Emerging international artist Da’wan Gold doesn’t know exactly what first sparked his interest in music, as he was constantly surrounded by different creative influences in his childhood. His passion began when he was young, growing up with his mom playing old Betty White records as he wrote poetry to pass the time living on a rural farm in Georgia. He would write, go to school, come home and write more. But one thing was clear: Gold had a fascination with all elements of songwriting, from the sound to the rhythm to the stirring lyrics.
Gold is a rapper whose music has elements of hip hop, jazz and even a bit of techno. In some of his newer releases you can hear more jazz influence as they incorporate piano and the use of major 7th chords, like in his single “One and Only.”
However, before joining the musical scene in Hollywood, Gold embarked on a different journey. He went on two tours of duty in Iraq from 2005-06 and 2007-09. Confronting physical, emotional and psychological trauma from his experiences, his musical motivation dimmed, though it was also one of the only things keeping him going.
“Writing music kept me active when I had nothing to do during war,” Gold said. “At the time, it was just was like coming off of a bad relationship”
Beginning his musical journey in Los Angeles after coming back from Iraq, Gold and his team experienced some challenges. Along with this, he was also dealing with frequent medical visits after being dispatched from the army. All of this inspired him to get out of Los Angeles and spend time traveling.
“I had friends who were already there, so it wasn’t like I was going back to Europe in the dark,” Gold said.
Gold’s travels deeply affected his future as an artist. He focused on rebranding by changing his name and found an escape from being out of the country around other inspiring artists.
“I want to rap, I want to make beats,” Gold said. “Everyone was super geared toward that, so that kind of helped me meet a lot of people, too.”
For Gold, his biggest challenge doesn’t come from a lack of ideas. Rather, it comes from finding an idea to focus on.
“A lot of people say they have writer’s block, but it’s actually the opposite,” Gold said. “You actually have so much information that you don’t know what to put down first. At the end of the day, there’s been songs I’ve had to rewrite three times.”
Writing music and lyrics are not the only areas of composition Gold has worked in. He also has experience in producing, and tracks off of his debut album “Late Bloomer” showcase his production skills.
The song “Run Forest Run” was the first track off of “Late Bloomer” to be produced by Gold. It showcases riveting poetry with an atmospherically eerie backtrack to accompany the rapping.
Recently, Gold has been releasing singles that demonstrate his changing sound as a musician from a production and musical standpoint. He is currently working on creating a new album. His newest release, “330am Biloxi,” demonstrates rhythmic rapping meshed with his unique back tracks while experimenting with jazz piano. Future information about Gold’s music releases can be found on his Instagram account: @dawangold.
