Interview with Dama Nilz (SXSW2016)

Music4Breakfast:  Alright, so what’s the biggest thing you have going right now?  What are you working on?

Dama:  Right now I’m releasing a video for my new single, “Semi Automatic”, and another song called, “Fuck Your Dick”, with me and my best friend, Gino Montana, we made that song trying to release it before the end of [unclear]

M4B:  Oh that’s cool

D:  Yeah it’s going to be sick

M4B:  Female empowerment

D:  Yup

M4B:  We gotta get you on the all-girl stage next time we have it.

D: Yeah. Totally.

M4B: So you talk a lot about being a “dama”.  What does that mean to you?

D: ‘Dama’ means lady in a couple different languages.  My homeboy he gave it to me, he’s dominican, he was just like “Dama Nilz”.  ‘Dama’ means lady man.  Dama Nation is my movement.  It’s definitely about female empowerment.  100%.  Can’t deny that you know what I’m saying?  It’s hard for us to get ahead in this male-dominated industry.

M4B:  So how did you get your start?

D:  Um…I started rapping – I started making music when I was really young, like 12 or 13, but I started performing on the New York City hip hop scene because my brotha Zeps, he put me on to a couple shows, and I started growing and growing and growing into like World Tours and shit like that, in Cali, so probably since I was like 17.

M4B:  Alright.  So for the girls who wanna be part of the Dama Nation, that want to dress like you, look like you – what are some of your favorite brands?

D:  Um…I’m not really like a brand person.  I’ve never like, I don’t know. I really can’t even say.  I’m like bad at it.  I’m terrible at brands.  I see shit I like that’s cool, related to the clothing as well that I consume, but yeah I really don’t know. I can’t even name one.

M4B:  Alright.  All original.  So, what’s been the hardest and most difficult thing about your work? Like your music career, or being your brand, being an artist ?

D: There’s a lot of hurdles.  There’s definitely a lot of hurdles.  Sometimes, what I hear from my publicist, some people won’t even play my video just because I’m a woman.  And it’s really creative, and dope, and just so full of life, and people won’t even play it ’cause they’re like, “Oh female..no”, like “Females are too much”, like “females this…they need hair or makeup, like I don’t want to deal with females, they’re too much this or that”.   Like every excuse in the book just cause I’ve got a vagina.  It’s like…it’s amazing.  So, building a brand is difficult because you’ve got to be like extra original, extra bold, extra alive, in your music and everything you do  has to be like so over the top in order for anybody to really like take notice, otherwise you’re just like another chick.  You know what I’m saying?  It’s really…it’s annoying because dudes get away with the worst.  Like you don’t really got to do shit.  You don’t gotta really be good, or have big budget videos, or anything like that.  Just put on a tee shirt and fucking rap some bullshit.  You know?

M4B:  True.  So since we’re Music 4 Breakfast, what’s your jam to wake up in the morning and what do you have for breakfast?

D:  I listen to…I like to start my day off with, I don’t know, something like electric dance, like indie rock shit like that, or some really ratchet trap music, like that new Party D album or some shit like that.  Whatever like gets me pumped in the morning.  And I like mexican breakfast.  Huevos rancheros and shit like that.  I’m with that.  That’s…put in some avocado, some pico de gallo, you know, start the day off right.

M4B: So last question, kind of a long the same lines, do you cook?

D:  Yes.  I’m a chef man.  I cook my ass off.  I make bangin’ tacos.  Bangin’ guacamole.  I’m sick at pancakes, chicken cutlets.  I’m nasty with it.  I love to cook.  I love it.

M4B: So we’re going to have to do a follow up later, a Dama Nilz cooking show.

D: Yes.  Absolutely.  100%

M4B: Cool.  Well that’s all.  Thank you so much!

D: Thank you!