We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dylan Dent a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dylan, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project(s) that I’ve worked on is probably my Weirdo series. Specifically the Weirdo 2. I started working on the Weirdo 2 in 2020 before the pandemic started. As the year went on my circumstances changed and I was able to explore my artistry in brand new ways. I went way, way, deeper on the project than I thought I would or even could. I was very meticulous and detail oriented, I tried not to waste a single moment. To this day it’s the biggest endeavor I’ve taken on so far. 14 tracks completely conceived, written, produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by myself. The only other person on the project was my photographer Will Drew.

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’ve been calling myself “the black coffee of people” for a few years now. I can be a bit of an acquired taste. Especially if it’s just the “day to day” version of myself and not the performer. In many ways I don’t consider myself part of the music industry at large. A lot of the numbers (followers, streams, and so on) keep me feeling as if I’m on the outside looking in. However, I’ve been involved with music from a very early age. I got my first guitar at age 6. But I didn’t start taking my craft seriously until 2017. Basically just being a hobbyist until that point.
Since then, I’ve been almost completely obsessed with getting better at bringing my thoughts and musings to life. So far I’ve been focused on music. Eventually I aim to break into other fields and areas of art. Namely comedy and filmmaking.
As far as genre is concerned I really don’t know what to tell you. It’s not something I think about when I’m creating and it’s getting more mixed as I evolve as an artist. I think my ability to hop between genres is one of my biggest strengths. In all honesty, I’m just trying to be as cool as my main inspirers. Donald Glover, Andre 3000, Kid Cudi, Pharrell, Lecrae, Jon Bellion, Gorillaz, Kevin Parker, Thom Yorke, or Hans Zimmer. Just to name a few.
Honestly, one of the things I’m most proud of is how many projects I’ve finished in a small amount of time. I’ve completed 7 projects, released 6, in 5 years time. I’m already in the process of crafting two more. As a person with ADHD follow through can be a little rough for so many long term projects with no supervision or hard deadlines. All while having at least one day job, often times two. But here we are… praise God.
I never know how people are going to respond to my art. But I always hope to inspire, encourage, provoke thought, or provide levity with just about everything I do.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

One of my biggest hurdles as a creative is that I’m not a great salesperson. It’s really not a skill set that jives with my personality and temperament very well. Which might not seem like a big deal from the outside. However, we largely engage with art and culture through the internet and social media. A lot of these platforms organize their content by what brings the most traffic. In essence, if you don’t/can’t package your product in a way that drives engagement for whatever platform you’re using, then you likely won’t go far. Regardless of product quality. I still believe in a grassroots approach to art and creativity. But that leaves you at the whim of the temperament of whatever city/area you’re in.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Building off the last question, I really hope society remembers that this world is very dense. Everything you see on the surface is not everything there is. I hope we remember to keep turning over stones to find new things. I hope we give that song we hated the first time a second, third, or even fourth listen. A lot of the music I adore did not click with me at first. I’ll say this at the risk of sounding older than I am (27) and more pretentious than I’d rather sound.. Get off the apps every once in a while. Have a conversation with a person about some album, movie, comedy show, why you liked it or why not. Engage with that piece of culture you think you’ll hate. Remember that most of these algorithms are showing you what they think you want. Almost like a kind of mirror. If you don’t like what you see look for what you like and engage with that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dylansprism.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dylansprism
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dylansprism
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/-MltmKIRysM
• Other: https://linktr.ee/DylansPrism?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=77078e62-4533-4edd-b47a-1b1f0ccff699

Image Credits
Will Drew