Whether you’ve heard of DaWeirdo or not, he’s here to make sure he leaves his imprint.
Growing up in Englewood, Chicago, one of the most dangerous places in America, the rising star knew early on he had to go out and get it on his own, adapting to certain things around him and proving you don’t have to be a product of your environment.
DaWeirdo describes himself as “very creative. The guy that tells all the stories and leaves messages in his music, and that loves art.”
With his biggest influence being his grandma, it’s only right DaWeirdo dedicated his single “Believe It” to her. The rapper and visionary tells his story through the lyrics in his music, in hopes of being a role model and uplifting the masses. His rugged and raw sound is equipped with morals and messages, everything you love about hip-hop into one melting pot.
Most recently, DaWeirdo unleashed his newest project Lillie, spearheaded by lead single “Naughter Bear.” Plus, he has the ultimate cosign by rap legends Eminem and DMX.
AllHipHop: How did you get your name?
DaWeirdo: That came about being in Chicago. 2014 or 2015 was when the drill scene was big and heavy. A lot of my videos were different and weird in a way, so that gravitated towards me. Everybody said “You’re weird, you’re a weirdo for doing different stuff.” Which was good though, a lot of people loved a lot of things that I was doing. It’s different, they liked it.
AllHipHop: How would you describe your sound?
DaWeirdo: Very creative, stepping outside the box. That’s what I love to do.
AllHipHop: What was it like growing up in Englewood, Chicago?
DaWeirdo: It’s weird, because Chicago’s very divided. You got a lot of East side rappers, West side rappers, South side rappers , then you got your North side rappers. It’s only a very few, very few. We got Kanye West of course, Lil Durk. G Herbo and Bibby are from over east. Keef and them are from over east. Growing up, I saw a lot of stuff I had to adapt to at a very young age. I had to roll with the flow. As I got older, I realized I had my own conscious and start thinking different.
AllHipHop: How was your grandmother a big influence on you?
DaWeirdo: She showed me and taught me morals and family, to embrace each other. She taught me a lot about right from wrong. “If you go this way, these are your consequences. If you go that way, these are your consequences.” She played a big part, just being there in my life. Her and my oldest brother, always being there when they seen me going down the wrong way.
AllHipHop: Were you in the streets?
DaWeirdo: Definitely was. At a young age, man. [laughs] I was definitely really in the streets. Everything changed when I hit 18. It was weird because then, guns were never involved in a lot of things we did. I remember everybody used to have fights, regular hood fights. You get jumped on, you get beat up, normal stuff. But things changed, I had to move around before something happened to me. I got into the music a little bit deeper and wanted something out of it, it changed a lot.
AllHipHop: What happened at 18?
DaWeirdo: One day, I was walking down the street about 2am. Somebody yelled saying “when they catch me, they was gon’ kill me.” From that moment, I realized how easy it was to get to someone. I started thinking I’m not untouchable. Everybody can get touched, and I didn’t want to die. You know what, let me take a different path. I switched up a lot of stuff, a lot of my old habits I had to kill or cut off.
AllHipHop: What does it mean to dedicate “Believe It” to your grandma?
DaWeirdo: Getting out of Chicago and coming to the city of dreams, the city of angels, trying to figure it out and becoming something in life. That’s what “Believe It” was definitely about.
AllHipHop: What inspired “Broke & Ugly”?
DaWeirdo: “Broke & Ugly” was more of my childhood, talking about the struggles and how I came up very poor. It needed to be expressed, I had to get it out. “Broke & Ugly” touched a lot on that end of things: the bad side and showcasing some of the good.
AllHipHop: How was it doing that performance?
DaWeirdo: It was heart touching because a couple days later, my grandmother passed away. A lot of things played out. But “Broke & Ugly,” I look at it as a gift and a curse situation. It birthed something else out of it, which I’m dedicating to my grandmother on September 11th. My new EP, it’s called Lillie.
AllHipHop: What can we expect from Lillie?
DaWeirdo: A different vibe. Me still being creative, stories about how I was brought up. A lot of my grandmother’s stories, a lot of the things she told me. I used to sit down with her a lot, she used to just tell me stuff. I’d write it in the back of my mind. Right now felt like the best time to do it so I let it out on all the tracks. It’s a masterpiece. It’s definitely something different from all my other previous tapes I’ve put out, a different sound pattern. The vibe’s much more embraceful, it’s just different.
AllHipHop: What’s “Naughty Bear” about?
DaWeirdo: The making of “Naughty Bear” was crazy. [laughs] “Naughty Bear” was inspired from my childhood, feeling not accepted. Being alone and not having guidance, doing what I wanted to do. That’s how “Naughty Bear” came up. When we shot that video, it was weird because I had so many kids out there to perform for the video. Right around the corner, somebody got murdered on the next block over. It was 20 shots, but that’s not even the wild part. The wild part is the fact when the kids heard the gunshots, they were so numb to it. “Oh well, hurry up let’s shoot this video.” It’s crazy, that’s all they know. They accept it for what it is, but it’s really scary man. As I get older, I see that now. Chicago needs help, and I’m trying to be the messenger.
AllHipHop: How can you continue to use your platform to help?
DaWeirdo: Shining a light on the city, that’s my biggest thing I want to do. Shine the light on the city and the inner hoods. Englewood especially because that’s where I’m from: the Southside. Be the narrator for my hood and speak up.
AllHipHop: How does it feel to have cosigns from Eminem, Paul Rosenberg, even DMX?
DaWeirdo: He came through my inbox, wanted me to work on a tape they were coming up with with different artists. Andrew Barber, a lot of guys reached out. It’s definitely dope, I feel like the work is being appreciated and it’s not getting overlooked. I feel great.
AllHipHop: What happened with DMX?
DaWeirdo: I guess he was putting together a tape for a lot of artists. What happened was I wanted him to do an intro for me. It’s crazy because my goal before he passed away last year, I said my new year’s resolution is to make sure I get a song from Chance and DMX. I want to put them on the same song, I’ma have DMX do the intro. I know it’s gon’ be crazy.” Months later that’s when DMX reached out, wow it blew my mind. Dreams really do come true. Eventually, you know what happened to X…
AllHipHop: How did DMX impact you and your art?
DaWeirdo: Growing up in Chicago, X was the voice for the slums. The dog was just that bonus for everything. We’re already poor and in an environment where everything is survival, self-taught. Coming up, DMX was a voice for me in general.
AllHipHop: 3 things you need in the studio?
DaWeirdo: A mirror is one, it places me in a different world. I like to look into someone else’s eyes as I’m rapping to them, to give me a different vision of how this stuff is coming out and being projected from me. Fiji Water, it tastes good. Fiji Water is the best. Now I understand why Kanye had those weights. When you’re at the studio, you get tired. Weights for some reason keeps the blood flow up. It keeps you energized, especially when I go into deep thoughts and thinking.
AllHipHop: What would you be doing if you weren’t doing music?
DaWeirdo: Probably directing and filming, somewhere in that lane. I do most of it now. Me and my boy FlyTy, Fly Visuals, he’s my director. We work on a lot of pieces together. He’s a big part of my music career, we do a lot of stuff. With directing. I got a brother that’s here who goes by the name of Stacy Savic, his nickname’s Superman. He taught me a lot of stuff.
AllHipHop: What’s the reality of the independent grind?
DaWeirdo: It’s a slow-cooked meal. It’s nothing fast. Content and beautiful art takes time. Not nothing that’s just thrown out there to the world, it’s a slow cooked meal so you have to wait. When it pops, when it’s done, everybody’s going to take it in and love it.
AllHipHop: What happened when the kids came up to you while pumping gas?
DaWeirdo: I was pumping gas around my grandma’s house, these kids had to be no older than 13 or 14. At the time I had billboards across the South side, promoting my single called “Tweakers” with FBG Duck. They came up to me and said “Man, we seen your billboard bro. We like your music.” I said “That’s love bro!” He said, “man, you got any bullets?” I said “What?” He said “We out.” I said “Wow, wow old you is?” He said, “I’m 14. This my lil brother, he’s 13.” Reality, it’s crazy. The thing is though, how he left after I got done talking to him: “Damn bro, why you gotta carry that? Aren’t you in school or something?” He said “Man it’s survival out here. All we got is each other.” That’s how all the kids think around here, it’s crazy.
AllHipHop: Any goals for yourself at this point of your career?
DaWeirdo: Before this year ends, to be #1 in Chicago.
AllHipHop: What’s it gonna take to get there?
DaWeirdo: Being dedicated and consistent, making it happen.
AllHipHop: Anything else you want to let the people know? I’m mom inn
DaWeirdo: Don’t forget my name.