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Saturday 24 December 6:00 a.m.
What is your single about?
‘Start Lookin’ Round’ is basically a tune about getting off your a** and going and getting what you want. An anthem for anyone who feels like they’re stuck in a rut.
Where did you record this single, and who helped you out?
Recorded this with my bros from The Daylight Robbery in a shack in Avondale. Produced by my bro Dan ‘Exile’ Mawby. P-Money helped with the exec production and Evan Short made it bang.
Have you got a video out, if so what is the theme/story behind the video?
Wanted to do a video a really iconic video of New York to show people back in NZ how far we are from home. Directed by Alexander Richter & Bedstuy via Auckland transplant Tom Gould. Being that we shot it during the world cup I had to rock the throwback 87 All Blacks jersey by the Brooklyn Bridge too.
Who’s in your band?
I’m a solo artist. Fire & Ice, Daylight Robbery, P-Money, Forty One are the crew.
Have you got any tours coming up?
Yup. See daviddallas.net or facebook.com/daviddallasmusic for all upcoming dates.
Have you got an album coming out soon?
The Rose Tint Deluxe in stores and online now.
MORE ABOUT DAVID DALLAS:
David Dallas begins The Rose Tint turning over a new leaf, stating there’ll be “no more sitting round, wishing things were different round here.”
And so the tone is set for the South Auckland rapper’s sophomore album (nominated for NZ Music Award Album Of The Year, Best Urban/Hip Hop Album and Best Male Solo Artist), with his self-motivational dialogue as the running theme.
“I write songs to inspire myself and hopefully it has that effect on others,” says Dallas. The premise of The Rose Tint is not so much about seeing things as better than they actually are, but rather, as Dallas explains, “concentrating on things that are going good, or working to make things better, rather than just whining about how things suck.”
From a drunken night out conversing with friends about aspirations of greatness on ‘Take A Picture’, to being too shy to put yourself out there on ‘Sideline’, to getting rid of the people in your life trying to bring you down on ‘Dream’, The Rose Tint is universally relatable.
“I always have to draw from my own internal experiences and how I’m feeling. I figure, if I feel this way, there’s probably a bunch of other people who feel like that too,” says David.
That’s not to say struggles are ignored on The Rose Tint, as family illness, industry frustrations, and the fear of failure are just some of the issues he wrestles with, however, betterment and perseverance are the overriding messages.
‘Til Tomorrow’ garnered rave single reviews, topping the online Hype Machine charts, with the superb Special Problems directed vid giving the song new life. The Freddie Gibbs featured ‘Caught In A Daze’ has cemented Dallas as an artist not to be taken lightly, his smooth delivery appealing to both underground and commercial sensibilities, with the accompanying video the perfect match to the songs laid back vibe.
While duo Fire and Ice handle the majority of the production, P-Money, 41 and Exile also lend a hand to David’s latest offering, with PNC, Jordache and Pieter T rounding out the features.
The Rose Tint is David Dallas’ first full length offering to the US market, and while he’s coming in as the underdog, he’s not looking to play that position long. His talent has already been recognized on some of the world’s most influential international hip-hop sites including Nah Right, 2dopeboyz, XXL, The Source and 50 Cent’s own This Is 50 amongst others. Dallas also recently won an MTV US online poll being voted as their Iggy Artist Of The Week, and had his music videos for The Rose Tint’s ‘Take A Picture’ and ‘Big Time’ (from his debut album) added to rotation on all MTV networks across the US - a huge break for any new artist. ‘Take A Picture’ was also featured on the home page of Youtube, receiving over 100,000 views in just a week.
The Rose Tint was originally available as a free digital download via David’s own website, gathering over 55,000 downloads. The Rose Tint Deluxe is the first time the album is available physically and takes it a step further with four new songs featuring some of the US’s greatest talents such as Kid Daytona and Tayyib Ali. There is also a special appearance by Black Moon member, co-founder of Duck Down and all round Hip Hop legend, Buckshot, who joins Dallas on special bonus track ‘Ain’t Coming Down’. The Rose Tint Deluxe is accompanied by a bonus disc of the instrumentals from The Rose Tint.
“I want to put my best foot forward so people can hear the best I can do… I’ve put everything into this. It’s the follow on from my debut Something Awesome. To me, it’s better.”