A QUICK CONVERSATION WITH D’VYNE

D’vyne is an insightful and bright talent with the focus and determination capable of moving mountains. Her musical career is only at its beginning, yet there’s so much potential in every step she takes. She’s a teenage rapper, spoken word poet and black right activist with a number of skills to propel her towards whatever task she takes on. She’s steadily developing an audience via SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple Music, but she’s always searching for more. From Chicago, she’s determined to be her own boss. She’s produced and engineered a few of her own songs and she’s eager to learn more. It would have been unfortunate to miss the opportunity to speak to such a clear star in the making.

How has your family influenced your passions in music and activism?

D’VYNE:  My siblings are a huge part of this. Twins on my dad’s side of the family. My older brother was premature and he died before I got here. So to be blessed with little ones, who know and love me even when I’m far away... pushes me to do keep going to build a legacy. My mom...whew. That’s my whole backbone. Manager and all. She’s a very intense and intelligent woman who is for her people. Honest. So that rubbed off on me and I’ve just kept it going, extended the knowledge given with my own brainpower and research. My father, I got my music talents from him, hands down. He didn’t get to do what he wanted in life so as I said, building legacies are important.

How long have you making music; what gave you that initial push?

D’VYNE: I’ve been doing music since July 2018. I was 13. I had been through so much bad in life and I couldn’t find a healthy way to express it. Earlier that year I did little stuff like write and make 30-second beats, but it got serious then. If I didn’t have music, I probably would’ve lost my mind, no joke.

You’re young with plenty of potentials. Do you see yourself signing in a few years or staying independent? Have you given it much thought?

D’VYNE: I see myself staying independent. I actually had a whole debate with my mom over this. Everyone had their opinion but in my mind... I need to build myself. It’s God’s plan. Whatever happens, happens. If they put a contract in my face though, I’ma say smile, look and read, not go off of what they say.

Her family is a pivotal part of her career. They’ve impacted her morals, her expectations, and her goals. D’vyne gives all of her great qualities up to her parents, especially her mother and God. She has more self-awareness than most teens and uses it to her advantage, keeping herself outside of the box. Her music and expression exclude typical. She has her own ideas and creating is what helps her bring that to life and find balance in her thoughts.

What keeps you inspired and motivated? You don’t have the typical rap lyrics.

D’VYNE: My life keeps me motivated. The hustle. Keeping myself sane. I grew up around my mother, a hustler. She’s the goat. I don’t care to be in the crowd too much. I never been the crowd too much. It’s just I see these females and they sound the same. Anyone can write, put words together and put it on a beat, it’s the words being said to me. I want to be an artist where I got those that’s hype, but most of my songs are songs you have to look up and figure out the true meaning

What gave you the courage to become a CEO? Is it something you thought about or it just sort of happened?

D’VYNE: Wanting to have my own legacy. Build something for my future children and their children. It’s a beautiful thing to me and fuels my entire soul. It really just happened. It was a great investment and I love being a CEO, it’s hard work when you just got 2 people behind it but soon, it’ll be a whole team. I believe in the patience of hard work. Faith and Works.

If you could describe your musical journey so far, what would you say? What have been the ups and downs, especially working with a group?

D’VYNE: I would say Ups and Downs. There was a time where I almost quit and I made a song about me wanting to quit and why 😂. Then I was motivated all over again. That sense of self-worth came back to me. With Unapologetic, I just joined them around 5 months ago, somewhere in there. And they’ve fueled me even more. I could speak a book on all of them individually, but their love and support is everything to me, especially as all of us being youngins and me being the baby.

What can we expect to see from you in the remaining months of 2020? More shows? A project? New, unique content?

D’VYNE: So much you guys can expect! Album, “Black Heart: Reloaded coming very very soon! I have a show in Miami [July 25th] with @C2CLIVEEVENTS in the qualifying round for the world championship. Under 21 performing ONLY. 2020 is my year yo...I’m so excited.

YOUTH EP COMING SOON!

Photos Captured by a Catherine Elizabeth Patton

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