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

Denardjoel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

Growing up in underserved communities, and being a byproduct of parents who had far less than I in their upbringings, you tend to have a more sheltered or silo’d experience. I was unaware of the vastness that the world offers, as my thought process as a kid was that I needed to either become a professional athlete, doctor or lawyer in order to “make it”.

Once I moved to the Bronx, NY after receiving a scholarship to play football, my focus shifted dramatically, as I was exposed to things that had never crossed my mind. That awakening allowed me to see a future for myself that was essentially limitless.

The work I do now is to set up the next generations, so that they are exposed to as many wonders as possible while there’s plenty of time to delve into potential passions.

I’m working so that I’m able to build institutions and programs nationally that provide Black youth with the experience and tools to advance. – – For example, the chances of becoming a professional basketball player are slim, but the likelihood that you can have a career on a professional team or high-level collegiate program or within an adjacent company in the industry itself (Springhill Co.), are significantly higher. Each of those teams operates just like any other fortune 500 company would, with multiple operational verticals like marketing, tech, business/sales, etc. There are opportunities for roles with long career tracks – this provides multiple routes to realize dreams. One of my favorite quotes comes from Kanye West in his song, “Homecoming”: “Reach for the stars so if you fall, you land on a cloud”.

The fruits of my gifts are aimed at eliminating the racial wage gap by providing exposure to “alternative” career paths, awarding/sponsoring scholarships, grants, internships and residencies to aspiring youth, and promoting entrepreneurship. The plan is that this model continually webs into a global network, connecting the diaspora, something that may be unfathomable right now. I’m working so that my name is synonymous with “provider”, “vessel” and “selfless”.

I don’t hope – I work.

Denardjoel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m denardjoel (fka DPthuH), a multi-instrumentalist record producer based in Brooklyn. I’m part of a creative collective as well, Hippie Tribe, and everything operates under my record label, OTOLO Records, and production company, aDayDream Productions. I’ve come a long way from practicing my paradiddles as a child.

I’ve been playing instruments since before I can remember. My pops told me that even as a baby, I would be playing makeshift drums with whatever two objects I could pick up, so when people ask me how I know music is going to work out for me, I usually reply with something like, “It’s known me longer than I’ve known it – so if anything, music has to quit me.”

Now, while my pops says I was making beats since a baby, one of my first memories was seeing my late God Father, Dan “Deac” Jones, a prolific bassist, lead the band for our church choir at Pelt Chapel in Fayetteville, NC. A core component of apostolic/pentecostal/baptist churches is the music, which is performed for just about the majority of each service. I recall Deac motioning, gesturing and at times whistling instructions or cues to the band members, particularly, the drummer. That immediately sparked a desire to be part of those conversations. Whenever I got to hangout with Deac, he’d always break down sections of various songs from Kirk Franklin, The Winans, Fred Hammond and other Gospel greats. He explained how Gospel music was a blend of several styles, and there weren’t any wrong turns you could make, as long as you stayed in the key and in time. So you’re telling me I can make anything? That was liberating, even as a four year old. So, with that as my foundation, it’s not surprise that my music today is a fusion of several genres as well. Due to being exposed such an eclectic range of music, there isn’t any “type” of sound that I’m unwilling to explore or implement. And my supporters should know to expect nothing, except for my all, in each record I put out.

For me, FEEL IS MOST IMPORTANT, so the last thing I’ll do is try to make something algorithmic or trendy – I’d much rather my art be so loved and contagious that it creates a wave. So, the sole focus each time I enter my studio, GullahGullah Studios, is to be a vessel and allow the frequencies to lead the way. Overthinking is the enemy of creativity, so before I attempt to write to an instrumental I created, I’ll freestyle over it for 10 minutes or so. Sometimes there are words, sometimes it’s just melodies and hums, and other times it’s a combo of both. But regardless, for me, the energy must flow for some sort of direction to be established.

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

The term genius gets tossed around a lot these days and prior to going through my 10,000 hours, I thought that some people were just “born with it” and that’s all there was to it. Now, to some extent, that is the truth. I, regardless of how many miles I put onto the track, will never be as fast as Usain Bolt. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t get better in my own right. Majority of my habits and ways of thinking weren’t too great when I began making my own music, and it’s likely because I was used to a world where there were right and wrong answers, and comparisons are made at a quantitative level. I was convinced that if everything wasn’t perfect or if it/I wasn’t the best, it wasn’t worth putting out. But “the” best and “my” best are completely different. And perfection- yeah, that isn’t a real thing. Particularly when we’re talking about art, it’s all subjective, and because there’s no one thing that every single person loves, it’s impossible to achieve.

That realization was liberating – I didn’t need to attempt to please everyone or make something so groundbreaking that I’d be deemed a genius. I realized that all of the people considered “geniuses”, shared common traits – discipline and consistency being at the top of the list. Sure, they may have been born with some innate gift, but the genius lies in their ability to pursue those gifts with relentless passion and an unwavering belief in their path. Anything you repeatedly do, especially with intent, you’ll likely become a “genius” at too. I may not be able to run as fast as Usain, but if I dedicate my life to the pursuit of getting faster, the knowledge gained can be passed along to someone “born with it”, and maybe I can chase Usain’s records through said person.

Of course they say artists shouldn’t care what others think, but if you care about your art, and you put it out to the masses, you want it to be well received. The key difference is knowing that one person’s reaction or feelings towards my art doesn’t take away from the value it may provide another. And it definitely doesn’t diminish the love I have for it either.

So, genius is determined by the work I put it, not the work I put out.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

If you see me in a live show or have a studio session with me, you’d probably not believe I graduated from a prestigious, private university with a double degree in Accounting and Finance. Now I’m not saying I’m ratchet or nothing, but to maneuver corporate America, theres just certain behaviors they accept….Which is why I didn’t last for too long.

After graduation, one of my young homies, Blond.Bomber (co-creator of Hippie Tribe), approached me because he wanted to make and release music, something I dreamed of but never really actually considered. So, at the tail end of 2016, we dropped our first song, HBTB, a Lana Del Ray sampled alt-rap record that we cooked up in about two weeks. At this time, I was a capital markets specialist for a few major banks and financial institutions. The check was great but the hours and behavioral expectations were unsustainable. Music became an outlet for me and I would catch myself drumming up melodies and double entendres while on the clock.

Once the track was finished, we put it on Soundcloud with no knowledge of distribution channels, monetization, copyrights or anything – we were just going with the flow. We. sent it to a couple of our friends/family to check out but beyond that, we did no marketing/promo. I don’t even think I posted about it on my IG. I had less than zero expectations and thought this would be something we did in our spare time as a passion project.

Well, the universe had different plans, because HBTB racked up over 200k streams in about three weeks. The song wound up being flagged and removed due to copyright infringement (we were guilt af), which I can only assume was Lana herself! Why she hate on us like that?

After the record dropped, the snowball began, so, we decided to keep making music and work on a project. That project wound up getting us booked for a couple of shows at our college in 2018. After releasing another lil’ project in summer 2019 and collaborating with other artists, we decided to throw our own showcases to start making more money to put towards the art. “Tribe Tea Party” fliers went out and after three sold out shows, small venues like Mercury Lounge, Bowery Electric and the Knitting Factory, hit us up to perform. We were booked for eight headlining shows throughout 2020, with no management. At that point, I decided to leave my job and pursue music full time.

And 3 weeks later, the world shut down.

Once the pandemic hit, the revenue I was planning for from those bookings was out of the window and so I needed to pivot. After the restrictions were lifted, I opened a space, GullahGullah Studios, and become a full service recording studio. It made sense because we (Bomber & I) were already self-recording and engineering at that point, so we could use these new skills to provide a service to local artists at a major discount to traditional studios throughout the city.

Artist would pull up to the studio and see all of my instruments and be curious. They’d ask what we did and I’d tell them we’re also artists but we write and produce for others too. This led to landing jobs as record producers. The more the network grew, more roles came with it like music director, music supervisor and we got the opportunity to score commercials and a video game.

It’s all been a fairly natural progression and now that the company is more financially stable, I’m pouring back into my own artistry, hence the solo emergence of “denardjoel”.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dpthuh/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hippietribe7027

Image Credits
Danica Robinson (@danicarobinson) Sage White (@sage.white) Zoë (@zhmphoto) JJ Pinckney (@found.wonder) Chris Spivey (@chrisspivey.jpeg)