Darnell Little – Q&A Interview

Tell us a little about yourself. Where you are from? How long have you been making Hip Hop?

I’m Darnell Little, a 20 yr. old MC/ Producer. I was born in Syracuse, NY, flourished in Camden, NJ and has been on the move ever since (army brat). I started producing music around the age of 9 after I heard Just Blaze’s score on “NBA Street Vol. 2” and started writing songs around the age of 12. (11 years being a musician) My original stage was Atom Ant (named after the 60’s cartoon) and I decided to change my name to Darnell Little to make my stage name have a more personal feel (Darnell is my middle name and Little comes from one of my influences last name “Malcolm X (original name “Malcolm Little”)

What influences you in making Hip Hop?

I get influenced to make music by listening to other musicians’ work, studying different music producers’/ rappers techniques and genres of music (Jazz is my favorite genre other than Hip Hop), going outside… examining my environment and being influenced by life itself.

Describe your music, and what separates you from other MCs?

My music has a “Jazz” and “Experimental” type of feel when it comes to the Instrumental part of the process when I make a song, while my lyrics is complex and conscious. I might go over the average hip hop listener’s head sometimes, but it’s better to be educated while listening to a song. The thing that separates me from other MCs is that I incorporate the themes of life everytime you listen to one of my songs. One song, I’ll talk about relationships, another song I’ll talk about the injustices that Black males go through while living in America, and another song talking about color theory lol. I’m just an all around MC.

Who have you collaborated with? Who would you like to collab with in the near future?

I’ve collaborated with a number of artists. I’ve made records with J. Nolan, VERZE, SageInfinite, Ale-Jhay and Fel Sweetenberg to name a
few. In the future, I would like to collab with Jon Connor (in the process of sending him some instrumentals), Mr. J. Medeiros, Apollo
The Great, oriJanus,  and abstraКt ΒΕΔТЅ.

Your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?

My definition of “Underground Hip Hop” is Hip Hop that doesn’t sell it’s soul for a quick dollar, Staying true to the elements and exhibiting the love of the art form. The artists in the underground has always been and will forever be more talented than the artists in the mainstream.

Production wise, who are your influences? Who does your production? And who would you like to work with?

I have alot of influences when it comes to the production side. The producers that comes to mind are Flying Lotus, Just Blaze, J-Dilla,
Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Nottz, 9th Wonder, Madlib, Fel Sweetenberg, Boonie Mayfield, Apollo Brown, Knxwledge, Q-Tip, Freddie Joachim, John Coltrane, Ahmad Jamal and Herbie Hancocke (that was alot lol)

Any current or future projects you are promoting?

I’m currently promoting my latest project “XX” and I’m currently working on my debut EP (which is untitled at the moment), which will
be released through Dynamic Beats Abound and will be available on iTunes and Amazon at the end of this year. I’m also handling some of
the production on J. Nolan’s upcoming project.

Can you give us a brief description of the creative process of XX Mixtape? Also/ what was the idea or concept description about your XX Mixtape Art Cover.

The creative process of my project “XX” was a long process. It took me 3 years to put this project together (writer’s block). The title of the project was originally called “A Sheltered Man’s Diary”, but I decided to rename it “XX” because I wanted the theme to talk about the highs and lows of my first 20 years on Earth . The album artwork was created by my sister, Kierra, who is a graphic designer. The concept behind it was to create an intriguing atmosphere for my audience and people who may see it and want to take a listen. The abstract of the cover is inspired by the 90’s era (ex. music, television), when music was raw and at it’s purest form.

Where can we find your music and info?

You can find my music here:

Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/theunderatedhero

YouTube Page: http://www.youtube.com/jcitymusic

Bandcamp Page: http://renaissanceman.bandcamp.com

And my social media accounts:

Twitter: DLittleMusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Darnell.Little.94

Instagram: @darnell_little_94

Any Shout Outs.

I have alot of shout outs to give…. I would like to give a shout out to you guys at UGHH, Kierra Willis, J. Nolan, The Manifest
Movement, my fam at WF[102], The Farmer’s Market Inc. and Dynamic Beats Abound, The Illjazztic One, Fel Sweetenberg, Boonie Mayfield,
Flying Lotus,  XXYYXX, NAMELESS,  Big Lou, Shakil, Mute, Vintage Media Group, 1League.com, Ale-Jhay, Artificial Intell, VERZE, The Dream
Merchant, SageInfinite, my fiancée Keishawna, my bros Chris, Kevin, Kenny, Rodney, Dylan, Reef, Dash, Joseph, Ryan, Graham, my cuzzos
Sh’Kiera, Keyonna, Dahmir, Diyah, Troy, Dante, Kenyon, Rashona, Shay, Tiarra, Ebony, April, Keyasia, Markus, Tony, My parents,and last but not least, all my fam in Camden, NJ. Keep y’all head up.  I love y’all.

And don’t forget to download my latest project “XX” and be on the lookout for my debut EP coming out at the end of the year.