Meet D1MZY as we talk J Hus' music status, overcoming nervousness, BL@CKBOX goals, and music plans.

Meet D1mzy as we finally link up and make a proper in depth interview on his music career and opinions on the current state of the music scene in the UK and over in the US. We talk on comments about J Hus being at the top, above everyone else, if Central Cee would have made it this far without socials, and of course all things about D1mzy and his dreams in the scene. A huge thank you to Dimzy for his time in speaking with us on this occasion, we cannot wait to see what he comes up with next on his journey. Be sure to go over to his page @d1mzy.uk to keep up with everything he continues to do this year.

Hey man, please can you give an introduction on yourself for those who aren't yet aware of your work?

My name’s D1mzy (pronounced Dimzy), I’m an upcoming artist born and bred in South London, and currently I reside in Streatham, Lambeth.

And how long have you been making music?

My interest in music started in Yr 1, it was only for instruments tho, as I grew up, I developed a love for poetry, and was really good at it. I wrote my first song in Yr 4, and basically got my rap name in Yr 6 even though I had no desire to be a rapper. My interest in the industry started during lockdown, that was when all the influencers were just inside dishing out content, and I fell in love with the lifestyle, they were getting paid to just do what they love, lockdown was also when I started listening to a lot of music, so that was when the idea popped into my head.

Yr 8 now, i befriended this producer called Novak, he helped me a lot with understanding the game, and since I was awful at rapping at the time, I just thought I should learn about music. Yr 9 was when I first started writing, I came out of a bad breakup (Netflix teen drama typa stuff) and that gave me material to write. Yr 9 was also when I became close friends with an artist you’re probably familiar with, Tmillz. I’ve known Tmillz since Yr 7 due to mutual friends, but we never really spoke. It was Yr 9 where we actually became friends, he was ahead of me in the game, and he helped me out a lot, I owe part of where i’m at now to Tmillz. He gave me a jump start.

So to go back to the question, I’ve been doing music in general for 10 years, rapping? 6 years, rapping properly 1 year.

A whole lot of respect for you! What does music mean to you on a deeper level?

Maaaaan music is just beautiful to me. I started it because I wanted to be the reason people vibe, the reason people are happy, I wanted to give back to my fam and make them proud, I also wanted to feel accepted somewhere, cah friendships are a thing I ain’t really good at. I can do all those things through music. I also like the fact that when someone hears a good song, it can prevent them from doing suttin stupid, making the wrong choices, appreciating the people around them. Dave ‘Black’ is a good example. When I heard that, I felt more inspired than ever, cause there’s a bunch of young black bruddas in endz, who could all make stupid choices, but the fact that Dave was just another black boy on the block and he’s at where he’s at now, is amazing to me, and he done it through music. Also, there’s a bunch of young black girls who hate their skin, their hair, their lips, their body, everything, and I think ‘Black’ does a good job and shedding some light on the darkness. I wanna make someone feel like that through my music.

How would someone describe your sound?

My sound can be interpreted in a range of ways. Everybody has a different ear, when I first started out, I feel like I was more creative with my music, my sound was very commercial. Nowadays, my sound is more basic, can be jumpy but mostly a laid back, smooth sound, with a twist of energy on it. I do miss the commercial sound I had, cah I was more creative with my music when I had that sound, but now I’m just better so it’s kind of bittersweet.

Would we ever see that commercial sound from you again?

Most definitely, I feel like when I get my own studio set up, a lot of that creativity that was present when I started out will make a return.

Who were you listening to growing up?

Growing up? Disney channel song and stuff, yk high school musical, let it shine, rags, stuff like that. Obviously I was brought up around a lot of dancehall and reggae, cah that’s where I’m from, Vybz Kartel, Alkaline, Elephant Man, Chronixx etc. As I got older though, I tapped into the UK scene. This was around Yr 6, which was 2019, so the main sound I listened to from the UK was Afro Swing, which was popping at the time. I listened to Ramz, DTG, Dappy, Geko, NSG, Yxng Bane, B young, Koomz, everybody and their marge. My bro was a big drill fan, so I grew up around OG UK drill, like Dimzy, LD, Monkey, Grizzy, Mdarrg, AM, Skengdo, SL, 30.

You can hear a mix of these in my music today. Some of my songs are drill but there’s always hints of dancehall in there.

Those were some good years for music for sure! Who are you listening to right now?

Right now, any genre you can name. I’ve always had pretty wide range of music, so I listen to everybody. If I was to go into specifics though, it’s Dave, Elephant Man, J Hus, T-Pain, Stunna Gambino, The Kid Laroi, Cinco and the talented Up n Comers around me, like Tmillz, Shakes, Muggz, NSJ Mali

Would you say you listen to more UK or US music?

Depends on the time. If it’s a 2000s and early 2010s ting, US all the way, but mid and late 2010s and rn, it’s a UK ting. US music rn is batty crease.

Completely agree, who's shining the most right now from the UK?

Shining? It’s either Dave, Cench or Digga. All three of them have made humongous moves this year.

Is there anyone not too far behind or are they too far out for them to be caught up with?

They’re too far out for anyone else to catch up, if we’re talking last year and the year before that, I could name hella man, but 2023 has just been a very dormant year for the UK scene, so it’s only those three that have really made suttin happen.

How do you feel about Hus? A lot of people are saying he's on top with the UK crown in his hand, what do you think about this?

He ain’t on top nowhere. He came out of “retirement” with 'Dats Crazy' which is just…that, and then 'Who Told You'. Who told you is a vibe but instead of having him by himself or another UK afroswing artist which would’ve been more hyped, he wasted his money on a horrendous Drake feature

I love Hus, I love his previous work, but we haven’t seen enough quality stuff from him this year, give some time and we’ll see.

tell em all again, it's a conversation nobody wants to have! do you think someone like cench would be big without social media? if in depth social media was taken out of the situation and it was say 5 years ago, would cench have been able to make it like some of these other guys?

Prime cench? Yeah, I think he would have the same success he has now. Cench has been doing music for years, but it was tracks like loading, day in the life, 6 for 6 etc that made him so popular. I feel like 5 years ago, the UK drill sound was still very gritty and dark, so Cench’s upbeat smooth sound would be suttin different, and people like suttin different, so yeah I feel like prime cench would make it, but cench rn, wouldn’t. Central Cee has a very commercial style now, he makes commercial music, which is normal for UK drill rappers these days, but I don’t think that would go 5 years ago.

You're speaking facts right now! Back to yourself, what's the ultimate goal for you, where do you want your music to be?

Five years time? What I’m about to say might sound surprising, but I don’t wanna be on the frontlines of the genre, like Cench and Digga. I wanna be somewhat of an underdog, like a smaller artist but is still well known, locally, nationally and globally. There’s hella artists that people think are better than the frontliners, I wanna be that artist. Like Aitch or suttin. Aitch is well known and well loved, I kinda wanna have that spin on me.

For sure, do you have any smaller goals, maybe something you want to achieve in a smaller time frame?

By the end of the year, I wanna get recognised in the local community. I have a lot of mutual connections to a lot of things regarding music in my community, but i ain’t directly involved in them. TOT is one of them. I’m local to TOT, it’s up the road from me, and Tmillz is always telling me how amazing it is, and I can see that, I wanna get involved with that, and I deffo will soon. Another one is Spit Game, I’m already involved with that tho, you can catch me on Spit On The Street soon. I just wanna build my connections and get in the mix.

We LOVE SpitGame over here! Is there any other platforms you'd love to be a part of?

I WANNA BE ON BL@CKBOX SO BADLY. Bl@ckbox is a well respected platform, because it was the first home of a lot of greats, one of which is Dave. I wanna be on Bl@ckbox especially after last years one, the line up was crazy, and I also heard that there’s some people Ik that are booked for this years one, but gotta keep that on a low. I don’t think ima make it this year, so I just need to perfect my craft so I can make sure I’m on it next year.

Next year I'm expecting D1mzy to be there! Last years is still on my rotation I cannot lie! What can we expect to see from you next?

This year is all about elevation, but to do that I gotta grind for perfection. This year, just expect a whole bunch of freestyles, Spit On The Street, and we’ll see.

Any projects in the works?

Nope, I have dozens and dozens of fully written songs that I could record and release, and as much as I want to, I can’t. I gotta grow my fan base first, that’s what I’m focusing on. Depending on how fast I grow, you can expect a project from me next year, minimum, max? Probably 2 years.

Do you ever get nervous when making music and putting it out online?

Tmillz, was pressuring me for months to put something out on ig, he was so frustrated because he would always say that I was one of the hardest he knew, but I wouldn’t do anything with that information. This was last year, I just started writing and I was hella conscious about how people would react to my music, because up n comers are people who get hated on heavily, I wanted to get to a certain level before releasing something, but really and truly I was just scared. I had severe stage fright as well, so it took me time. And if I’m being honest, I was conscious of the way I looked, i ain’t gonna lie about that, I still am conscious of the way I look, but rn I don't care, I just want people to focus on my music, so I don’t care if someone got suttin to say about me. That nervousness is still always going to be there, I just push it to the back nowadays.

I appreciate you sharing that! If someone else was feeling like that, do you have any advice for them?

100%. Most of the people who have something to say ain’t got nothing going on in their lives. They’re at their yard playing Fifa, and eating. You’re a person who has something going for them, something that if done right, will get you a lot of money, a lot of gyal, a lot of cars, clothes and everything. The come up is always the hardest part, but the reward is the greatest.

For sure! Before we drop our final question for you, do you have anything you would like to add?

Yeah, about the nerves when posting. I tried to find a way around it by posting screen recordings. I figured by doing that, people would get to hear my music, without seeing my face, so I thought it was a win win, I was comfortable doing that. It was pretty successful, I gained some followers, and I got my first 500 views by doing that, but I quickly realised that the screen recordings weren’t gonna get me where I needed to be. I deleted everything on my page and said I was gonna start again. That’s when I messaged Isaiah La Touche and said that I wanna record, and one thing led to another, now I got over 200 followers and one of my freestyles are over 4K views.

Isaiah is a true goat in the scene for you guys! Finally, do you have anyone you would like to shout out?

Shoutout Tmillz, Isaiah La Touche, Cwivzz, Trubz, TracksonTap, NSJ Mali, Novak, my school, my fam, my bredrins, Spit Game, Sound Wave, and everyone who’s supported me in one way or another.