An Interview with DeeAyee

Dami: What inspired you to start making music?

DeeAyee: I’ve been pretty much listening to music all my life and my folks been in the church too so I was pretty much born into it! I was always interested in rapping but I never just took it serious so one day when i was in the 7th grade, just decided to type out a rap song on this old PC and it just started from there.

Dami: How did it start?

DeeAyee: After a while , my old high school had a studio and I decided to try it out for the first time . I was kinda discouraged due to me being nervous and being high school students. So I gave up rapping at that time, but I kept writing till college in 2017 then my old roommate had got some studio equipment and told me to come through and try everything out and I came by and rapped over Vince Staples “Norf Norf” and the rest is history.

Dami: How would you describe your sound now?

DeeAyee: I say my sound now is more laid back and chill on a groovy tip, but I also know that I can switch things up from time to time. I try to be as versatile as I possibly can, but at same time keep it authentic as possible.

Dami: And will you say your folks being from the church shaped your sound in any way?

DeeAyee: I think it shaped my sound a lot considering what I learned and learning today. I feel like it helped me understand certain concepts and also how to keep myself humble. Being in church also helped me understand people being from different backgrounds and how they all can relate to the same messages.

Dami: When you make music, where do you grab inspiration from?

DeeAyee: I grab inspiration from my daily life - what I’m doing/going to do, and what I’m experiencing at that time. I also listen to different albums & mixtapes to see how some of my favorite rappers/artist go about doing things.

Dami: Speaking of favorite rappers, who are your biggest inspirations?

DeeAyee: I have a lot of favorite rappers (they differ from time to time) but the ones who’s been inspiring me here recently are Curren$y, Larry June, Babyface Ray, Kirko Bangz, Tony Shhnow & Robb Bank$.

Dami: You dropped a project a few months ago titled “Viva La DeeAyee: Live From the Rock”. What led to it?

DeeAyee: What led to this project; I knew I wanted make a sequel to “Live from Mexico” and wanted it to be different from that project, and I was kinda in bad mood as far as personal life was going so I wanted to sound angry with the beat selection and what I was saying in the songs.

Dami: How did the “Live From” series begin?

DeeAyee: It started as an EP after I went on a cruise to Cozumel. I just wanted to try something out on some different beats at first and then I saw a lil success and great feedback from it. Then I did it again with the “Live From Paris” mixtape with even more positive reactions.

Dami: Can you tell us more about your other “Live From” series?

DeeAyee: Live From Paris is about going overseas to Paris and spending 8 days out there enjoying the sights, going to concerts and eating the different types of foods and experiencing life there. Live From Mexico was about me going on a week cruise to Mexico (Cozumel and Costa Maya) and catching the vibes there and talking about the experiences I had being on the island and being on that boat for so long.

Dami: Should we be expecting another one this year?

DeeAyee: Yeah. Actually, I’m working on it as we speak. It’s gonna be one of them ones fasho!

Dami: Can you tell us more about it?

DeeAyee: On this project, I am going to be across the globe with this one for sure. I can’t really tell you where I am going right at the moment but it’s on my bucket list and I’m very excited to go there. But the songs I’ve recorded so far have been very groovy (in my opinion) and I feel like I get better at every drop so it’s gonna be one for the books.

Dami: Is the “Live From” album the only project you’re releasing this year?

DeeAyee: I really wanna say no, but the album I’m working right now; I want to take as much as time as possible but I do know I wanted to drop some music that didn’t make some projects this year as well (via SoundCloud)

Dami: Like some loosies?

DeeAyee: Yeah pretty much! I got a few I been wanting to drop for a while now. But I do have a collab project I’ve been working on with a producer in the city. It’s pretty much done. Just waiting on the last feature.

Dami: Care to tell us more about it?

DeeAyee: Yeah me & Chordandjocks been working on this project since last year and we been working with each other since the Live From Paris project (he produced Genevieve Flow) and we have good chemistry and great songs that came from it.

Dami: You started the Live From series in 2023 and dropped your debut single in 2019. How much would you say you’ve grown since then?

DeeAyee: I’ve grown a lot since 2018-2019, I’ve matured a lot as an artist and I learned a lot from other artists that’s been at it longer than me. I gained a lot more confidence in what I can do.

Dami: Can you tell us more about your creative process in general?

DeeAyee: In my creative process, I tend to watch a lot like wrestling, anime and movies. I also like to read comic books and I use stuff like that to tie everything in my music. Usually, whenever I’m recording music, I have on something like either a gameplay of a video game, a random wrestling paper-view, or any anime or tv show I’ve watched and just catch a vibe.

Dami: What 3 words would you use to describe your upcoming album?

DeeAyee: To describe this album in 3 words: Emotional, Reflecting, Crossroads.

Dami: What’s been the most stressful part of being an artist so far?

DeeAyee: I say trying to get my music heard is pretty much the stressful part for me. Like making the music, doing music videos, and having live performances is really nothing to me. It’s how to attract a loyal audience especially coming from Little Rock, Arkansas where not too many rap artists make it out from there, let alone even heard of.  Trying to find the right audience with the type of music I make is pretty tough but I know that I can get the job done.

Dami: What do you hope to accomplish this year?

DeeAyee: What I set to accomplish this year is to get my name out there a little bit more than I did last year. Doing more interviews, jumping on discords and everything in between. I also planned on dropping a lil bit more music this year (I’m also working on album.. not sure if that’s gonna be released this year but also the next installment in the Live From) and also more live performances and taking more risks.

Check out DeeAye’s music and socials here