We were lucky to catch up with Drew Dapps recently and have shared our conversation below.

Drew , appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I know it sounds kinda silly but I actually think my most meaningful project to date has to be my new Tote Bag Merch.

There was a time not long ago, when your boy was actually sleeping on the Tote Bag lifestyle.

I can’t believe I used to be walking around like a normie wearing a backpack with a sweaty back leaving me with a moist fit… makes me feel ashamed of myself just thinking about it!

However, this spring everything changed as soon as I took my first trip ever to Acapulco in Mexico.

I was about to play my first gig in the region and I was super hyped of course, but especially hyped because I got to link up with the friends that I worked with to play my Mexico City debut.

They say that Mexico is known for it’s hospitality and I couldn’t agree with this statement more after I received the gift of a lifetime from the label head & promoter I had the pleasure of working with; Soul Shift.

Shortly after I touched down, my mans handed me something not quite like I’ve seen before. He really hooked me up with my very own custom branded Toté commemorating our event and the 2 year anniversary of Talisman (the label & event brand) who brought me out to play this very special show.

I know it sounds crazy but this trip would simply not be the same without this Tote Bag. I was carrying all of my goodies around Acapulco effortlessly. Everything I needed I could keep by my side and do it in STYLE!

It was incredibly kind of this young man to gift me a tote and this gesture inspired me deeply.

Shortly after getting home from this trip I started doing research of my own to create my own Tote Bags.

However, I wasn’t trynna make some run of the mill bags – no way. These joints needed to be crème de la crème.

So, thats when I hit the drawing board and came up with DAPPS APPAREL. This was something different from all the merch that I have created previously. Dapps Apparel represents high quality garments for the Dapps Fam.

With these bags featuring the top 5 cities where my music is listened to, they were created with the intention of showing love right back to my community of fans / friends.

I have been bringing them with me everywhere I travel and have been giving them to the hosts that show me around their city the same way that Dariel (Soul Shift) did with me. It’s the least I could do to give back to these awesome individuals who I am collaborating with.

As of now, the first rendition of Dapps Apparel Tote’s are officially available for purchase for anyone who’s interested in upping their luggage game. If you check out my Spotify page they are available at the digital merch booth or available to scoop on my website DrewDapps.com

Toting is a lifestyle and I can’t wait to put all the homies on to what’s really good.

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

My name is Drew Dapps, I am a boutique House Music artist and I am proud.

The journey of a lifetime all started back in 2018 when I got into music production for real for real and downloaded FL Studio

I always had a thing for music but I never knew how far it would take me back when I was just a kid cooking up hip hop beats in my dorm room.

My world switched up all crazy as soon as I decided to pick up and move from my hometown of Las Vegas to San Diego, essentially starting over from square one…

Here I was in a new city with new people, new sights and sounds, and I felt as if NOW was the chance to truly reinvent myself and take my life in an exciting new direction.

I’ve developed a bit of an interest in house music and club culture during my time at UNLV but I was still getting a feel for the lifestyle. All I knew is that I really admired what these producers are up to as it seemed like DJing and getting to actually play your music live was a whole new level from what I was used to.

One day shortly after unpacking my belongings I decided to step out and see what the local house scene in SD is all about. It was here at Spin nightclub where I heard grooves that would change my life forever. From that point on I was moved by the sound of Minimal / Deep Tech and realized that THIS is my calling.

Developing this sound and the community around it had captivated my heart. My mission became clear – drop as many dope house records as possible and build my brand in a way that is unique and truly my own. I became dead set on blending lifestyle, bridging the gap between skateboarding and house music culture.

Although I knew the road ahead would not always be smooth, I learned to embrace the grind as I had always done growing up as a skater kid.

Fast forward to today and I can definitely say there’s some things I can look back and be proud of. A lot of my releases have topped the Beatport Charts within my genre, and have earned millions of streams across the platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, etc.

Perhaps what brings me the most joy however is getting to travel across international borders and perform for house music lovers in Latin America. Getting to see the fam moving with their hands up locked in the groove, I can’t help but smile from ear to ear. It is a truly rewarding experience to get to share my music experience with new cities / countries, and for a culture outside of my own to embrace my art is touching to say the least!

I love helping other artists as much as I can giving positive reinforcement and encourage them to become their best self. It is for that reason that I decided to list 1 on 1 lessons/ brand building consultation services on my website along with my merch and sample packs. Knowledge shared is knowledge squared and I’m happy to help give back and explain what I have learned on this journey. If it means the same kind of happiness I have felt in my career can be experienced by a fellow artist, then I am all for helping them along their way.

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

So I feel that one of the most overrated pieces of advice that creatives constantly get bombarded with is “quality over quantity”. Not to say that there isn’t some merit behind this philosophy. However, I feel like it unfortunately holds a lot of artists back and even held myself back for some time…

While I don’t think that artists should be launching every half baked idea they come up with, I also believe that you shouldn’t babying a project making tiny little tweaks that nobody will ever notice. Hoping to come up with the “perfect” song or the “perfect” mix or the “perfect” design is not the move. We are just human after all and there is literally no such thing as perfect.

“Quality” is a very subjective thing after all. What is quality to one person could be considered weak to the next, you know what I’m saying?

I think that a better mantra to embrace is that “Quantity LEADS to quality”. As creatives, we should be looking to improve bit by bit. Of course the first songs that you write are going to suck and you have to remember that it’s like that for everyone. Even the artists that you look up to were making hot trash at first.

The thing is, you just gotta finish each and every project and see it through to the end every single time. The only way that you are going to improve as a creative is if you are sitting down in the studio daily and consistently finishing your work.

One track that is “mid” is much better then having an entire hard-drive of unfinished loops. Just remember that the only thing between you and the icons that you admire most is time, and the way that you spend it.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

This is something a lot of people have hit me up about so I figure now is a good time to shed some light on this!

The main tip I can give is to BE YOUR UNAPOLOGETIC WEIRD SELF! Everyone else is already taken so don’t try to blend into the crowd. You don’t even like everybody else , so come on now.

Just be true to you and don’t overthink things. What I have noticed is that raw emotion and authenticity will always resonate, and all that ‘science’ that goes into calculating the best time to post, best filters / emojis etc. etc. is quite honestly overrated.

I think that when my social media pages really started to gain traction as soon as I started incorporating my interests outside of music and most importantly, my personality.

For example, one thing about me is that I was skating long before I was doing music and this passion is still alive and well within me. Additionally , I really enjoy editing videos and these crafts naturally go hand in hand – as I have been putting together skate videos since I was a young buck.

Then it hit me – like hold up, I could actually promote my music and mixes in an interesting way by creating skate videos getting tricks in at the skatepark. I also applied this mindset to my undying love for fashion as I created a separate video series called “Drew’s Drip” in which I showcase my favorite outfits tastefully synced up to my songs.

If you know me, then you’ll know that I look like a big goofball, but on the inside I am actually just a big goofball. I never know when to stop joking and that has actually helped me when I started incorporating this silly side of me into my social media posts. You know what they say though, laughter is a universal language!

Now, I know it can be daunting to start fresh because it’s hard to put yourself out there and feel like you’re talking into the void when there’s not much interaction at first.

I completely understand that anxieties can arise from not knowing what / when to share and what the best practices are as far as social media content.

Luckily, I picked up an amazing tip from Arielle Hyatt in her book “The Ultimate Guide to Music Publicity” which emphasized the importance of developing your own “themes”. As an artist, of course your releases and career milestones are crucial but for your additional themes, really lean into what makes you uniquely you and don’t hold back on the good stuff!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.drewdapps.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drewdapps/
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/drewdappsdj
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=drewdapps
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5kcqXQxZPqcik7fC8ihAzn?si=gyyQ5SSATzSAm0XnCZEvXA https://soundcloud.com/drewdapps

Image Credits
Dutcheast, Capitol City Shots, Dino Jagger, Visuals by NVM, A Mirror