Daniel Darius describes music as the only thing that makes him happy. Popularly known as ‘Dandizzy’, he discovered his love for music at a young age and has since gone on to create music across different genres (rap, afro, hip-hop etc.).
Born and raised in Port Harcourt, he describes his sound as “simple and solid” which is influenced by popular Nigerian artistes; Burna Boy and Wizkid.
Dandizzy’s debut album ‘UGLY’ (U GATTS LOVE YOURSELF) is inspired by his belief in the beauty of self-acceptance and perseverance. ‘UGLY’ is a vibrant and powerful compilation of tracks that delve into themes of self-love, belief in oneself and the relatable stories of everyday Nigerians. He paints a vivid picture of his journey, struggles, triumphs and the essence of being unapologetically yourself in a world full of challenges.
‘UGLY’ offers a glimpse of what is to come from Dandizzy, while this interview offers insight into how far he has come.
How did you decide to go into music? What was the inspiration behind it?
My decision to go into music was not something that I had to think about deeply. I’ve always had the gift of music; I could always rap. Since my childhood, I could put words together in a way that made sense and people always loved it. I didn’t even know what a rapper was at the time when I was rapping. I became famous on my streets and in school, I was famous everywhere; boarding school, in the community, even when I went to stay with my guys in Uniport, I became famous there as well. Every area where I found myself, especially in the midst of young people, people gravitated towards me because of my rap and music. This was what convinced me to take music seriously since it came easy to me and I enjoyed doing it. I finally made the decision when I met Leric’s dad. Leric is a Bonas Fest producer and I used to live with them at the time in Port Harcourt, I got to meet a lot of music celebrities at their place and this further affirmed that this is what I wanted to do and I’ve never looked back since.
In your latest project, ‘Love Yourself’, what message were you trying to convey to the world?
The message I was trying to convey was to motivate people to put themselves first and to push themselves out of their comfort zone and take the risk. You just need to do that thing that is on your mind. Just, you know, just do it. For the longest time, I’ve been scared of making mistakes, constantly worried about things not working out the way I want them to.
During the COVID pandemic, I looked at my life and realized the world could have ended, and I would have not done all the things I wanted to do. I was always procrastinating, telling myself, “Okay, maybe when I’m at this point in my life, I’m going to do this”. From then on, I made a decision to push myself to do the work; if I’m ever going to move forward in life, I just need to do what I need to do. Even though I was really talented at a young age, I’ve always downplayed my talent because I was overly concerned about other people’s feelings; I didn’t want people to feel inferior around me because I was talented. Whenever people were hyping me then, I used to think that anybody could be Dandizzy but now, I’m at a point in my life where I’ve come to the realization that I’m unique, nobody else can be like me. I’ve learned to love and appreciate myself more. So yeah, that’s the message I’m trying to convey; that people just need to love themselves and do what they have to do.
During this time, what was your greatest motivation? What kept you going?
I think what kept me going was my life, you know. I’ve not had the easiest of lives. I’ve had a hard time, a lot of ups and downs. Since I started my career, I made sure to always take a big step upwards, never backwards; it’s always been forward or never. Before this album, I took some time to reflect on my life; the places I’ve been and the things that I’ve been through and I realized that my life is my biggest inspiration. I’m the first child in my family, I never had a big brother, there was nobody to look up to or hold my hand to teach me because my dad was always busy so I had to figure out the world on my own. I left my family when I was in SS2 and went out on the streets to find my path and I did figure it out eventually. So far, I don’t think I have made any decision that put me in a bad position. I’ve been able to navigate life and carry myself in the right way to this point in my life, that’s like a big inspiration for me.
That’s wonderful. Regarding your project, can you walk me through the making process of this project?
Most of the songs on the projects were recorded since 2020 because that’s when I started making the project, I mostly spend time in my studio recording back to back. The process wasn’t always smooth but the genuine support of some of my friends who are producers, A&Rs and artistes in the industry made it easy and smooth enough for me to have the album ready on the 15th of April.
Can you highlight a track on the project that resonates with you the most?
Honestly, I’m not sure I can pick a particular track. Money Talks is one of my favorite and then there’s Old God which is also a favorite, Loose guard is another of my favorites and Toke. Toke is a song that I really love so much, It’s really special to me because I was trying something entirely different; something I’d never tried in my life before and I pulled it off, I was proud of myself when I recorded the song. It’s like the oldest song I recorded that’s on the album..
With the future of music in mind, how have you been positioning yourself like as a major influence in the music industry?
For me, I’m focused on building my network, my friendships, my connections, setting up myself in a way where I’ll always be relevant in years to come. Also one of the major ways I think an artiste can stay relevant on the scene is by having show stopping performances and great stage presence. I’m big on performances so I’ve been practising a lot to get better.
I’ve seen artists that had their last hits in like 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 handling big shows in 2024 and doing a great job. Then I’ve seen artists that are currently hot on the scene with their the biggest hit being like a month ago and can’t actually carry a good performance. So I just want to be that guy that’s always going to put on a good show every time I’m called upon. I know that this is one of the reasons an artist can have a long career; if you can give a good performance, a song is enough to cover six, seven years, some even do 10 years with one song. Imagine if you have 10, 20 hits and you’re a very good performer, you’re going to have a good time.
With the future of Nigerian music in mind, how can you, with three words, describe how you see Nigerian music in the nearest future?
Rich, global and exciting.
What matters to you most and why?
What matters to me most is my personal life behind the camera; my life outside of the internet. I just like my normal life to be as normal as possible. I do know things are going to change when I eventually get bigger but I try as much as possible to enjoy the things that I can enjoy now. I try to make my my day-to-day life as simple as possible because if I get to a point in my life where I get a decent amount of money and music is going to ruin my peace or being a celebrity is going to prevent me from having a private and quiet life, I’m going to leave music alone. I’m going to just make music for myself and enjoy myself. I just want to be able to look at my life outside of the spotlight and be happy with myself. At the end of the day, my personal life matters to me a lot.
If you had an audience of young aspiring musicians, what would be your advice to them?
My advice to them would be to do what you want to do. Do what’s on your mind. Experiment: Try new things, Make that mistake and learn from it and grow. Never be afraid to take the risk.
