Today we’d like to introduce you to David Matney.
Hi David, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
So, I started making music, really poetry at 20 years old.
How this passion got started, I was driving with an old friend of mine from church, and we were going through an old part of Frisco. It was a school night, so the streets were bare. At the time, I was really sheltered, and my parents were extremely strict so I didn’t do much. I didn’t even know bluetooth existed for phones. Yeah, I was under a rock.
So my friend and I, Cam, we stop at this red-light and then he asked me, “Have you heard of Kendrick Lamar?” I said, “Who?” So, he then puts in this tape, and it was Kendrick Lamar’s, “Alright” from “To Pimp A Butterfly”. I remember him saying “All’s my life I had to fight ni***”” and I just remember being in complete awe that rap could sound this way. It was like a high, or euphoria, and I just blacked out. It sounded divine, or just something that was amazing.
So, I got home, and I wrote my first poem and I told myself, “I’m really bad at this now, but give myself a few years and I can do something with this.” So, I just wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote. Hundreds of pages of songs that started out with a Bluetooth speaker, voice memos on my Iphone as my recorded raps, and a laptop to read the lyrics.
I had trouble enunciating my lyrics so half the time people couldn’t understand me, but I loved it.
Eventually, I began posting on instagram, and my first producer was Q. We made my first EP in College At UTD, and he gave me a shot. Then, I eventually took a long break from music. I just got disheartened all of the sudden. I felt judged by some Christians who told me to stop making music, that I was too prideful or worldly, so I did.
I’m a Christian as well so to hear this, it hurt me pretty deeply at the time.
But then suddenly, my best friend Bruce August Jr. died, and for the first time I got on the mic again. My first song back was to honor him. It was called, “RIP To my ni**** Bruce,” and since he died, I just realized life is so short and started writing and recording again.
Now, I’m really locked in with my best friend in the world, Rhett. I’ve known this guy since we were both skinny haha. He’s a campus pastor, and he makes beats, and raps. He’s one of the most talented, loving, amazing dudes I’ve ever known. He’s made me a better man, an artist, and a person, and I owe a lot of my success to him. He’s pushed me so much, and just been one of the most genuine people I’ve ever known. So, a lot of the sounds I’m even doing, have been inspired by him just being in my corner, and his prayers for me as a brother are just, he’s priceless, one and a million type of guy.
Also, another guy that influences me as a person to pursue music is my other brother, close to a brother that it can get, is Kidwasi. Super talented guy, and he’s as real as it gets. Love him foreal, he’s a gem. He’s like a big brother to me, just someone that keeps my mind on the right path, and just someone I look up to in a lot of ways. He’s someone that is just one of a kind as well, you don’t find many like him either.
These two people have influenced me to be the best artist I can be, but also a better person. You don’t meet people like them everyday, a lot of who I am, comes from them just helping me figure life out.
Now, with all that being said, I’m at a really good spot where my sound is at. I love the craft, and hopefully God willing I can go big one day, and use my gifts and talents to bless my best friends, and my loved ones.
God has been really really good to me. I don’t deserve to be here.
Apart from music, I was diagnosed at 19 with schizophrenia, which is a death sentence for any young black man who is ambitious and wants a normal life. I was a lab rat, and was given every medicine in the book but nothing worked. I was put on government assistance and people thought (people meaning close family members, aunties, uncles, even immediate family members, etc) that they would have to take care of me for the rest of my life. However, after much therapy, thankfully I didn’t have that initial diagnosis. I have a severe case of PTSD. The official diagnosis, is “Psychosis by Trauma” that resulted from years of abuse that my parents did to me, and I know, it’s tragic to hear. I still deal with symptoms that people who have schizophrenia deal with, but the easiest way to describe this is like when a war veteran hears fireworks and has severe flashbacks of a war, and goes into a trance, almost like intense flashbacks. Thats something I deal with, with my own trauma. It could be seeing an old car on the road that my mom or dad used to drive that triggers a memory, or even just driving through the old town I grew up near school. But thankfully with faith, and just trust in Jesus, I was able to get the life I wanted despite the noise and constant distractions.
I wouldn’t be here without Jesus helping me. He saved me and no doctor could’ve done what he did. He delivered me from a lot of pain and trauma where now, even if I hear voices, I can still make a song and get close to 5,000 streams on a track, that can garner attention from grammy award winning producers who dm me to this day on social media, wanting to work with me. I am in shock and disbelief sometimes. It feels surreal.
I also have a full time job at a fortune 200 company, have partnered with grammy award winning producers, released an album, got a car, have partnered with a marketing company who has pushed my music, a song called “Memories” and its gotten almost 8k views, and I have made the best music of my life.
Despite the trauma, the hardship, God has brought me through, and I know it can come off as corny as saying that, but I’m truly hoping someone can find inspiration from this.
God can you bring you through anything, and I’m just a testimony to that. I can make good music, yeah, but I’m not here just for any reason. I’m just very grateful and humble to even have someone interview me.
Young black men who have experienced what I’ve been through, don’t make it to the other side. Just thankful I can do this music and have a shot of making it. It’s truly a dream come true.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all, my goodness where do I begin? Just mental health struggles. A lot of artists don’t continue writing or recording not because they aren’t talented enough , but they stop because of fatigue. The “I’ll record tomorrow” mindset, or simply being tired cause you work a 9-5. Sometimes you date and get distracted. It takes everything within you to stay focused.
The biggest thing that makes it difficult, is just being consistent even when you don’t see results. The demo tracks taken at 3 am that you’ll never release just to work on your craft, to then wake up at 7 am, read your bible, go to work from 8-4:30, workout at the gym, play 2k, and make another song. Go to sleep at 1 am, after making a demo tape and you repeat, every, single, day.
Also, the loneliness. People don’t realize how much time music takes, the money involved, the investment, the endless amount of takes, pushing through being tired, recording over and over again. Also, recording something you have to do again cause the first take wasn’t good enough. You have to be very mentally tough to get good at music, this is not something you do for a year, and you’re like “ok, I’ve arrived.”
Music is such a mastery by trying things, all the time. But, music is beautiful, its an art, and I thoroughly enjoy it.
It’s just, the struggle is, can I stay focused and cut off distractions? Everything in music is more of discipline and mental focus than anything. People don’t make it cause they’re not good enough, they don’t make it cause they stop.
Fear of embarrassment, fear of rejection, fear of success or fear of failure, fear of “It’s too hard,” fear of just not having time, fear of not making enough time. It’s all mental sometimes, sometimes the biggest opp to your dreams is you.
But thank God for dreams, cause dreams actually become lucid when you stop sleeping on yourself and you wake up to reality to make those dreams happen.
Thank God for dreams, it keeps us moving forward.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
So, I love mixing songs with melody and ambience, I love melody. That’s really my niche. I sing and rap and most of my best songs are me singing. So, I can rap, and mixed with singing, it’s really a niche that when mastered, you have a long, long career. A lot of the best artists today have added melody to their game.
I study the rap game a lot and I see what works. Melody is really king in any genre of music. So, if I can incorporate elements of hip hop, the grime of 808s and the melody of RnB, you really have a niche that most artists don’t do. Not every rapper can sing, not every singer can rap. But if you can do both? Yeah, that’s elite to me.
So, I offer something different. I can sing falsettos and rap something dope in the next verse which is what sets me apart. That’s what I love doing, melody and hip hop, I love this stuff.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love Dallas, it’s grimy as hell. It teaches you to hustle, which is why I always wear Tims. Wearing Tims reminds me to get to it, wake up with a purpose, and get to work.
The least though? This damn traffic my goodness. There’s a freakin wreck everyday, cause people can’t drive! Stop moving to Dallas mayne, its not it, haha.
But in all seriousness, the least, I hate to say it, these damn Cowboys. I’m lowkey a fan thats in denial, FTID,(Fan Thats in Denial) lol. The Cowboys are like that one toxic ex-girlfriend who sometimes you spin the block hoping they change, and they do for like 2 months and its back to why you guys broke up.
That’s how I feel, it’s a love hate thing. I’m glad when the Cowboys win cause the city legitimately feels happier to be in. Even Church on Sundays, people have more pep in the step, people smile a lot more, it’s a good time.
When the Cowboys lose, it’s like someones dog just died, got hit by a Toyota mac truck, and people have the gall to say, “next year we winning?” In what world?
I don’t know. I do want someone to love me like how they love these Cowboys, but yeah worse part is the Cowboys, they suck lol
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/Disdazie?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=a7873597-337c-4d14-aafc-52db0a8f1149
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/disdazie?igsh=eTkwOWo1b3UwNXRz&utm_source=qr
