Dahi:

The title is an ode to my younger self. The album represents my youth and how I view the world, bringing light to what was truthful to my childhood. At the end of the day, I consider myself a kid at heart, and creatively I’m always pulling from that source of inspiration or viewpoint, because I feel like as a child you’re not tainted by the world. You just feel things and make it what it is. So, yeah, it was paying homage to my younger self.

D:

At the end of the day, it’s about who you really are. Are you the same person you were as a child? What do you actually represent, and what do you stand for as a human being? What are you willing to sacrifice in life? What are the things that weigh you down that are sometimes tragic and heavy, and how are you able to fight through that to get through life? Overall, I’d say self-identity, self-reflection, and perseverance. 

D:

To be honest, I felt it was the same in terms of putting the records together. I know how to make an album, so using that experience was pretty fluid throughout the process. I think the only difference was trying to identify my voice in the music and making it more prominent—that was just an adjustment. Overall, it felt natural and on par with how I make records in general, whether writing melodies, lyrics, or performing. It felt like a natural part of my identity as an artist.

D:

I was really excited for people to hear it. But also, I was excited because it was something that felt very personal and connected to the narrative I’ve been trying to tell in my music—the things I’m proud of and what I want to represent. Now that the album is out, it feels like a sense of relief. I feel a bit removed from it, as I finished the album two years ago, so bringing those memories back is interesting now that it feels new to other people. It’s about reconnecting with these moments in a new space, which has been cool. It helps me understand what art is—that it can be timeless. It doesn’t necessarily have to feel new; if you made something 5 or 10 years ago and it still resonates, that’s the most important thing. Overall, I’m just happy it’s out. It’s definitely timestamped in my mind as living in the moment of making it, but also having other people listen to it.

D:

A lot of things changed—going through the pandemic, having kids, dealing with family drama, and personal highs and lows. Overall, life becomes more apparent in how bleak it is. So much of what we do every day is just getting through today, pushing through, and trying to live for the now. But sometimes I think you’re trying, at least for me, to bring understanding to the ‘why.’

And over time, the ‘why’ becomes a little clearer in what I’m supposed to do or what feels natural. Having clarity in the message is what time gave me; it made it more present in how this relates to other people and how they feel connected to who they are. Overall, I’m just growing up. That’s the main thing I’ve taken away in these last few years.

D:

It wasn’t really a choice; I didn’t intentionally set out to have this many features on the album. I think it just came naturally, given the way I work with so many artists, and these are my friends. I really love collaboration as a tool to make something better than what I expected or what I could have done by myself. Overall, it was natural to bring these artists and people into my world. The main thing I wanted to establish was that these songs aren’t necessarily for their own albums. I wanted to build a world they could come to play in—a treat for their own craft and artistry. When you hear the album, it becomes apparent that even though they do other things, these songs fit a certain unification and a sound that feels unique to the project.

D:

A lot of it was just people in my head that I thought I could work well with, or people I’ve been fans of, or whose voices I admire. Overall, I think these are people who live in the alternative world in their own way or perspective. Knowing that about each of these artists made it easier to pitch them the ideas that I had for songs. It really boiled down to what each of these songs means to me personally and how we could make something special, given their perspective and what they’ve gone through. Each song feels like a different voice compared to what they’ve done on their own projects, but I feel like they could take these songs and perform them in their own shows or play them for their friends and feel proud of what they contributed to the album.

D:

The process was really fluid. There wasn’t a master plan or a ‘big board’ of things we wanted to do. A lot of it was just starting from jam sessions where I’d bring starter ideas that felt cool, and then everyone would get on the mic to pitch an idea or play a line, and we’d all react to it. It felt very much like a band; everyone involved just stacked on someone else’s idea and kept building from there. It was like a Lego set—it felt like a blank canvas. If something felt right, you just went with it. That’s what made the album fun. Once you have that idea, you can figure out how to structure it in a way that people understand, invoking the feelings we were aiming for in a short amount of time.

D:

To be honest, the sound of that era is still prominent in what I became a fan of. Everything felt more regional back then—whether you were from the West Coast, the South, New York, Detroit, or Miami—and that made it special because everyone in those spaces was making music true to their culture. Artists were collaborating and jumping into sessions, and that idea of collaboration was much more acceptable. Now, when I go into sessions, I know how special those rooms are. If you have the right room and bring people together, you can create something dope. That was happening a lot during that time; it felt fluid, and there wasn’t a lot of ego involved because everyone was just trying to make great stuff and put it on the internet to see what happened. I’m still a fan of those feelings when making music.

D:

For me personally, I strive for a balance in the projects I choose to be part of. At the end of the day, you have to be proactive in managing your finances and how you want to move creatively. I never want money to dictate the projects I take on, or feel the desperation of needing a hit record just to pay bills or escape financial debt. Overall, I create a balance in my life that allows me to work on what feels right. It has helped me have a longer career than most, simply because of my approach—I never feel like I’m chasing anything that feels unnatural. I’m always trying to find things that feel the best, whether indie or otherwise, and I usually find myself working on something that feels cool or unique for the times.

D: I don’t like to answer that question because I’m going to work with who I need to work with. I’m a fan of a lot of people, and there’s a lot of incredible art out there, but I live by spontaneity—knowing that what you think you want may not be what you actually want, and what you didn’t expect often comes to pass. So, I just let God be the choice, and Lord willing, it feels like the right move.