Dante Hill – Q&A Inteview
New York Hip Hop might just have a new hero in their city and we are talking about you? When did you decide to start making Hip Hop? Who influenced you? How did you get the name Dante Hill?
Man, I appreciate that. I mean, I technically stated writing raps at 11, I was doing poetry slams and shit like that. It took a lot of time to really feel comfortable saying I was “rapping”. Just because the type of kid I was it didn’t feel right saying I was a rap artist. I didn’t feel like I was tough enough. But just growing up and getting the bigger picture as far as the music and culture are concerned I started to understand on a higher level that I actually was rapping. And I was dope at it. My influences had a lot to do with me embracing that. Eminem, Kanye, artists like that. I feel like the music now caters to a crowd that embraces real emotion on a record more than who’s the hardest out. And the name comes from my favorite author Dante Alighieri, who wrote the Divine Comedy, a book that explores pretty much the entire emotional spectrum through use of poetry. Which is what music at its finest should do. That’s how i feel at least. And the Hill comes from my grandfathers last name, Charles Hill. From what I always heard about him he was this smooth dude who carried himself with a certain level of bravado and confidence. I just put those two names together and came up with Dante Hill for how those two people complete my character.
We notice you represent your city of New York proudly. What specific area of New York do you rep? Who has the local Hip Hop community accepted your music and movement?
I’ve lived in the Bronx my entire life. I was born on Webster Avenue and grew up on Mosholu. I feel like my pops always made it a thing to make sure I experienced all of the city so a lot of me feels like I’m partially from Harlem, Brooklyn, and just the city as a whole. I feel like New Yorkers are taught to shy away from that feeling out of some misplaced sense of loyalty. But I think that’s a close-minded way of thinking. But I’m still a Bx boy forever.
Everybody I know of in my city that’s heard the EP’s been fucking with it as far as I’m aware. I don’t necessarily expect anyone to tell me it’s wack to my face if that’s how they felt, but we made that joint so dope, I doubt there’s anybody who can honestly just not like it at all. And for that reason I know there’s some niggas that really don’t like me right now. But I choose to embrace it. Fuel for the fire type shit.
Congrats on the success of your latest EP, “While We Work”. Feel free to breakdown the creative process of the project. (features, production, etc).
I’m a long-winded dude so I know I’d be here forever if I started explaining the entire process. But long story short, my intention with this project to make it a personal reflection of the last year of my life told through introspection. The highs, lows, and side stories. Like a first season of a show almost. In order to do that justice I had to make sure to keep my team tight and consume for my own comfortability as far as sharing those stories. Everybody from my DJ, my artists, and my management are niggas I’ve known since high school. And my studio teams been the same for 3 years. Building and maintaining those relationships are just as important to me as the music is. That’s what helps it to develop and come together
Planning on releasing any videos to complement “While We Work”.
Hell yea, we on that right now. I don’t wanna lose the momentum we’re gaining and just how quickly it’s been climbing. We’ve just been observing the streaming numbers to see what the people are gravitating to, and from there we’re gonna move on prepping the video sometime this month. That’s definitely a priority though.
What are your plans on getting your music out of New York and let it circulate throughout the nation?
The collective that I conduct my business with is a very intelligent group of people. That’s the Rooftop Dreamteam. We’ve been marketing very well. Networking with the right people, knowing which venues to perform at, and a proper presentation of high quality product is really all that it takes. I see niggas doing extra shit and I can immediately tell it’s not gonna lead to longevity. Maybe you’ll get lucky and catch a break, but you’re only gonna get 15 minutes. We want more than that. We’re well on our way to getting it too. I already have messages from people in. Romania and Africa telling me how much they love the project, which has been crazy.
Are you looking forward in working with other artists near you? Or do you try to keeps collabs at a minimum.
Everytime I think collaborations my business mind kind of kicks in. I feel like once you pop, that’s when everybody wants to work with you. The more my EP picks up buzz, the more I get hit up for collaborations. But that’s wack to me. If we work, let’s let hat be because of the strength of the content we feel like we can piece together through working with eachother. Let it be organic. Or let it be something that strengthens both of our brands. But if it’s not that I’m not interested. I’m yet to feel like I’ve needed anybody else to make my music better. I’m efficient on my own.
What is your definition of “underground hip hop”?
I don’t know; I feel like that line’s a little blurred now. The most fair way to define it at this point is probably any hip hop music that gets underrated because it’s contents are too raw for mainstream consumption. Most artists I know in the underground are amazing. But they just don’t appeal to the wider population as a whole: they speak what they feel to whoever’s willing to listen. You have to respect that.
Where can people find you on the web? Drop all the vital links.
INSTAGRAM :DanteHillMusic
SOUNDCLOUD: Soundcloud.com/DanteHillMusic
Lastly, and shout out?
Man, too many. Shoutout everybody who’s been running with the movement thus far. As we grow they gon’ grow with me. They don’t even need my acknowledgement. My team gon’ win off the strength of their own work. Shoutout that Rooftop DreamTeam one time.
