D.$el is back with soulful new EP
Progression is key and super important in this industry. Just because an artist doesn’t drop music as consistent as we would like, doesn’t mean he isn’t working behind the scenes. The last time we heard from Los Angeles artist D.$el was back in early 2018 when he released his album, VITW II.
“A lot of trial and error along with sleepless nights went into creating this project, I hope y’all enjoy the vibes” D.$el wrote as part of his caption for the release of his new EP, Never Bout Love, Vol.1.
From the mixing and mastering, down to the cover art D.$el did it all by himself. It’s very rare nowadays that an artist takes full control of their project and with that being said, its worth your time to tune in to this body of work. It’s organic, soulful and relatable on so many levels.
I enjoyed listening to each and every track, D.$el gave raw emotion and it made me want to keep hearing what he had to say. My favorites are “G.O.A.T” featuring Chicky and “All I Got” which samples Beyonce’s record “Me, Myself and I.”
Take a listen for yourself and check out our interview below.
RizeMag: Tell the world a little about who D.$el is and what has inspired your musical journey?
D.$el: My name is D.$el and I’m a 23 year old rapper from LA. I first fell in love with music at the age of 6 and from there I knew that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Early on I wanted to be the world’s greatest singer, until high school when my homies and I started rapping at lunch time and causing a huge scene around all of our battles and stuff. I started taking my craft serious at around that time and studying the greats such as Biggie, Snoop, Pac, Jay, Common, Tribe and so on. That mixed with a little Kanye, Lauryn Hill, Young Thug, and Michael Jackson really birthed the artist that I am today hahaha.
RizeMag: How would you describe your sound?
D.$el: I want my sound to be something that can’t be replicated. It’s a melodic sound that gets stuck in your head but the lyrical content of each song is relatable to almost every human. I love talking about real life because that’s how you connect to the people. I like to think that I take the whole rap/ singing mixture to a new level. I listen to a lot of old school/ soul music and that inspires me to try to create timeless music with everything I create.
RizeMag: Who are some of your favorite artists right now?
D.$el: To tell the truth, I don’t listen to many other artists right now. I work so hard on my craft to the point to where I find myself always listening to my own songs critiquing and figuring out new things to add. I make music that I want to hear instead of what everyone else wants. Outside of myself I just listen to my brothers from the city. Artists like J.r Cruise, AyoDizzy, Chicky, KhellyB, 2G’z, and Kalan FrFr. Those are the dudes that bring something new to the table in my opinion.
RizeMag: It’s been awhile since you’ve released music, how does your new project Never Bout Love Vol 1. Differ from Vibrations Of The West ll?
D.$el: Never Bout Love Vol.1 differs from VOTW II in a multitude of ways. First off, I would say the creative process for both projects differ. VOTW was more of a fun and energetic project with tons of freestyles and loose bars. NBL on the other hand came from a very vulnerable place. I was going through a break up at the time and I literally just wanted to make something from the heart. These were all songs that were created late at night when the whole world was asleep. For the first time I took the mixing and mastering into my own hands and really got a chance to get the music to sound how I wanted it to sound. You can definitely hear the difference in the music.
RizeMag: What are some things you’ve learned about yourself or about the music putting together your new project?
D.$el: Man the biggest thing that I learned is that you can do it yourself, don’t make any excuses. While working on this project, I took an $1800 loss which basically disabled me from getting studio time, mixing, cover art, videos, etc. I was devastated but taking that L just made me go harder. I literally STOPPED SLEEPING FOR THIS PROJECT! I recorded every song from my room, taught myself how to mix, and even did the cover art on my own. This project went through 3 different versions and every version wasn’t very good but instead of giving up it just pushed me to go even harder. Working on this tape really just taught me the principle of believing in myself to a whole different level and seeing the reactions it’s gotten from the public has been the most rewarding experience.
RizeMag: Favorite track or tracks? And why?
D.$el: My favorite songs from the tape definitely has to be GOAT or Set Me Free. I feel like those are the two songs that make you feel something deep in your spirit and forces you to dance even if you don’t want to. My favorite changes every few days but yea, those two are my favorite for this week at least ahaha.
RizeMag: What can we expect next from you?
D.$el: You can expect A LOT from me coming up soon!!! I have a project I’ve been working on for years called “City of Angels”. I want its release to be flawless so that is the reason why I dropped Never Bout Love, it was intended to be an appetizer while City of Angels is the full course meal. I plan on releasing a short film with the next project and hosting my own show in the city to celebrate the release. I don’t want to spoil it with a release date yet but just know that it’s coming a lot sooner than you think!
