Songwriter, producer, instrumentalist, and artist are all titles rising performer Bowtye can answer to. The South Carolina resident puts his many musical skills on display with his 4-track L.S.D. (Losing Something Different) EP.
The project packs elements of Funk, R&B, and Hip Hop into 6 minutes of mind altering tunes. Bowtye orchestrates the entire presentation with every track featuring his words, voice, and production.
Prior to L.S.D., Bow teamed with wife Nicole “Elle Sadity” Dantzler to form the group SideKick. The pair earned a nomination for Best Rap Duo at the 2011 Underground Music Awards. Up next for Bowtye is a full length project incorporating his signature “Groovewave” sound.
DZI: The Voice connected with Bowtye to get the rap on his latest EP, working with his wife, and more.
Yohance Kyles: When did you discover your voice as an artist?
Bowetye: I’ve been singing since I was little doing musicals and what not, but it’s been recently that I’ve found my own sound with L.S.D. I’ve been crafting this sound really since I started producing back in middle school, and I’ve just now gotten to a point where it’s completely cohesive. With that being said, it’s always a “work in process” to me.
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YK: How did growing up in South Carolina influence you musically?
B: Growing up in South Carolina honestly has influenced my music in the sense that it’s made me more creative. We don’t have a definitive sound here outside of “Beach Music”.
With that being said, this allowed me to explore and craft my music without being obligated by a certain sound being produced around me like if I were in Atlanta or Florida. I will be the defining factor in the sound of South Carolina.
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YK: Do you have any formal musical training?
B: I studied percussion from 6th-12th grade, played tenors on the drumline in high school, and studied vocal ed/percussion in college along with teaching myself piano. I currently teach percussion at my old high school.
YK: How did SideKick come together?
B: I love my wife. She’s the greatest rapper that’s ever rapped. Seriously, I’m not kidding. We thought it would be dope to have a male and female rap duo, and from that idea SideKick was born. We’ve had some great music and success come out of it. SideKick was nominated for Best Hip Hop duo at the Underground Music Awards in 2011.
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YK: What inspired the cover art for L.S.D.?
B: I wanted the feeling that the listener was trapped. Stuck in a space where only the music could reach them – like seeing an effect that a drug has on a person but visually. You are seeing the effect of the music within the swirl. It’s a piece of space where music invokes feeling. Flip (my close friend and graphic designer) and I sat down and discussed the concepts for the cover, and he created this masterpiece.
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YK: Why did you decide to keep the EP under 7 minutes?
B: People have very short attention spans. Drugs have short spans in which the person feels invulnerable. I did this knowing it would be like a drug where the listener wants more, because that “feel good” is so short that they have to listen again and again.
YK: What’s the status of your Opium project?
B: Well, to be honest I’m not satisfied with it. I wanted my fans, who have been fans for a while, to have something new musically from me. I’ve refocused my attention now on my definitive sound “Groovewave” in which I’m working on new EP’s and LP’s. I’m a perfectionist.
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YK: If you could pick any three artists out now to record a song on one of your tracks, who would you choose and why?
B: Jay Electronica because he’s the best lyricist alive and my personal favorite rapper. Kanye because he’s my favorite overall artist. Pharrell Williams because he’s my favorite producer/songwriter, but I’d want to do the record with him and N.E.R.D together.
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YK: Tough question, but if you were forced to choose only a career as a songwriter, producer, or performer, which one would be your first preference?
B: I don’t know if I can answer this, because I feel like I can’t be one without the others. I’m an enigma. I would find that even if I picked being a producer, I’d end up writing the lyrics and end up on the hook which would still put me being me all three things.
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YK: What’s next for BowTye?
B: New visuals, website, new logo, and a lot of music! #RIIIIIGHT
For more info about Bowtye click it
To connect with Bowtye follow him on Twitter @theRealBowTye and Instagram @theRealBowTye
Check out Bowtye’s L.S.D (Losing Something Different)
DZI: The Voice 