I had a chance to catch up with Delaware MC thebrilliantdan. His latest project “THE LIGHT MEETS THE DARK” is available to stream below!
Let’s get a good introduction of yourself. Tell the people who you are, where you’re from.
My stage name is thebrilliantdan but my real name is Daniel Fogbawah and I’m from Claymont, Delaware.
What first got you into music?
I grew up listening to a lot of 80’s and 90’s R&B so at that time I wanted to become a singer. I sang a lot growing up, I still do sometimes but I didn’t transition over to rap until I was 14. I'm 18 now, I turn 19 in December.
What made you choose “thebrilliantdan” as your moniker?
Originally my name used to be thatbouldan but I changed it cause I wasn’t messing with the name anymore. I got on the phone one night with one of my bros and we were looking for words that start with B to fit the name . My friend brought up the word brilliant and then off the back it just clicked.
What made you fall in love with hip-hop?
I was very fascinated by the beats used and crazy rhyme schemes when listening to artists like OutKast and ATCQ at the time I started rapping so from there it was just hitting me. I grew to love it more when digging deeper in the different parts of it.
I know you’re quite fond of the New York collective [sLUms.]. What made you gravitate towards them?
I was always into experimental stuff since I used to listen to a lot of knxwledge so when I found out about [sLUms.], I slowly started to get into them. The music resonated with me and it became something I could listen to, especially when I’m feeling down. It later started to influence my production as well.
What do you think about connecting with different artists on this side of music?
I just think about the connection I can make in terms of tips of what I could do to help myself and even collabing always comes up as well but I try to get as close as possible to get used to networking with people who mess with the same sounds I do and have the same drive as me. It’s also a relief to find those types of people.
What was the first track you ever recorded, if you remember?
In 2012 me and my guys used to record random songs but that wasn’t even serious, we were just playing around but my first actual song recorded and put out was a Christian rap song called “Leading People to Christ”. I was known as a Christian rapper before doing regular hip-hop.
Let’s talk about THE LIGHT MEETS THE DARK. What inspired the cover art?
At first I wanted to have an image of me floating into the dark as like a bright light but the shots weren’t good enough, so I just had me looking at the light and metaphorically I’m the light as well and I put the fortune there cause it says “Your individuality provides a light for others”. I still have it somewhere with my other fortunes but yea.
What was the main influences going into making TLMTD?
After my first project which was titled LFW (Lost For Words) which came out on June 9th 2018, I kept saying the words “the light meets the dark” after trying to come up with something over a beat. I stuck with it in the summer and ideas surrounding it were me as the light of the world going through dark times then ending it with a firm resolution where I’m still finding myself. It could all be seen as if it happened in one day or a period of time.
You got the title track produced by [sLUms.] rapper Adé Hakim. How’s that relationship been going?
The relationship is great. He’s like the big bro. I’ve learned a lot from him about the industry, life, [sLUms.], making beats, etc. He’s a very humble guy.
What advice would you give yourself when you first started as of now?
I would have to tell myself it’s going to be a lot of people that will be impacted by you and your music, especially your voice so when there’s times of writer's block, just marinate on situations until you could write something. Also, you might be surprised by who you come in contact with if you keep networking with other artists after you feel comfortable to collab.
What do you have planned in the coming times?
I got a lot planned actually. I’m in a group called “GhostTownProspects” with my bro, he goes by the name Zay Preme. We working on a lil EP with a producer from Spain by the name of Paul Wilbury. It’s been in the works for a while now we just been on and off for some time but that will be next to come. I also already have like a couple solo projects already planned out so we definitely got sum going on.
(This interview has been slightly edited for clarity.)
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