Music Is Everything: Dani Devinci

There's a promising rising artist in Orlando, Florida that is ready to break streaming platforms with his hit EP titled When the Leaves Fall. He's a singer, he's a songwriter, he's a brother, he's a friend, he's Dani Devinci.

The 21-year-old recording artist has been pursuing music since his teenage years and is currently working on new music for his growing fan base.

What I like most about Devinci is that he is ever evolving and it shows deeply in his music. This time around, he has honed in on a sound that defines who he is — a sound that represents both a past and present Dani Devinci.

After meeting him on a Facetime call last week, I am so excited to see where this multi-talented artist will be in 5 years.

Shakirah: Ok, so tell me how you got into music?

Dani: I started when I was 12. I was young and my brother had a little home studio, like everybody had a little home studio but he started me there. I didn’t take it serious until senior year. For the past couple of years I’ve been grinding. But it started with my brother putting me on.

Shakirah: So you just have one brother? One sibling?

Dani: Oh no, I have seven, I have plenty but yeah he wasn’t actually like my blood brother.

Shakirah: Is that how you got inspired to do music?

Dani: Yeah it started with him and then my parents use to be independent A&Rs for the Christian market but then put me on there. I was always around music, always raised in church. So that’s how that started.

Shakirah: Amen. So what’s the music scene like in Orlando?

Dani: It’s big surprisingly, for such a small city. There are a lot of artists, a lot of studios, a lot of events and stuff like that. Music is actually really really big. There are some big companies that do a lot of the upcoming artists shows. Orlando supports independent artists a lot.

Shakirah: Wow, that’s amazing. So how many shows have you been featured in and what’s it like performing at these shows?

Dani: I did quite a couple of shows. I did a tour last year in Canada for like 2-3 shows. It was along with some of my brothers [such as] Hi-Rez, he brought me on. And I’ve done plenty in Orlando, 7 to 8 shows. But performing is great. At that time I was performing unreleased music so the fans had to pick up on the music, so they didn’t know what was really happening yet. I had a show recently after I released When the Leaves Fall, the love for it was crazy.

Shakirah: So you mentioned Hi-Rez, I’m actually new to his music. After discovering him, I see that he has a pretty large fan base. How did you get connected with him and what’s it like collaborating with him?

Dani: That’s my brother. It was so weird, we ran into each other at like different times but we all recognized each other. I ran into him at the supermarket, because he was living in Orlando at one point. Then I ran into him at a J.Cole show, and then it kind of just all fell in place where I reached out to him on Instagram and he was like “much love, let’s work” and then he blessed me from there. He took me under his wing and helped me out with some features. He’s a real good dude so he definitely put me on a lot of things actually.

Shakirah: That’s amazing. So what has the feedback been like when you first dropped your very first EP Lost Tapes?

Dani: That was when I was like 16. Um, that shouldn’t be up anymore, that will be soon gone. But it was good because it was just the start of my career. I was just getting my feet wet but it took me a lot of time to master what I wanted to do. At that point, I wanted to rap hard — rap this, rap that. Now I’m like, I want to reach the bigger numbers, I want to go more mainstream,

so that’s the direction I’m taking this next project. So that’s where I’m going now. But the love was crazy. I had two shows at this little bar when I first dropped that project and the love was crazy, it was like 30 people in there but it was enough.

Shakirah: That’s good. You influence and inspire people.

Dani: Yeah, exactly.

Shakirah: So I’ve actually listened to both your EPs, Lost Tapes and When the Leaves Fall. I can hear the difference in sound and direction. First you were rapping and now you are singing. Your sound is very soulful. Is this a direction that you like and will maintain?

Dani: Yeah, absolutely. I’m gonna take it in a much more smooth direction and definitely take my singing to the next level. This next project is going to be more “feel good” music — so it’s nothing but good vibes and stuff like that, not so much sadness. I’m a little bit more on the girls side with this next project so it’s going to be really good.

Shakirah: *snaps to the ladies* So I heard that song Ecstasy and I like how you collaborated with Mia Lu, how did you get connected with her?

Dani: Mia Lu is actually an in-house producer. She is very closely connected to the people I write my music with. When I’m with Devon Moore and Ari Price, Mia Lu is normally there and she is kind of all of our in-house producer. She kind of just started actually, and she’s so good. She will be producing a lot on my next project, which is going to be really good because she’s got that vibe. Getting in connection with her is really good, she’s a really good person. She knows how to capture certain emotions in her beats that bring good energy .

Shakirah: Ayye, good vibes. You are all in Orlando right?

Dani: Most of us are working out of Orlando, yeah.

Shakirah: So you’ve been talking about this new project, when is it going to be released?

Dani: For this next project I’m thinking there’s no exact release date but I’m working on a six track EP. I don’t want to build an album yet until my fan base is really up there. I don’t want to feed them too much music. I’m just going to give them another EP, probably 5 to 6 tracks. It’s gonna be nothing but good vibes and possibly a couple of videos. Probably a couple of shows after that too. But yeah, we’re working on that — marketing and stuff, me and the team.

Shakirah: So I saw one video of yours called Sugar and I really enjoyed it. Talk to me about the creative direction for that, the storyline, and all that good stuff.

Dani: So Sugar. The song pretty much explains to a girl how important she is. We had one of my good friends Alora come through for the video. We wanted to capture the moment of a guy wanting a girl — so he’s chasing her, he’s following her, she’s leaving signs, and then eventually he captures her and he wakes up from his dream. He doesn’t get that chance to catch her [in real life] because he took too long. He always wanted to explain that to her so that’s why he was chasing so much. When he catches her, he finally wakes up and he is like “that’s what I need.” And that was the direction for that [music video]. It was between me and one of my good friends Jay Buzzy. And it was Vision Media, Shoutout to them, they did a lot for me.

Shakirah: So what kind of people do you make your music for?

Dani: Technically I feel like it’s for everyone, but that’s just such a generic answer. I definitely do it for the ladies. I want to attract that crowd and be on their side for music. Lately, all the music out is against the girls: It’s either she’s not right or she’s too much of this, too much of that, but I feel like I’ma capture this one, no one’s doing it. I feel like I’ma capture them by bringing the ladies on my side. And I think that’s who I’m doing it for pretty much.

Shakirah: Aye, I like it, I like it. So who in the music industry do you look up to?

Dani: Frank Ocean, Miguel, Majid Jordan — both of those guys shoutout to them, and obviously Drake. That’s definitely all I’ve been listening to on my playlist now and that’s where the vibes are coming from, that’s who I look up to.

Shakirah: Wow, very inspiring. So when I was listening to your recent EP, When the Leaves Fall, I thought to myself “this guy is speaking to my soul.” So in the song Nothing Last, I want to know more about your personal experiences and how they have shaped the lyrics in the song.

Dani: Oh man, that one is hard. That’s not one specific situation, that was a bunch of situations put together. It was summed up into one to let them know I want forever but sometimes forever doesn’t work for everyone either. That song is pretty much based off the quote “you can love someone but that doesn’t mean you’re suppose to be with them forever” kind of thing, so that’s definitely what shaped that for me.

Shakirah: In some of your songs, you talk about love a bit and I feel like it relates back to your personal story. So tell me about relationships that shape the music and the vibes.

Dani: That was big because at one point I was going in and out of relationships like trying to figure out what I wanted. Nothing ever really works and at one point I found one. The relationship lasted a long time and that was pretty much all I needed to write the rest of the music for the rest of my life. There was enough arguments, enough love, enough hate, and enough sweetness. There was enough of all that so that one [relationship] shaped how I make my music now because there was enough of everything: Hate, love, everything. But it worked out perfectly.

Shakirah: So do you consider yourself to be a big lover? Do you wear your heart on your sleeve?

Dani: Yeah I would say so. A little bit. I like to show it in the music. On the regular I keep it to myself but on my music I like to let it out.

Shakirah: True. You have to be a little vulnerable.

Dani: Yeah.

Shakirah: What kind of women do you like?

Dani: Kind-hearted. That’s it. Just real woman. I don’t like none of the fake shit. I just like realness, that’s it because I feel like I give off that same vibe.

Shakirah: Yes. Always have to keep it 100. So in the music industry, who is your dream collaboration?

Dani: For me? It’s so weird but I feel like if I were to collab with somebody it would be 40. He produces all of Drake’s music and stuff like that. I think his ear just sounds perfect to me. I would want to work with him, that’s the one person I would want to work with.

Shakirah: Amazing! So I looked at your Instagram and I really like your fashion sense. I feel like fashion creates you as a person as well. Talk to me about your favorite accessories — your cross earring, tell me about that.

Dani: It’s all jewelry. I love jewelry. I like silver jewelry, I like clothing. I keep it simple because it’s hot in Florida — shorts, a button up and keep it super simple. I don’t like to be classy but at the same time I am a little. I chill for the most part, my Instagram pictures be crazy sometimes.

Shakirah: I haven’t been to Florida in years but I can only imagine how hot it is down there. So where do you see yourself in five years?

Dani: 5 years from now . . . I’m not 100 percent sure where I see myself next year, but honestly I’m going to keep making music and wherever it leads . . . It’s only been 2 / 3 years that I’ve been taking it serious. Honestly for the last year, I’ve been taking it super serious and so much has happened this year. I don’t expect it to be too much longer but just keep grinding, keep doing the exact same thing that I’m doing.

Shakirah: And where do you want to take your music?

Dani: I just want to spread it, I just want to be everywhere. I want to go to Europe: London, I want to do all of it. I just want to reach everybody, which is hard to say but I want to reach everybody that’s it.

Shakirah: I definitely think you’ll get there in due time! So when you perform, what message do you want to leave your audience with?

Dani: I want to leave them with music suck in their head. I love when I find someone singing my songs. When I just finish making a song and my engineer is like humming it and stuff like that, that’s what gets me going. I’m like that’s awesome, that’s catchy enough. So I want to keep my fans singing my music even when I’m gone.

Shakirah: And if you could choose an emoji to describe who you are, which emoji would you be?

Dani: The two pink hearts. I’m always rocking those. I use those a lot. Those are my favorite.

Shakirah: What are your top two favorite songs that you’ve released since you launched your career?

Dani: I would have to say Don’t Fall and Summers Over are my top two. I’m really disappointed that I didn’t shoot a video for either one. I just felt like Sugar needed it, but if I had a chance to redo it, I would have dropped videos for both of those songs. Those are my top.

Shakirah: Is it really too late to shoot the video?

Dani: I’m about to release this next song and it’s a game changer. It’s going to be crazy.

Shakirah: I can’t wait to hear. So when you write your lyrics, what kind of mood do you have to be in? What kind of scenery do you have to sit in?

Dani: Candles lit, at least one, a cup of coffee, and I’m in there. The lighting of the room changes so I put it on whatever mood of the song, light the candle, get my coffee and I just go in.

Shakirah: And if you weren’t a recording artist/songwriter, what other career would you pursue?

Dani: I would be painting or tattooing. One of the two.

Shakirah: Do you have any tattoos?

Dani: Yeah, I recently got this one here *lifts up left arm* two feathers, and a cross behind this ear. Two features meaning just being free.

Shakirah: What’s your relationship status?

Dani: Right now, I am just making music. *laughs* That is it.

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