We were lucky to catch up with Demetri Wiley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Demetri thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve done to date is titled More 4 Less Vol. 2. This project will be fully released in this November. It feels like an autobiography, done over some brilliant instrumentals from producers all over. The subject matter ranges from past relationships to my struggles with depression, to how much I’ve learned from becoming a father to dreams, motivations, current situation-ships, etc. For someone to listen will feel like I’ve given them a part of me. This project goes over the highs and lows of a man trying to balance his daily life and what he dreams of it to be.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I’m a twenty-six-year-old African American artist from the Westside of Chicago, IL. I fell in love with music at a very early age. Most of my young musical influence steamed from the surround sound bleeding from my parent’s bedroom. Such as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Christopher Wallace (Notorious Big), The Temptations, Faith Evans, Kelly Price, Avant, and so many more.

One of my very first childhood friends (Keontay Epting) was the fearless soul I sought to mimic. It was he who told our third-grade teacher about my singing while working on a no-smoking poster, which led to me leading Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at the Christmas assembly. From that day forward, music became the most consistent thing in my life. Honestly, music is always there, through sadness, happiness, joy, pain, celebration, and heartbreak.

I met another great friend (Khalid Reed) later in life, and we shared such a similar love of music we decided to create it together. That birthed SevenSevenThree, a melodic, heavy-hitting rap duo. I would not be here if not for him. Even though the friendship didn’t last, I’m grateful to have experienced such a friend. After losing it all, I remained determined to fight for the dream. Poetry turned into raps, ideas turned into visual art, and icons turned into those who paved the road.

A major thank you goes to a true friend of mine, Shawn Brooks (Brookssmedia). We connected because I pitched him an idea, and he believed in it enough to help me see it through. We released our first music film on October 15, 2021. It was at that moment Demetri was born. We have gained over 14k Instagram followers, major shoutouts from platforms all over the city, and over 100k+ video views to date. I must say that is all within the first year! Shaq and Kobe! It feels like we are living in our early Kanye and Coodie moments. I’m blessed to share this journey with him!

These days I’m most proud of being the person who allowed my family to see that dreams are possible. Their buying into my love for the arts feels like an investment, I’m forever indebted. I talk to them about my music, love life, moves, interviews, and even plans of getting rich and going back to school (I can’t stop rhyming lol). I am grateful to have them as my parents. Due to their love, the world will know who Demetri Wiley is!

I hope my music helps people understand that (as humans) we should be learning, growing, building, loving, and living. I want people to know that anything is possible. A dream takes belief in yourself even when no one else has it! Be patient with yourself and give the world time to catch on. You’ll change plenty of lives on the way!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is seeing how many people can relate to your stories and words. I’ve had people from other countries reaching out. Just to let me know they understand how I feel. I’ve told stories of love, pain, dreams, etc. Touching a person’s heart or even forcing them to tap into emotions that have gone unopened is such a beautiful thing. To have my voice heard around the world still feels unbelievable!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

To pursue this dream, I had to unlearn all of the toxic beliefs that people placed upon me at a young age. Things like dreams aren’t possible, picking a study career, school is the only way, and due to history, even the idea that black skin can’t coincide with big things. I started unpacking the actual truth in my early teens. Kids nowadays have social media platforms that can provide constant motivation.

In the older days, when people told you something wasn’t possible, you believed it. There’s a constant weight that is carried generation after generation within the black community. What helped me completely detach from this weight was seeing former president Barack Obama selected as the 44th President of the United States. I remember turning off my Xbox, running to the tv, and crying tears just from seeing someone who looks like me in such a powerful position. From that day forward, no one could tell me I couldn’t do anything! I became fearless!

Contact Info:

• Website: koji.to/DemetriWiley
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/demetriwiley
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/demetriwiley
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demetri-wiley-86893b224
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/demetriwiley
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Demetriwiley