Ghanaian artist and entrepreneur, Desmond Kwesi Blackmore, better known as D-Black infuses a variety of emotions into his unique musicality of hip-hop and afrobeats. Sitting down to speak to Lambo Xtra, the ambitious talent takes us through his sonic evolution, message to his listeners, and bucket list items.
Delving into what he describes as “rollercoaster of emotions,” Blackmore moves draws his audiences in with effortless moves across genres in the blink of an eye. He says, “When you listen to a full body of work from me, you’re going to hear the gospel and then suddenly trap-hip song before I’m taking you down the Amapiano lane and then Afrobeats.”
But more important than his versatile production skills, the crux of his music is the ability to put a smile on people’s faces as the raw honesty of his carefully woven stories peek through the lush soundscapes.
Getting to this point of artistic honesty wasn’t an easy feat for D-Black. Reflecting on the evolution his craft has been through, he says, “You know 6-7 years ago anytime I was creating I felt the need to cater to the masses in order to attain commercial success. Now it’s different I create what I love, I create for the people yes but I’m giving them me. How I feel, how I think and telling them this is actually me.”
With his focus now on his own creative contentment, the explosive act pays his wisdom forward, as he advises anyone who aspires to balance an entrepreneurial spirit with a passion for music, saying, “Get your PHD on. Prayer, Hardwork, Dedication.” He adds, “You have to be born for this. It has to resonate within your soul. If this isn’t the first thing on your mind when you wake up, then this isn’t for you.”
There is no doubt that D-Black himself is made for this life swirling with talent and ambition – a simple look back at his achievements thus far reveals his caliber. From selling out his first tour in 2010, despite having only two singles out at the time to becoming the first Ghanaian rapper nominated for the BET Awards in 2011 and then first Ghanaian rapper to win a Channel O Award in 2013, an awe-inspiring journey lays behind this powerhouse musician.
Plenty more milestones await D-Black, including a self-produced, self-directed documentary – the Loyalty documentary – slated for release later this year which he describes as “a pure undiluted documentary about my journey,” that has been curated to surprise everyone. To add to that he also reveals his soon-to-launch online radio station and cosmetics as well.
However, despite all the achievements past and future, this constantly evolving act remains rooted in the strength of his faith, framed by the inspiration he draws from a wide slate of professional role models including Sean Combs (P Diddy), Obama, Jay Z, 50 Cent, Rusell Simmons, Kanye West, Andre Harrell & Clive Davis.
When asked to describe his career so far, D-Black summarises it simply yet powerfully as an “amazing experience,” and with his showcase of perfectly balancing a motivation to do better with zen-like contentment in where he is currently in life, anyone would be hard-pressed not to agree about how amazing he is, as he continues to strive towards his bucket list goal of taking his Ghanian rap-Afrobeats sound to every corner of the world.
