Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where
did you grow up? What made you decide to
become an artist?
De Gem: I was born in Accra at a suburb called Bubuashie. However, because my parents frequently moved from one suburb to the other, I grew up living in different neighborhoods all the time. I’ve liked and enjoyed music since infancy. I figured I’d do music someday but I didn’t know how. I discovered my rap talent in high school and from then onwards, I started planning on how to become the best musician I could be. This is just my beginning though.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with
that name? What was your inspiration behind
it?
De Gem: Well I love gemstones. I like how precious and adorable they are and how difficult it is discovering them. I therefore coined the name ‘De Gem’ from my own name Desmond Agyeman just to tell everybody that I’m a gem. However, I believe humans are priceless, so, when you mention ‘De Gem’, I just respond, “2(too) priceless”, just to show how valuable I am. Well, all other humans are valuable though.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about
online music sharing? Do you ever give your
music away for free? Why?
De Gem: Online music sharing is the fastest way of sharing music. Its the best if not the first. Hahahaha. Of course I’m an upcoming artiste and I have to build a large fan base and also gain stable popularity. I therefore have to give my music out for free. The rewards will bring themselves later.
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?
De Gem: I entreat all upcoming artistes to try and post a short video of their performances every week or every two weeks on their various social media platforms. It will go a long way in building their fan base and increasing their connections with other music producers, sound engineers, artistes and managers as well.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes
during performances? How do you handle
that?
De Gem: I do make mistakes but I don’t regret them so much. They make me better. However, I make sure I don’t make the ‘over the bar’ kind of mistakes if you get what I mean.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything
interesting happen on tour that you think our
readers would enjoy hearing about?
De Gem: Honestly I’ve not toured before. Hahahaha.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather
songwriting inspiration? What is your usual
songwriting process?
De Gem: My inspiration comes mainly from rap and RnB artistes. My songs are instinctive. They come unexpectedly to me. It doesn’t matter where I am.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website?
What online platforms do you use to share
your music?
De Gem: I don’t have a band website. I share my tracks and freestyles on Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud. Just search De Gem on all three platforms and check out my page (Facebook and Soundcloud) or timeline (Twitter) for my freestyles and the links to my tracks.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really
embarrassing songs that we might find on
your mp3 player?
De Gem: None. I don’t just have ‘any’ song on my MP3 player. Wait, do I even have an MP3 player. Hahahaha
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a
million dollars and a year off, what would you
do? How would you spend it?
De Gem: Nice question. I would buy one or two shares from the Berkshire Hathaway investment company. I would then delve into online trading. I’m a writer too so I’ll definitely publish one or two of my books on a very large scale.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio
upgrades? What are you working with now?
De Gem: I’m working on some new tracks. For now, everything I use is free apart from the cost of any studio recordings I do. I use free beats for my tracks and of course, I promote all my tracks online. That’s free too. Hahaha
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to
promote your music? What works best for
you?
De Gem: Social media platforms.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform
anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive)
where and who would it be with? Why?
De Gem: DJ Khalid, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem,Tori Kelly and Fali Finest. They are crowd movers and my favourite artistes too.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new
upcoming projects that you want to talk
about?
De Gem: Yeaaa. I’ve got an upcoming track with a rapper friend of mine called Thebot Zym. It’s titled “punchlines”. There’s another upcoming track about the dirty politics played in my country. I titled that “create, loot and share”. Y’all have to watch out like 2 chains. Haha
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music,
what would you be doing?
De Gem: Writing. I’m also part of an NGO that’s into recycling. I enjoy both of them so much.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying
your first album? Who was it? What was
going through your head?
De Gem: I don’t really remember.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest
of your responsibilities while trying to stay
ahead in your music life?
De Gem: Proper planning saves me from lots of headaches.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look
forward to in the next year or so?
De Gem: My fans should expect – and of course they’ll be given – the most beautiful and brain-racking tracks they can think of. Hopefully I’ll try and tour next year too. Hahahaha.
