Exposed Vocals Interviews DSmith
DSmith, born January 28, 1994. 22 years old getting ready to release his debut project “XIII: Stories Never Told” with a style that differs from what you would normally hear from someone in the Chicagoland area. He is from Joliet, IL, that’s 30mins away from Chicago. He states that his city is influenced by any and everything that goes in Chicago. This has been the way things have been since he was younger. He has a rap style that is abstract from what you would normally hear coming out of the Midwest region and ESPECIALLY different for someone coming out of a city so close to Chicago with all the “Drill” music taking over the region lately. His debut project is set to drop sometime 2016. Lookout for “XIII: Stories Never Told”.
Twitter: @DSmithXIII
Instagram: @DSmithXIII
Facebook: Facebook.com/DSmithXIII
Soundcloud: Soundcloud.com/DSmithXIII
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
DSmith: I grew up in Joliet, IL-a small city outside of Chicago. My city is influenced heavily by everything that happens in Chicago..the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s hard to find originality here and most people here would rather support other artists than their own local artists. I always knew I’d do something with music since I was a kid but what got me started was my step dad and my uncle who had built a studio in our basement. Ever since then I’d sit in on sessions and just learn how everything was done. Years after that we lost my uncle and things haven’t been the same since. I continue doing what they started–what he started because he knew someday it’d happen for us and just like I believed in him and my step dad I know they believe in me and my uncle is still watching over us pushing us forward.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
DSmith: My name is name. I didn’t want to come up with a “stage name” because I felt like I always wanted to be and remain myself. The D is the initial of my first name and Smith is my last name.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
DSmith: I believe sharing music online is the future. Especially being an independent artist who is trying to build a fanbase. If I choose to remain independent I will always give away my music for free. It’s not always about making money–or at least not so soon. The money making aspect can come from other things and selling music isn’t the way I want to generate revenue.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
DSmith: I would say to always be yourself and believe in yourself. Treat yourself as a brand and always remember you are a business. Success doesn’t come without sacrifice and you’ll end up having to make a lot of hard choices but never do anything that’ll tarnish your brand.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
DSmith: I gather inspiration from my life and those around me. I don’t always have to experience things to be able to tell a story or write a song about it. I usually sit alone and marinate in my own thoughts before I start actually writing. The goal in my music is to always get someone to visualize themselves in my shoes.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
DSmith: Currently I do not have a band website BUT I do use platforms such as Soundcloud, Twitter, Instagram, FaceBook and Google+ to share my music. Social Networking connects us all together and it’s about how well you use these tools to meet your goals that really sets apart the serious artists and the fakers.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
DSmith: I’d set aside a huge portion of that for my child. Then with the rest of the money I’d be investing in things–including myself in ways that my money spent will always come back as money earned that way my “year off” could be more than just a year off.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
DSmith: The best way I promote my music is to my core fans! They are simply the best! Email blasts and submitting to anyone looking for new artists/music has always shown me great results.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
DSmith: My debut project, “XIII: Stories Never Told” is a mix away from being released and I’m very excited about that! There’s singles from the project out online and the reviews so far have been great so I’m very excited about releasing my first full body of work.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
DSmith: I would probably be in school, in debt like most of America. Not that I have anything against furthering your education but I’m not too excited about living in debt for the rest of my life. So yeah I’d be in school–working to get my degree in business management.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
DSmith: Schedules, schedules, schedules! Never giving up and always having my priorities together.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
DSmith: Most definitely the release of “XIII: Stories Never Told”, I’m also doing a lot more shows after the release as well as modeling for different clothing brands and magazines. I just plan to stay really busy this year. The sky is the limit!