We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Duka. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Duka below.
Duka, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
I’m extremely happy. I feel so blessed that God gave me this talent and the wherewithal to nurture it. In 2021, I got a “normal” job as a sales rep. I’ve had many day jobs during my pursuit to make music my day job but this sales job was the first one I liked. I liked the people and I liked the culture. Within a month of working there, they took the employees to Mexico for a 3 day music festival where Post Malone headlined. It was safe to say I’d drank the Koolaid. For the first time, since I’d began pursuing music professionally, I contemplated a different career path. At some point during that trip, I got Covid. It smacked me when I got back to the states and I ended up having to stay home from work for 10 days. Essentially, God sat me down and asked me if I’d lost my mind. As I sat at home, unable to go anywhere, I felt like I was regaining consciousness. I realized there was no way in hell I was going to stop chasing this thing and I was insane for even thinking about it. I hadn’t come this far to stop now and sell windows for the rest of my life. Part of the reason I’d avoided a normal job is because I knew it would take time away from music. So to combat this, I’m my Covid induced sit down, I told myself that if this job was going to limit my music time, I was just going to go harder with music. And in 2022, I released a song every other week for 9 months. This did so many things for me. It elevated my production, built my catalog, strengthened my writing, but most of all, it reaffirmed the fact that music is so deeply apart of me and I literally couldn’t stop it if I wanted to. And I have no problem with this.
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 back background and context?
My name is Duka. I’m the son of Nigerian immigrants. I grew up in Smyrna, GA. I was a late bloomer as far as music goes. I didn’t start singing til I was like 16 and then waited til 17 to sing in front of people. When I was a freshman in college, a kid who’s now one of my best friends, heard me sing and asked me if I wanted to write a song and it changed the course of my life. Music has been everything to me since then. When I graduated, I moved back to Atlanta and started to pursue music professionally. When I think back to a 17 year old Duka and how far I’ve come since then, I’m so proud of myself for sticking with it. If you commit to learning and growing in any field, you can literally watch your environment change before your eyes. To go from performing at a coffee shop in college to being in rooms I prayed to be in, all because I never stopped, is so inspiring as well as reassuring.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I don’t think people understand the weight of our dreams. It’s not as simple as something that I want to do. It’s what I am. I create. If your dream is something you let go, it’s already incomparable to mine. My biggest fear isn’t that I won’t make it. It’s that I know that I’ll never stop trying. This is the level of ambition we operate at. It’s lonely and it’s amazing. It’s excruciating and it’s peace. It’s complicated. So try not to trivialize the dreams of your friends. It’s never as simple as doing it or not doing it.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I’ve got this skill that’s potentially very lucrative and I’d love to use it to set up my family for the next generation. I want to use my dream to allow a path for the people I love to confidently pursue their own dreams. From real estate, to daycares, to whatever. I have a big family and I want those who come after us to have a choice in what they do.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/dukasdayoff
- Facebook: Facebook.com/dukasdayoff
- Twitter: Twitter.com/dukasdayoff
- Youtube: Youtube.com/@dukasdayoff
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0oxAY1bzauffvCA5m6tsBZ