, 808s, and the trap drum kit. Now for future generations of hip hop artists to differentiate themselves, when do we find ourselves exploring more organic sounds? The goal with my recent mixtape, I’m From the Future, was less about creating a project that sounded like what folks THINK the future would sound like, and more about genuinely differentiating myself from current trends to make art that would speak to something new. In other words, “the future” becomes another way of simply saying “newness.”

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

I got into music as a child, but even then, I found myself primarily responsible for the administrative side of the art. My work is so collaborative with different producers, instrumentalists, vocalists, and engineers that half of the battle is organizing schedules and managing personalities. I’ve had other artists ask me why their records don’t sound “as good” even though they are working with the same producer and engineer, and the answer truly lies in the ability to build and maintain a healthy workflow. It means being able to push harder when necessary and knowing when to pull back and give folks room to breathe. It’s as much the skill it takes to craft a clever lyric as the patience needed to run an errand for someone in the studio or pay for takeout when folks are hungry. Production is often the nitty gritty details that people either ignore or don’t have enough experience to notice. We all want to be rock gods and movie stars, but rarely are we willing to do the dirty work it takes to get there.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

There are five ambitious goals written at the top of a massive dry-erase board in my office, and I will share one of them with you. “BE A FORCE OF NATURE.” What we do is so subjective that people can easily count us out if we don’t fit the mold they have in their minds. Maybe you aren’t violent enough in your music. Maybe you aren’t melodic enough; maybe your voice gets on their nerves. The maybes are endless. It is my opinion, however, that if you’re less a composite of different artistic traits and more an overall FORCE, it’s harder to deny.

My ultimate goal is for people to feel me. From the moment I step on stage, from the moment a song of mine comes on, from the moment you first hear my voice. I want you to be impacted. For good or for ill. For better or worse. I want to be impossible to ignore. You don’t have to like me, but you will know I was there.

Years from now, even after I’m gone, I want to have made something truly transcendent (a small glimpse at another goal on that dry-erase board), and to achieve such heights, you have to be more than a rapper. You have to become power itself.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In my opinion, part of being a good leader is people pleasing. Sometimes the idea of leadership is so self-absorbed it’s not leadership at all. That’s just arrogance in disguise. Authentic leadership is service. The problem with that approach is learning to accept that everyone is not going to like you. Everyone isn’t going to be your friend. When freely giving your time, energy, resources, etc., it can be hard to know when someone isn’t worth that effort.

I won’t get specific as you never know who is reading this, but I have had to learn this lesson the hard way quite a few times. What I can say is how best to address this issue in general. You need to find people whose skill set is so necessary for your goals that it doesn’t matter if they take advantage of you. Just by doing what they do naturally, the scales will find a way towards balance. It means you have to be more selective with the folks you work with, but over time it helps you develop real chemistry with essential teammates.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://breakfastmusicgroup.com/thefuture
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/songsbydae
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/songsbydae
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/songsbydae

Image Credits
Black and White photo by Will Reasoner Red Background photo by Leon Henderson Additional artwork by Sam McConnell