Interview: Damonte
Damonte is a singer, songwriter, and style icon making waves worldwide with his effortless fusion of old-school and new-age R&B sounds. He's dropped three albums since 2017, as well as countless swooning singles like Daddy, Together, I Really Want You, and his latest single as of this writing, Don't Play With My Heart. Myself and Damonte discussed the music scene in his home state of Mississippi, the paradigm of old and new sounds in R&B as it stands today, and Damonte's personal musicmaking process. Interviewed by Max Olarinde.
Max: As someone with loved ones from Mississippi, which area in Mississippi do you hail from? And what is the state of the music scene around there?
Damonte: I hail from a small town 50 miles south of Jackson, MS, called Brookhaven, MS and musically around my area it's mostly Hip hop, Blues, Country or Gospel, but no R&B artists.
Max: How long have you been singing and/or making music?
Damonte: I have been singing for 21 years, I started off singing Gospel quartet with my mom and family but becoming DAMONTE the artist I have been making music for 5 years.
Max: Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with, and why?
Damonte: My dream collaboration would be with Beyoncé or Usher because both been in the game for multiple decades and I would learn so much from them, not just musically but also the business. It would be so legendary.
Max: I love the timeless sound you brought to Don’t Play With My Heart, it feels equally modern and also a return to 2000s era R&B. Do you feel like that old-school energy has never really left the genre? Damonte: First thank you so much, and I feel [the] old school sound has never left the genre because every time we hear a song it has either old school sample or the artist is redoing a song from the old school sound, I feel it’s definitely still here but it going take the right artist to bring it back to the forefront.
Cover art for Don't Play With My Heart
Max: Is your personal musical process more about freestyling, finding the right melodies, or do put your pen before anything else?
Damonte: It varies for me, it really depends on how I’m feeling that day or how the beat connect with me, I love to create worlds and emotions in my Art and really focus on the message or vision I’m tryna convey.
Max: Are there any other indie artists you would personally like to shout out?
Damonte: Yes Definitely. I have many artists that inspires me daily: ZVN, KA$INO, COJOMO , FTF QUIN, MECCA just to name a few.
Damonte has more music and visuals slated to come very soon, so it's about time you gave him a follow before the next record is everywhere.
Follow Damonte on IG to keep up with his latest releases: @damonte_official
Stream Damonte's music on all platforms here.
Written by Max Olarinde, @mobeige1 on all socials.