Danny Thomas, Acclaimed Lyricist

Name: Danny Thomas II

 

Stage Name: “Louis.”

 

Year: Sophomore

 

Major: Creative Writing-Poetry

 

Hometown: Overland Park, Kansas/Jacksonville, NC

 

 

 

 

 

DT: The people I’ve been able to meet while being a student here have made my experience at UNCW one that I am extremely grateful for. In my time here I’ve made a lot of genuine friends that are goal-oriented and we all keep each other’s best interest in mind. A lot of the musicians I perform with are UNCW alumni and the surrounding community is very supportive of the arts.

 

 

DT: I actually didn’t come up on rap music at all; my parents were both big fans of R&B and funk music, so I heard a lot of Marvin Gaye and Parliament growing up, stuff like that. When I started getting my own albums I had a lot of Usher and Ne-Yo in my personal collection. It wasn’t until I was in middle school that my older brother let me listen to Pharrell’s “In My Mind” album and there was a song on that album called “Show You How to Hustle” and it captivated me; the way he flowed on that track was just really cool to me and I actually think I tried rapping once soon after and it fell flat. One night I got really determined though and wrote a really nice, promising verse and from there I stuck with it; so it started as hobby but as I got more popular and I started gaining fans I wasn’t able to just stop doing it. Now I think all musicians have a responsibility to say something in their music, reach people and get the things out there that people need to hear.

 

 

DT: Now that I’m the front-man for the live-hip hop group Temple5 and the other half of the electronic hip hop group The Valedictorians I think the most difficult thing about rapping nowadays is just continuously pushing myself to write frequently, or keeping myself in a place where I’m creatively stimulated enough to be repeatedly cranking out music. Ironically enough though being a “rapper” is sometimes the most difficult thing about rapping, if that makes sense? The word just has such a negative connotation; rappers are stereotyped as being trouble-makers and gang-bangers, etc. I feel being deemed simply a “rapper” kind of devalues everything I put into my music; people often assume I’m something less than an actual musician but I co-produce a lot of my music, I make the artwork for my single covers and show posters, I work at it a lot. The guys in the band actually refuse to call me a “rapper”, but a lyricist or an emcee instead.

 

 

DT: I have more than one, I couldn’t give a single one. But the most notable rappers in my life right now, in no specific order, would be: Childish Gambino, Mick Jenkins, J Cole, the Hieroglyphics, I could go on and on. Lately though I’ve been on a bigger funky-jazzy kind of binge with bands like the Nth Power, Moonchild, and Lettuce. I’m just getting into that kind of world.

 

 

DT: I’m kind of an all-purpose artist, I used to dabble in a lot of different types of art but lately I’ve been working towards giving myself to art completely. I’d like to be exceptional in all the types of art that interest me really. I write a lot of poetry and I draw. I haven’t been able to get into any art classes here yet, but I’m really into drawing. I’d like to work up being able to do hyperrealism paintings, the attention to detail and the care is really amazing to me. I also produce music with another student here, Cameron “ALLIN” Tinklenberg, so between those things, shows, and school my calendar is usually too full for other things.

 

 

DT: My personal music: http://soundcloud.com/louistheengineer

Temple5 (live hip-hop band that I’m the front-man for): http://soundcloud.com/temple5

The Valedictorians (1/2 of the electronic/hip-hop duo): http:/soundcloud.com/the-valedictorians

 

 

DT: I have two in particular. Last year, I won a competition and got flown to New York to perform with Grammy-nominated drummer Eric Harland and the Voyager band at their cd release party in the Highline Ballroom, and that was so great because it showed me that everything you work hard for actually does pay off, you’ve just got to be patient. Aside from Eric Harland, who was like a big brother to me for the time I was there, I also met Robert Glasper, Chris Turner, both Mark Kelley and James Poyser from the Roots, Walter Smith III, and a bunch of other incredibly gifted musicians. It was a huge blessing, everybody was incredibly nice and they made me feel like I belonged there.

 

The second great moment actually happened the night before. I had to catch my plane to New York in Raleigh so I drove out there and stayed overnight and my friend who goes to State harassed me into attending this rap cypher NC State had going on this particular night. In the middle of my second rap 9th Wonder, an incredibly talented producer and educator, shows up out of nowhere. I was completely in awe. It turned out this really dope female emcee named Rhapsody was in the area specifically to shoot a

music video, so I got to meet both 9th Wonder and Rhapsody that night.

 

 

DT: Temple5 has a show in Raleigh on the 31st with hip-hop collective “No9To5”, then another on Valentine’s Day downtown at Brooklyn 723. Hopefully we’ll be playing the Brooklyn Arts Center sometime in March!

 

 

DT: In a general artistic statement I would discourage others from following a mold; create things that are uniquely yours. There will never be another person who feels exactly the way you do about the particular things you feel moved by, so display your commentary on those things while you can. For aspiring rappers specifically I will say don’t be afraid to take your time, don’t rush your music or the moves you make, deliberate before making choices. Also continue to facilitate love amongst one another and make music that carries a message, music that draws attention to important things.

 

 

DT: Thank for you honoring me with this interview!