With his new project, ‘Pretty Girls Listen To Dame‘ out today, rising Kansas City, Missouri artist Southside Dame shows amazing growth. At 9-songs in length, the new project holds no features and allows Dame to showcase his potent lyricism.
Each record on the album does a nice job of transitioning to the next in a way that makes for a cohesive listen from beginning to end. The production on this tape was extremely consistent all the way through, and Dame took advantage of that as he picked the pockets of each of the provided beats perfectly. At face value, the album is a collection of bangers that any listener can rock with, but further, it’s a captivating account of the life that the rising star has lived to tell the tale. We had recently sat down with Dame for a Q&A. Check it out down below.
For those who don’t know, where are you from?
I am from Kansas City, Missouri. Specifically the South KC/Grandview area. Thatʼs how I got the name, Southside Dame, just trying to represent where Iʼm from.
During this quarantine, people have been keeping themselves occupied in unique ways. How have you been keeping yourself busy?
Iʼve really just been working on my album and spending time trying to grow myself as an artist. This was the perfect time to lock in a map things out so I was really just preparing all summer.
Did you have any early music influences? Who were your favorite artists growing up?
When I was coming up I really used to listen to everybody but my favorite artist Lil Wayne, Jay Z, Kanye, and 2 Chainz when I was a kid. But the older I got, I started branching out in my teens/adult life I started shifting towards Future, Drake, and Mac Miller. But I literally listen to everybody.
Where do you think your headspace is now compared to – let’s say 1-2 years ago in terms of your artistry?
I think in the last 1-2 years Iʼve mastered the art of what I wanna say and how I want to say it. I know what beats to choose, I know what line is gone make people wanna learn the words, I can say Iʼve just found my lane. Iʼve becomes more business-minded also.
Let’s jump into the music a bit. You recently dropped your new project ‘Pretty Girls Listen to Dame.’ How did the concept for it come together?
‘Pretty Girls Listen To Dame‘ just came from me wanting to tell a crazy story about some of the women Iʼve dealt with within the route to me trying to get this music thing off the ground. Iʼm basically telling the story of how pretty women influence my life. Also, that shit really true Pretty Girls Listen To Dame.
Do you have a process for song creation or is it more of a spur of the moment thing?
My creative process kind of varies, sometimes I duck off and take my time with a beat to make sure I say exactly what I mean and other times I and my engineer just get high a cook up on the spot. Iʼve seen both ways create great music, so I really just go with the flow!
Being from Kansas City, how is the music music scene out there?
The music scene in KC is definitely on the rise, there are so many artists waiting to get heard. I feel like it could be a major powerhouse once we all get on the same page and get the respect we deserve nationally.
How would you say your music has transitioned over time? What new sounds or tools have you added or subtracted to your creative process?
Sonically, I feel like Iʼve gone a smoother route, I have a high voice at times so in the past I use to try to make bangers and sound loud as hell way off-key, but now the practice Iʼve got and the work Iʼve done with my engineer has made me way more aware of my tone, pitch, cadence, etc. Iʼve really crafted the perfect sound for me. I look forward to the progress Iʼll keep making.
Do you feel like you’ve found your style, or is it something you’re still working on?
I do feel like Iʼve found my style. Iʼm a real smooth/chill guy and Iʼve been in those situations to tell those types of stories, so the combination of real-life experiences and me naturally being different it was easy to see how I fit in.
You plan on rolling out any visuals off of the project?
I definitely plan to do visuals for this project. I already released visuals to my two singles ‘Mountains‘ and ‘All The Vibez’ but Iʼll continue to drop more once weʼre able to see what are some of the fan-favorites.
What can we expect from you moving forward? Or is everything under wraps?
Going forward expect to see a lot of me applying pressure. I plan to put my face out there constantly over the course of these next months leading into 2021, my goal is to be the biggest independent artist by the time the pandemic is over.
