“the beauty of creative freedom.” – Levy Da Don “Ride or Die” (Official Music Video)

The backing track to this song has that calm yet industrial sounding ambiance to it, a deep and mellow theme with a slight darkness on the side, and as a trip-hop piece it would sound pretty good – it’s an effective bit of creative production. The melody of the track fits in with the backdrop as well, the whole relaxed yet angst-like presentation of it all fits the mood of the experience.

The vocal effect makes you draw a few too many comparisons, which, for an effect, a simple software addition to a performance, is something that maybe doesn’t need to be the focal point of the track. It’s a sound that works well and sounds great in some situations, but it’s overwhelming how much the effect has been used here. However, it does add to the relevance of the track. There would be even more value to the track if you could more clearly relate to or identify with the artist performing. It would be much easier to focus in on the lyrics, which pass by fairly unnoticed on first listen, if the effect was toned down, or used intermittently, or for emphasis at certain points in which a line or idea was of particular depth or importance. A lot of the time though, it’s personal preference in the case of mixing and producing as much as it is in the case of writing and performing, and that’s the beauty of creative freedom.

The vibe of the music is great, the atmosphere it creates is easy to chill to, and the artist has a unique style to his performance and lyricism that is worth listening to if you’re a fan of the genre. The production is top notch too, an impressive studio quality finished off in a number of good ways.

By Rebecca Cullen

Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing.

Exclusive Interview:

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

Levy Da Don: I grew up on the east side of Toronto, the neighborhood i grew up in is Markham and Eglinton also known as MnE down in scarborough. As a kid i was always into music mostly because of my older brother, he had me listening to Biggie, 2pac, Nas, Eminem, and Jadakiss and those guys. i been writting lyrics from since i was 12 but i never took rap serious until about last year, thats when i really started to think i could probably go somewhere with this.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

Levy Da Don: The name Levy Da Don comes from my real name “Remone Levy” but when i started taking rap serious i dropped my first name and used my middle name “Stephon” as my rap name and everybody around my neighborhood calls me by my last name “Levy” for short. Levy Da Don is a nick name i came up with and the reason why i chose to roll with it is cause a lot of people including kids who live in my area started looking up to me as the guy who can probably make a difference in our community.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Levy Da Don: i love making music and every song i ever made i gave it out for free. i dont believe i should be charging people any of my songs until i see that my fan base is on a level where if i do decide to start charging people they’re not only buying it cause they want to hear the newest Levy Da Don tracks, they’re buying it to show me that they’re behind my whole movement 100%.

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?

Levy Da Don: The only advice i can give to someone thats trying to come up like my self is never stop doing what u love to do even if it seems like your not going anywhere and always put 110% into your work, the harder you work the better your outcome.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Levy Da Don: i’v never made a mistake during one of my performances yet but never would i think its not going to happen. Every time I’m on stage is all fun, people always tell me they love my energy and the vibe i bring on stage but if i do ever mess up in the future its not a problem i’ll keep going.

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

Levy Da Don: i’v never been on tour yet but i do plan on performing around canada and hopefully in states once all my charges drop.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

Levy Da Don: everything i ever wrote about is based on something that either happened in my life or something i know other people can relate too. i write most of my best music sitting by myself with some headphones just listening to the beat. i don’t really like being around a lot of people when I’m writing because theres to much distractions but sometimes i does help to have a few people around so you can get some feed on your work.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

Levy Da Don: i use Instagram probably everyday, i also have a fan page on Facebook, a Soundcloud account, and i have twitter. my Instagram name is @levydadon, my twitter is @stephon_mne, my Soundcloud is Stephon Levy, and my Facebook fan page is Levy Da Don.

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

Levy Da Don: i don’t know if you’ll find any embarrassing songs that i made because most of the songs i made when i was younger got deleted.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

Levy Da Don: If i was given that money i’d invest into my music and i would use that year off to work on a mixtape or album.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

Levy Da Don: right now im starting to work on my mixtape for next year, my fans been asking for a tape for a while now so my goal for 2017 is to give them what they ask for.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you? 

Levy Da Don: i do most of my promoting using my IG, Facebook, and Twitter. i even try to get my videos posted on local blog sites and have all my fans promoting my work too.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

Levy Da Don: If i could perform anywhere of my choice i’d choose madison square garden only cause thats one of the biggest platforms for an artist to perform at and if i could choose any artist dead or alive i’d choose the Notorious B.I.G because his music is what i grew up off of when i was growing up and he plays a big part of why i take rap serious today.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Levy Da Don: i recently started working on my new mixtape, i haven’t given it a name yet its still in working progress but im planning on dropping it late 2017 probably around Augest or September.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Levy Da Don: if i wasn’t making music i don’t know what i would be doing today. i don’t really have a backup plan if i don’t make it far in the music industry, I plan on making music forever.

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?

Levy Da Don: Honestly i never bought another artist’s album before because i was never the type of person to buy someone else’s music or pay to go see the perform live.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

Levy Da Don: i don’t got a job so I’m outside all day everyday doing what i got to do to make a dollar and to make sure my family’s straight, and when it comes to recording music i have my own engineer and studio i go to any time i have a new song i want to work on.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in the next year or so?

Levy Da Don: like i said I’m working on a mixtape to drop next year so look keep a look out for future videos coming out. Any new video that comes out is going to be part of my mixtape, either I’ma put the track on the tape or the video’s gonna be a promoting the upcoming tape.