Damso: “Music is a playground”

He lied, because he was only going to release a few songs and eventually there were enough to compose an entire album.
5 albums in 10 years and Damso says this is the penultimate.
10 years where Damso imposed a sound around the world.

It's the journey of a kid who arrived in Belgium from the Congo when he was 9 years old, who finds himself on the street in his early twenties and who accomplishes his plans: to bring rap into his life, to bring his life in rap, with the maximum of musical registers, jazz, classical or shatta from the West Indies.

Everything takes place in Brussels, at the ICP studio, where Damso recorded. Two stools, in front of the console, the microphone is open and he has arrived.

Damso

The studio, a creative playground

For Damso, the recording studio is much more than just a workplace: it is his “playground” and his “sandbox”. He recounts his humble beginnings with rudimentary equipment, which pushed him to develop a particular “one shot” recording technique to compensate for technical limitations. This constraint became a force that still influences the way he works today.

Music as a space of infinite freedom

The rapper defines hip-hop as a particularly open art that allows the integration of all musical styles. “Hip-hop is so fine that you can do whatever you want,” he explains, emphasizing that its simple base – a cappella rap – allows you to incorporate all genres, from jazz to classical music. This freedom is reflected in his latest album where he notably includes violins.

A journey marked by resilience

Damso looks back on his journey, from his difficult beginnings where he found himself on the street with only “0.34 cents” in his pocket, to his current success. This crucial moment gave its name to his label “34 sentiments”. He also talks about his complex relationship with his native country, Congo, where he now tries to help while recognizing the complexity of local realities.