The Spotlight

The Spotlight: New Single: D.Smiley - Foreva Eva

Written by Donny Benavidez Wednesday, 05 June 2013 23:33

D. Smiley recently dropped a new single, Foreva' eva', which gives a glimpse into what we can expect from his new album due out later this year. The music is uplifting and optimistic; the soulfulness is evident from the first beat. D is a young entrepreneur with a strong vision and confidence in his future. You can catch him performing around Denton and Dallas. He's also gearing up for his first Texas tour. Aside from obvious talent and potential, D. Smiley is a straight-up and humble dude. We look forward to watching this artist deliver his brand of hip hop to Texas and the world.

What is MacBroadz Music all about?

MacBroadz Music is something I am highly passionate about. It is a hip-hop collective that includes: P.A.T., Rick Blaine, CLV, D. Roy, DJ Sofaking, and myself.  I started the movement back in 2010 and now we are mainly functioning as a label, production company, and merchandising outlet.  We are all like brothers who make really dope music.  We push ourselves as solo artists, which in turn, pushes the collective name and movement.  We all try to make each other better and succeed.  We are a full support system. When I started the whole MacBroadz Music movement I had a certain vision on what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go in this game. Luckily everyone that’s in MacBroadz believed in me enough and had a lot of the same visions along with all the new ideas to join, ya know. I definitely have to say we are the dark horse group out there, but we a powerhouse so there is about to be a lot of surprised faces. www.MacBroadzMusic.com is our website so everyone check it out ASAP!

You've been working hard on a new studio project, do you have a working title?

Golden Child, Rightful Sinner. I've been working on it for the past 1 or 2 months. The title was partially created by my family without them even them knowing really. Being one of the youngest in the family, they think you can do no wrong, especially if they don’t see you for years and stay seeing you like that, which is where Golden Child came from. As life goes on and you get older, things change and stuff comes to play in life that they may not know about that you do. That leads to the rightful sinner, being like they really dont know what they would call, "bad shit", that I do. Do bad for the right reasons. Do good for good reason. Golden Child, Rightful Sinner. I felt it was more than a perfect title for what will be talked about on this project. It will release late summer/early fall.

What are the main themes and concepts you are working with on this album?

One may think from the title that it has a church thing going on maybe, but that is far from it.  I like to “preach”, but it is more about real life shit.  It is to reach all people.  It is pretty much the battle within.  I have seen a lot of the good and a lot of the bad.  I have been through it.  It is nice to bring the good memories I have back, the bad memories out, and speak on all the memories I’m making in the process. With music, I feel that people have to be able to relate to you. I do my best at painting these pictures for people to put themselves on my canvas to fully feel apart of what I have going on, or what I call "touching their souls". People are going to learn a lot about me, and hopefully themselves, on this project.  I hope we can all learn from one another.

Jordan Strong is the producer behind the beat.  What was the collaboration process between you and Jordan like for "Foreva Eva"?  

Jordan is a good homie of mine. I have known him for a while through his singer/producer role in the hip-hop group TIGERS. We have always had a great mutual respect for our music and he hit me up to produce some songs for my next album.  Since it was hard for us to meet face to face, I mainly sent him descriptive words and emotions that I wanted to convey in the music. He sent me that beat, I gave him some feedback, he came back with some updates, then it was all a go! He has more production on GCRS also. If you liked that, it only gets better!

I really dig the opening line, "Life is good, nah life is great, I can't complain even if I'm a little bit broke today".  You have a duality going in the song that shows you are happy with your current financial status, but looking towards building a sustainable future through music.  Can you expand on that?

I started with that line is because right now I am in a good spot musically.  From this project, to all the shows in the “come-up” sense of things, it's just really great.  I am surrounded by a great circle from MacBroadz to the compadres I keep around in the industry.  I wish I were making more of a living off of music (who doesn’t), but I do okay right now.  I am gracious for what I have, but it is a process and I know that. At the same time, it is a business, so I make sure that is understood also.  It comes with ups and downs, but I am happy where I am right now and know that better days are coming and very soon.  All the money may not be here right now, but us Macs are about to EAT! So I know that long as we keep doing what we are doing we will progress and get to the promise land. We are meant to be seen and people have to see us. We’re here!

You talk a lot about helping those close to you whether it is money, food, or looking for a show, without question.  Do you feel that people are genuinely appreciative of your generosity? 

Yes, 100%. You aren’t doing a damn thing if you’re not helping folks along the way.  Whether it is a favour, or me wanting to give them a chance, I always feel that people are very appreciative of what I have helped them with and done for them.  I have been thanked many times for it.  I make sure we keep progressing and keep that positive energy building up to shit on the ones trying to bring the negativity our way.  

There's a lyric in the song, "I'm called a Young Don cause they say I'm like my father.."  What kind of role has your pops played in your life and music?

He has played a very important role in life. Life and music goes hand in hand with me.  I talk about life situations and things he’s taught me that I've learned as well as some stuff from my mom. He taught me about becoming a man through my teenage years and early 20s.  This came from stories of his childhood, giving me the chance to make my own mistakes, and teaching me as I go through life.  He let me learn about life as a man and didn’t baby me. Through watching him work hard at achieving, I believe this gave me my great work ethic and ambition.  It made me realize that I have to really go at what I want to do in life.  He has been one of the most important role models in my life.  Music plays such an important role, and he and my moms are part of that through everything I have learned from both of them. Good stuff and mistakes, nobody’s perfect.  

Are there any differences for you as an artist in the Dallas and Denton music communities? 

There really is not much of one when it comes down to it. No matter where I am an artist, I treat the situation the same. Go at it like its 10000 people in the audience, even if there is 20 or 10000 yah know. I demand respect as an artist every show I have because I lay it out and prove it to them by the performance. It’s also a lot about how you look at each situation and do what you need to do to get your name out. You going to let the audience talk over you or are you going to make them engage in your act. It’s all the same. The hip-hop scene is huge in Dallas and very known about, but it's underrated in Denton, which is cool because it keeps it underground yah know. That’s why I will always have love for that city regardless where I am at. You can build a core backing out there just as you can anywhere else. I feel like us and Fab Deuce are signs of that being that we got our initial start out there in Denton and are continuing to do well outside now. Word to the Fab Deuce homies by the way! They are like MacBroadz’ cousins.

Do you have any big shows or tour dates coming up?

Yeah, coming up on June 22^nd we have our MacBroadz Music Presents show in Denton at Hailey’s Club.

June 26^th-30^th I am going to be on the Watching the Game: 5 City Tour presented by Dirtbaglife with the headlining acts Tez McClain, Doughbeezy, and Qlee.  This will hit the cities of Denton, San Antonio, Austin, Killeen, and Dallas.  

6/26 Denton
6/27 SA
6/28 Austin
6/29 Killeen
6/30 Dallas
 

July 23^rd I will be opening for Casey Veggies and Travis Scott at Trees in Dallas.

The Spotlight: New Single: GOAT - Lead

Written by Colin Roy Wednesday, 15 May 2013 18:48

GOAT (Grades Of Absolute Truth) encapsulates the definition of diversity in music. You might see him perform an intimate acoustic set at a coffee house one night, only to light up a stage with multiple features and a supporting DJ at a packed house at Trees the following night. At the basic level, one can describe his sound as southern, hovering somewhere in middle of a clash of rock, blues, and hip hop. We asked GOAT for some insight into the production process and some underlying themes behind his newest single, "Lead". 

Can you describe the inspiration for writing this song?

Oddly enough, I wrote the chorus lyrics & melody a few years ago.  I was living near Greenville Ave & Ross in Dallas.  Since I'd been there, several break-ins, robberies, and even a sexual assault had been committed on my street.  JackRabbit James was living with me, at the time, and we always used to joke about how stupid it would be for someone to break into our place since we both have guns under our pillows.  So those jokes inspired the hook.  The verses and bridge were written around it.

It sounds like there's a heavy helping of live instruments, who are the musicians behind the music and what was the production process like?

There are two musicians behind it - Justin "Double J" Jones & Mike Warren.  I'm lucky to have these guys in my corner, both are amazing.  Double J constructed everything except the guitars.  My cousin Mike did the guitar cuts when we were close to finished with the track.  The production process went quickly.  I came to Double J with the chorus melody, then he began playing various chord progressions over it.  Once we decided on that, I let Double J do his thing with it.  What he composed was an absolute perfect fit for the message.

It's pretty obvious you are an advocate of the 2nd Amendment.  How do you feel about our current gun control laws? 

Oh yeah, I'm an advocate, but don't take me as some trigger-happy lunatic.  At its core, this song's about protecting your family from harm - that's it.  Guns have been a positive force in my life and no one can change my opinion about that.  When I think about the banning of assault rifles or magazines, I don't see the point.  Making something illegal doesn't stop access to it.  If criminals obeyed laws, we wouldn't have criminals.  With that being said, I don't think the rights of people that obey laws should be stripped.

As a teacher, do you feel that teachers should be allowed to carry guns in the classroom?

With the proper training & evaluation, I don't have a problem with it.  Do I think every teacher should have a pistol on them?  No.  But I don't see much of a difference between your child being in a public place with strangers holding CHLs and your child being in a classroom with an armed teacher you've trusted to educate your kid.

Download "Lead" Now

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