Meet Dakarai | Singer/Songwriter/Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dakarai and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dakarai, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk and pursuing a career in music are almost synonymous – unsurprisingly I’m sure – but risk is exciting and, in my case, risk has been rewarding. This doesn’t make the risky nature of the business any less scary but I’m expectant of riskiness in my field of work and I welcome it because it forces me to problem-solve and think outside of being comfortable. The cliché of “it forces me to grow” may invoke some cringing here but it’s true and necessary

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art: This is always a challenge to describe because my art is in constant flux and is less about what I want it to be and more about how my life, professional endeavours and the people I meet shape it. I consider myself a singer and performer first but these days my art is expressed primarily through songwriting for others. For that I have to be a chameleon obviously but surprisingly, I never feel lost or compromised because I’m present in the way I tell the stories and how I compose melodies and arrange harmonies if that makes any sense.

I’m distinct because my approach isn’t to sound like what’s hot nor am I trying to be deliberately left of field. I like pulling from the unique and eclectic influences I have and allowing what I enjoy listening to to shape my work. So, if something calls for quirkiness, I embrace it. If it calls for something more contemporary, then I embrace that too. This is often happening in the same piece simultaneously.

How I arrived to where I am professionally is pretty predictable and boring: persistence, focus, audacity, absurdity…. More cringe

Was it easy? No! Lot’s of c**k-blocking and Hollyweird stuff – predictably lol

I’m still overcoming challenges but the way to overcome those – present, past and future – is as predictable as it gets: enter the ring basically. Prepare to get beat up a bit but expect to come out a little more resilient and little better at both avoiding and taking a good punch! Truthfully, there have been some painful things that I’ve endured and as much as it may motivate me or at least inspire a song idea sometimes, it still hurts and like any other person, I deal with it – or not – as well or as poorly as anyone else.

The best lesson is probably the easiest for me to answer but it may sound somewhat cryptic: Don’t listen to the noise: People have all kind of “expert” opinions and it is best to eat the fish and throw away the bones and if the fish is rotten, throw the whole thing out!

I want the world to hear what I do and hopefully dig it enough to want to hear more of it as I evolve.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Hopefully it would be summer time so we can hike at Arabia Mountain on the Eastside. I love hiking and being out in nature where it’s quiet and full of life at the same time so we’d have to do some of that.

We’d also have to hit up my good friend Al Smith’s various famous jams. He has two main ones at the moment: Kat’s Cafe in Midtown on Thursday and his Sunday jam. We’d have to hit Rich and Poor in East Point on Thursday night too!

In terms of food we’d have to go to K&K’s Soul Food in Bankhead, JJ Fish & Chicken in Decatur, Gordon Spice in Decatur – ’cause we need some good Jamaican food and Hattie B’s on Moreland Ave in East Atlanta.

Besides that, we’d have to kick it with the amazing folks I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
When seeing this question, two people came to mind instantly: Dr. Charmaine Marine, choir director for the Lawrence Heights Middle School Choir, who I was introduced to when I was a child and Franklin Robb who was my vocal coach. He also introduced me to Dr. Marine. Both titles aren’t broad enough to describe all that these two have done for me. Both of these folks were integral to preparing me for the stage but they went above and beyond in laying the foundation for my work in vocal production, stage performance, navigating the industry, etc

Instagram: @DakaraiMusic

Twitter: @DakaraiMusic

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Image Credits
Alexia Alevetsovitis Sarah Hong Gesilayefa Azorbo NOW Magazine