Hailing out of New York, HDBeenDope is building a name for himself with his incredible storytelling skills and wide range of talent. Greatly influenced by some of Hip-Hopās biggest artists such as Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, and J. Cole, HDās hard-hitting lyricism and creative vision have landed him in a lane all by himself. HDās 2019 singles āFor the Record,ā āRev Runā and āCaymanā have generated millions of streams across all streaming platforms, including nearly 6.2 million views on YouTube alone and over 264,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. One of his biggest singles to date āByrd,ā has accumulated 8.3 million views on Youtube since releasing on April 29, 2019, and amassed over 25 million streams and counting. His hard work has not gone unnoticed either. As of September 8, the Brooklyn MC announced his new record label deal with Roc Nation.
āIām a writer and artist from Brooklyn signed to Hov. Those of you who love hip-hop like I do understand how special that is,ā HDBeenDope said. āIād love to tell you it just happened out of nowhere but the truth is the intent has been consistent through and through. I think they call that serendipity. Iām here for legacy, living in the now, and creating for the future. Thatās what Iām about, thatās what Roc is about. Thatās what we are about.ā
To celebrate the recent signing, HD dropped a brand newĀ āPaper PlanesāĀ free verse produced by Dizzy Banko. TheĀ āPaper Planesā freestyleĀ is the 22nd installment to his steady stream of weekly āFreeVerseā freestyles that debuted earlier this year.Ā
Lyrical Lemonade had the opportunity to catch up with HD earlier this month to talk about his latest single āWake Em Up,ā and learn more about what we can expect from him this year. Check out our interview below.
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Lyrical Lemonade: When you think about music, what was the inspiration for becoming the artist you are today?
For me, I was listening to Wayne early. 50 was like my introduction, I was watching 50. At the height of 50, that was the epitome of what it feels like to be a rapper. Wayne made me want to be a lyricist. Like do you hear what he is saying? Wtf. So all I was doing was making metaphors and similes. Then I found Cole, Cole made me introspective. Like ok cool, now put all of these together. But through Cole is how I found a lot of the older hip-hop. I didnāt grow up listening to a bunch of hip-hop like Iām Caribbean, from Grenada. My mom was listening to Kalipso and country music. So for me, I had to do my homework, but once I found Cole it was like I did all my homework and started building the sound into what it is now.
Lyrical Lemonade: What supporting visuals are you going to create for āWake Em Upā?
Ā So we have this concept essentially of converting fans. Having all these people laid out and waking them up. But youāre seeing this process. I feel like everything we do, we try to add intention. Bringing people into the world, thatās the major thing weāre doing.
Lyrical Lemonade: When you create music, do you want to be thought of as a lyricist or are you just creating fun music for your fans to enjoy? Or would you say a mixture of both?
Well I mean for me, Iām a writer so I still care about what Iām writing regardless of the purpose behind the record, I still have intentions of what Iām saying. Beyond being a writer, Iām a rapper. So thatās still the competitive side. Like, āWake Em Upā, its energy, and good flow. You can essentially just shut your ears off and just ride with it. I say, āB*tch Iām on big timing/5, 4, 6 donāt fall I flip give me all of my shit I won.ā So Iām on big time, but 5,4,6, like when Iām playing cee-lo. So you won, give me all my shit I won. But I know nobody caught that, nobody cares, and thatās fine, but thatās the sh*t Iām doing, thatās me, thatās their writing in me. Thatās the shit I care about. You can still focus on the bounce. You just have to still do it for yourself.
Lyrical Lemonade: Whatās your creative process like when you create music?
A lot of times, even now with my writing, I just go through and record and do a bunch of flows to get the energy. What is the music saying to me? Before I want to speak to the music, what is the music saying to me? Because I feel like if Iām just trying to speak directly to the music, itās just a poem, at that point I can take the music away. But if Iām caring about this marriage and what the music is saying to me, then I can put the words together and this is what I want to say now.
Lyrical Lemonade: Earlier in the year, you were releasing one freestyle video per week. What was the concept behind this idea?
So that idea came from Wayne. Dedication 2.. like thatās big, thatās it. I remember how excited I was about those verses, so I was like ok I want to put out some records to get in that spirit. So I started doing that. Even just shooting it, that was me and my manager. He would shoot it, edit it, and itās up. But for some of those, Iām shooting 4 hours before I have to upload it, sometimes Iāll finish 3 minutes before it has to go up. You know why thatās so exciting? Do you remember good Fridays and how it goes up at this time, or hold on this person needs their verse? With that feeling of urgency, I enjoyed those Hip-Hop moments. Anyone who is a part of the journey, I just want like oh damn I remember when, I want them to love that feeling because thatās how I felt at one point in time.
Lyrical Lemonade: Would you rather create a timeless song or a hit?
Everybody that I look at has both, so itās like Iām not here to get either or, I want everything.
Lyrical Lemonade: What do you look for in producers?
Honestly, itās new. Me and Dizzy locking in is a whole new thing. I actually sat down and worked with him. I started the process working with Earl On The Beat, then I worked with Plush. But that was like my intro sitting with producers, and picking out beats. This with Dizzy, I was sitting down and kicking it with him through the process of crafting out these records. He understands the vision, and he trusts me as a producer, the same way I trust him as a producer. I was making a lot of my beats, thatās why a lot of it sounds very specific. Thereās no beat even If I got it from someone, I never give the beat back the same way I got it.Ā
Lyrical Lemonade:With the release of your latest single, when your fans listen to it, what do you want them to get out of listening?
I really want them to understand themselves through the music. Anybody that has been watching the journey they will hear the music and be like damn this sh*t is fire. But you can notice there is a level of energy that is a little bit different. Anybody who watches the journey will be like nah this is still the same person. For someone seeing that, I just want them to see If i can do it, you can do it. That is really what I want them to take from it.
Lyrical Lemonade: What advice can you offer to any up-and-coming artist right now?
Sheesh. Honestly, always learn from the things youāre doing. Assessment. Because people do a lot of shit. Especially because now as an artist you have to do so much. Youāre a media company, youāre not just an artist. You have to do so much. Artists get to a place where we all bump our heads and are like I did so much what happened? But that assessment does not come into play for some people. You did some shit and it didnāt work, understand how youāre supposed to communicate moving forward. If you donāt know how to speak to people it wonāt work. If youāre frustrated, communicate. The first rule, know your audience and assess yourself.
Lyrical Lemonade: What can we expect from you for the remainder of the year?
Aww man, we are not stopping. I have music coming, and videos coming. At the end of the year, I always drop a song to let you know what the energy is moving into the next year.
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