Live from the Boom Room is a live music video series featuring live performances recorded in the Blip Blap Video HQ bunker in St. Louis, Mo. Learn more about Blip Blap Video at blipblapvideo.com, or follow them on Instagram and YouTube.
This week’s episode features Daemon performing his original, “Three Years Sober.” His personal blurb about the song: “When my girl died, I drank…a lot. I did the most drugs. THE. MOST. Same thing happened when my mom got hurt, when my brother got shot, and when my dad got cancer. Three years ago, I realized that I was using hardships to justify being an addict. This record is a meditation on who I was and a celebration of the person I am trying to be. Here’s to three years sober.” – Dae
About this week’s artist:
Daemon is particularly adept at navigating two distinct worlds; the glamorous and the gritty, the soulful and the ratchet.
A rapper, songwriter, performer, and producer from St. Louis, MO, this same nimbleness informs his music. Intricately incorporating bars that demand a rewind over production that gets stuck in your head, Daemon has plenty to offer Hip Hop purists and Gen-Z partiers alike.
As an artist, he deftly balances hard within soft: cold shade eclipses warm praise, and sincere love lines topple biting satire. Daemon is Shakespearean: his lyrics are tongue-in-cheek, bold yet nuanced. They flow from him as easily as blood in a tragedy, and you can’t help but want to watch as he cuts up politics and pop culture and serves it to us, unflinching.
The world has taken notice. Daemon’s tracks have been featured everywhere, from Bernie Sanders walkouts (“Feel Good”) to Xbox Exclusives (“Turn the World Around” in Forza Horizon 5 or “Confidence Man” in The Crew 2) to Netflix shows (Inventing Anna, Daybreak, Work It, Locke & Key, Easy) to ads (Mini Cooper, Sephora, the ACLU) to TBS shows (the Jordan Peele-produced The Last O.G.). Daemon has also collaborated with Killer Mike and Trackstar (the DJ from Run the Jewels), DJ Shadow, and more.
What brought you to this point in your life as a working St. Louis artist?
I spent the last five years or so focused almost solely on music publishing, and it’s been a blessing! Thanks to my music publisher, Third Side Music, my life has been forever changed. I’ve been able to work on music full-time, and I’ve learned a lot about my craft and even more so about myself. I can’t ever thank them enough. However, I realized that I crave an even deeper connection with the audience. TSM has gotten my music in everything from Netflix shows to Xbox and Playstation video games. Now, I need to build community between myself and the listener, and what better way to do that than in your hometown?
What inspires your music? What does this song in particular mean to you?
Anything and everything inspires my music. From big victories that lead to triumphant tracks to quiet losses that turn into contemplative records, to everything in between. I try and take what life gives me and turn it into art, as pretentious as that might sound.
This particular piece is called “Three Years Sober.” The name is pretty self-explanatory. I am an addict and an alcoholic, but I’ve been sober for three years now. I wanted to share just a little of my thought process while I was using, some of the consequences I faced—almost getting killed, losing a connection with someone I held dear, and finally illustrate that even someone as far gone as I was can find redemption.
Who in St. Louis are you inspired by right now?
I’m inspired by my brothers, Rec Riddles and Supreme Sol (of my rap group, ROTN). We couldn’t be more different stylistically and personally, but we all make music with the same goals in mind. To push the art form forward, to GIVE something to the people listening, and to grow as human beings. They are two of the best people I have ever had the chance to know, and I’m thankful every day that I get to work with them. I’m also very much inspired by my close friend Trackstar the DJ. This dude is a bona fide celebrity/legend who gives all he can to uplift and shed light on the St. Louis Hip Hop scene. He’s one of one.
What bands are you performing with lately?
As mentioned, I’ve been working closely with my rap group, ROTN. We’re working on a very special project, Monster Zero, and a big show at Platypus on April 6th. I can’t wait to show folks the new music, and our live show has some new surprises as well.
Where do you hope to be in 5 years?
I have a list of six MASSIVE goals written in my office. In five years, at least four of them will come to fruition. What are they? You’ll have to watch and see.
Links:
“Three Years Sober” | Website | LinkTree
This season of Live from the Boom Room has been partially funded by a generous grant from the Regional Arts Commission. Help keep Live from the Boom Room an absolutely free service for musical artists by supporting the project with your donation here: https://paypal.me/blipblap
