DAMIAN is a true believer in the saying “everything happens for a reason.” Beyond the fact that music is his end-be-all, it’s his life mantra consisting of three words: build, create, inspire — that holds him over in everything he does. Hailing from Mission Viejo, the West Coast recording artist prides himself in his ability to sing and rap, with lyrics stemming from real-life experiences. Read more…

At the end of the day, he wants to inspire and remind audiences that they are not alone in this thing called life. With Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak being his favorite artists, he locks himself in the lab each and every single day to perfect his craft. Most recently, he unleashed his debut single “Closer,” inspired by the struggle in picking his girlfriend or his love for music.

For those who don’t know, who is DAMIAN?
I’m a positive energy, really big about positive energy. A lot of people say they’re super big on positive energy, but I try to truly live that every day. That’s how I hope people see DAMIAN. My whole life growing up, I’ve always been all about being a people pleaser, but I don’t do it to the point where if someone’s not happy with something I’m doing, it’s going to affect my decisions. Since I was little, I’ve always loved creative arts. I always wanted to use it to inspire people and really bring that positive energy. I make music about things that are really happening in my life. I try to show people that you’re not alone in these situations. I try to make them feel that through my music. Maybe that’s too much of a DAMIAN. [chuckles]

Being from Mission Viejo, what were you seeing growing up?
Growing up, I didn’t necessarily struggle. My parents were pretty well off. I lived in Ladera Ranch, which is 15 minutes south from there. A lot of my inspiration came from growing up in Mission Viejo just because of the events that happened. My parents went through a divorce, certain things happened that I experienced as a teenager. I was doing it all by myself. I had a little brother and sister, and my dad was going through a rough time during the divorce. That’s when I really got in contact with my emotions.

At the same time, I got my first girlfriend. I was so stoked. My dad and my mom weren’t doing good, my girlfriend was my comfort  at the time. When we broke up, I didn’t know how to deal with it. I dealt with it really bad. I was really mean to her and if she hears this, I’m sorry. I expressed my emotions the wrong way and it lead to me doing music. Once I started making songs about my love life and the things I felt inside, it helped me express myself and vent because I didn’t really have anybody to talk to.

Soon as I started feeling that through my own music, I started sharing it with people and they started feeling the same way. People started messaging me saying “this song really helped me, I love this song.” I wrote songs for some of my friends who unfortunately passed away. Their family members tell me all the time: “this song you made, I listen to it every day.” That’s my goal. I want to connect in a way where my music doesn’t just sound good, it feels good. I want it to feel a certain way. Same with my concerts.

Have you been performing?
I’ve done a couple shows out here already. My first was at a club Mickey hooked me up with, that was a really cool show. I did The Resident, that was an R&B show for Payday. El Prez got me on there, that guy’s amazing. That show was really great. I love the people out here in Los Angeles.

How important is it to come to LA as an up and coming artist?
It’s so funny, I tweeted the other day how many people told me before I did this that it was cliche, that it’s going to be a trap. That’s what scared the shit out of me. I really was so scared to come up here. The amount of times I said I was going to move to LA and didn’t do it, oh man it’s ridiculous. When I finally did it — I’m only 6 or 7 months up here now. Man, I don’t regret it a freakin’ minute of everything.

You really can grow as an artist out here because of the amount of creatives out here you’re surrounded with. The ones who say it’s cliche are the ones who came out here without a plan. A plan is so important to have. Before we came up, me and Mick would sit down and it was always about the plan. I had a plan when we came up. So far, everything’s been going according to plan. This all feels natural.

Favorite part of LA?
The food. [chuckles] I’ve eaten at so many places I’ve never eaten at in my whole life.

What’s your favorite food spot?
Out of all the food places I’ve eaten at, Fish King. Because I’m all about my seafood. Mick told me about it, I went there and it’s an amazing spot to eat at. Fish is fresh and I’m a big fan of halibut. They have an awesome halibut plate. But I’ve eaten at like 60 places, I should probably slow down. [chuckles]

At what point did you realize this music thing was forreal?
A long time ago. Out in Mission Viejo, I’d been working on my music by myself. I had 2 teammates: my buddy and my girlfriend. For the first couple years, we did all our in-house productions, did all of our own songs. All of the shows, I booked them myself. Threw my own shows, we were selling them out! 200 to 300 people, all singing the lyrics.

But that’s the downfall of Mission Viejo, the word of mouth out there doesn’t have the amount of potential as out here, because of the environment. Which is not me talking down on Mission Viejo, they’re more of a family-based community. Lots of families and lots of younger kids from very wealthy homes just going to school. Soon as I moved out here, everywhere I look I’m surrounded by creatives. Just walking in right now, I ran into a guy I met at the other day. LA’s amazing, I love LA.

Best memory from the “Closer” video shoot?
I have to say when Horacio was dragging me across the floor with a bag around my head. I got to feel what it felt like to get kidnapped. He tied those ropes tight, he wasn’t bluffing! I wasn’t getting out of that. They could’ve left me there. [chuckles]

How important is social media for your career?
Social media, I’ve seen it grow. Not that I’m old but I was right in the time social media was starting to get real big. Platforms were starting to evolve. Social media for any business is very important because it’s such a powerful tool to advertise. It’s the way you use it, the way you advertise, what you advertise that’s important. Because of how powerful social media can be, it’s a powerful tool for my career. I just plan on using it the right way.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on IG?
My sister, because she’s killing it. She’s younger than me, just turned 21. She’s full of positive energy. She has so many people around her. I go to her page, she has these vlogs and pictures of all of her friends from high school. They all still hang out. Sometimes, I’m almost jealous. All the videos I watch, everyone’s just laughing. It’s that real, homie friendship. Dude, I got so busy with my career that some relationships became distant. That’s something I envy. I love watching her Gram and seeing that people really still be vibing like that. I hope to find more individuals to vibe like that coming up here as we move forward in music.

What would you be doing if you weren’t doing music?
I’d probably a fisherman or something. I like the ocean, so maybe I’d go fish. I couldn’t picture myself not doing music, I’ve never thought about that actually.

What’s a normal day in the life? Walk us through.
I wake up, Mickey calls me. I go to the studio, and that’s my day. We have meetings, we do sessions, we do interviews. We work on our plots, our advertisement plans. Pretty much a day in the life right now is just music and I’m grateful for it. Learning the music business, the industry. Networking, making relationships, and meeting a lot of cool people out here in Los Angeles. I hope that continues to be my every day for the rest of my life to be honest.

What are some goals yourself as an artist at this point of your career?
I definitely want to work with some individuals that I really admire musically. Like Anderson .Paak, me and him could make a very beautiful song together. Same with some rap artists that are really killing it. One day, I’d really hope to work with Kendrick. A lot of my music is from experience and some of these artists when I listen to their lyrics and their tracks, I feel what they’re talking about.

Dream collab?
Alina Baraz. She’s so fire, I’d love to. Not going to lie, I’d probably shake a little bit. But 5 minutes or so, chill. [chuckles]

3 things you need in the studio?
Definitely some weed, a good engineer, and some candy. I’ll give you the plug on this one. If you ever go to Mint Room and you go next door, there’s this little tiny liquor store there. There’s this cute little woman who works behind the counter. I don’t know why she does it but she keeps all the sour strip packages in the back of the counter. But if you ask her for them, they have this little Indian on them. They’re literally essential, I get all 3 of them every session.