You may know Dae Jones from her outstanding performances at the #BETExperience and the 2019 Hip Hop Awards Cypher, the up and coming rapper was the most recent winner of BET’s The Next Rap Star Competition and her music is nothing short of legendary. Inspired by Kanye West’s song “Through The Wire,” Dae began to channel hardships and life experiences to create outstanding art. The Knockturnal had an exclusive interview with Dae, check it out below!
The Knockturnal: You were the winner of The Next Rap Star Competition on BET, which allowed thousands of people to see your work and recognize your talent. How did it feel to have this honor?
Dae Jones: It felt amazing to finally feel like I’m winning within my music career. I’ve always been in settings where you’re judged off of popularity, at that competition I was judged based off talent. No one knew me personally at the table and the talent prevailed.
The Knockturnal: You’ve talked before about how you express pain and hardships through your music, tell us a little about what these songs mean to you?
Dae Jones: I don’t talk about hardship in my music, all the time. I came from nothing so now that I have a little something, the context of my music is different. I still talk about where I’ve been and what I’ve been through and at times I play with my softer side and go R&B on em lol. Music is more about your mood, how u feel, how a beat moves you and you just zone out! So this EP is really a mix of all that! This is my first release, so this project means EVERYTHING to me!! I’ve been doubted for so long, I have a lot to prove!
The Knockturnal: What do you hope that listeners take away from hearing your music? What message are you trying to send?
Dae Jones: I’m hoping that people know that “That girl can rap, she’s been through some shit but she’s a fighter and she’s about her business”.
The Knockturnal: What are your biggest goals as an artist?
Dae Jones: My goal is to make people feel good through music, help them get through things, to be in a position to help others and to provide financial stability for my family.
The Knockturnal: Your newest single Cash App is debuted today, what are you most excited about regarding this? How does it feel to have your work heard by so many people?
Dae Jones: The exciting part is watching it all come together, watching this start at a competition (that I almost didn’t do), to fulfilling dream and sharing my sound with the world. The feeling is crazy!
The Knockturnal: You’ve said that you wrote your first rap after hearing “Through The Wire” by Kanye West. How did this inspire you, and what other inspirations have you had throughout your career?
Dae Jones: The way he rapped through a wire with his mouth wired shut, you could hear his hunger, you felt the pain, the lyrics, the beat and even his back story. Kanye’s from my hometown, he went against the odds, left home, and brought back a deal. I always told myself that I would do that and look at god ??.
The Knockturnal: Finally, what do you hope to inspire as an artist in today’s generation?
Dae Jones: I hope I inspire today’s generation to never give up on their dreams. I hear a lot of people say this but they’ve only been rapping for two years lol. Try dedicating over 6 years to something that had no return, only took you through financial turnpikes and caused you to lose so many friends but you still found the strength to say…”imma keep going”, “imma keep putting my money in it anyway”. That takes real character, it shows real strength! I’m just different, it took me longer and that’s ok! You’re on gods time and they should know that!
Check our Dae’s new single “Cash App” here!
