Day One of Made in America Festival kicked off with multi-talented singer-songwriter DIXSON. With a super eager crowd that was ready for all the festivities this weekend had to offer, DIXSON noted to the crowd that you may not know him, but you know his music.
A power statement, to say the least!
DIXSON, hailing from ATL although now residing in Los Angeles, has been a huge impact for the entertainment industry by writing for Chance the Rapper, Pharrell and Beyoncé. He also helped write two songs on Beyoncé’s new album Renaissance. DIXSON has been pushing his way through the music industry in front of the mic and also behind the scenes. As he mentioned before, he plays 11 instruments and has the ability to mix and master all those different elements — a true talent within itself!
He has been blessed to have worked with pop sensation Tinashe on their most recent single “Heat”. The dazzling duet has an amazing sync of vocals with perfectly placed live instrumentation that turned out to be DIXSON’s most streamed song released in its first week! DIXSON ended his enthralling set with the song “Cherry Sorbet” that featured the beautiful Sevyn Streeter. With the crowd singing along to the harmonizing lyrics, it was the perfect ending to the start of the day. The future is very bright for DIXSON — both on and off the stage — and I had the opportunity to chat with this up-and-comer after his set.
You started your career as a producer and songwriter. Can you tell me how that pushed you through the industry to where you are now?
- D: Yeah, I have always been a singer, first. The moment where things started to shift was when I taught myself how to produce. I always played a bunch of instruments, so the ability to create songs from scratch was an always. But, the ability to be able to record them, put them together and mix them to make them all sound good… That’s what really got it going for me.
- From there, I found good people to collaborate with and found myself in situations where I would get called in (at first) as a singer. Then they found out I produced, story wrote and made songs, and I have been able to grow and expand from there.
That’s lit, I like that! I saw that you’ve collabed with some big names. How was working with Beyoncé and Pharrell?
- Obviously, you know working with Beyoncé is a huge milestone for any artist or collaborator. Her artistry is unparalleled; [her] voice is unmatched! That’s a huge milestone for me and I feel that anybody would say that who’s worked with her.
- As far as Pharrell, he came into my life as a coach on The Voice. It has always been a dream of mine to work with him, and for him to see my talent and respect it? I am so very thankful that everything happened the way it did… me getting on The Voice, me getting to work a bit with his company I AM OTHER as a writer and producer. Those things are big moments for me and my career. Those two [artists] specifically are two my heroes, so being able to work with your heroes is an amazing thing. And, for those experiences to turn into accolades and successful things is an even cooler thing. I am very thankful for those two.
- Another artist that changed my life was Chance the Rapper. He has an amazing personality and super creative. He is a businessman, too, and he takes care of his people. I learned a lot by watching him, so I am very thankful to Chance for giving me an opportunity to work so closely with him.
I saw in an article that you produced half of the songs on ‘The Big Day’ project; I’m a huge fan! I remember when it came out in 2019, I was bumping that every day. The production is beautiful!
- I appreciate that, man. It takes a village… there was a lot of us involved in that project. I happened to be around enough where I was a part of so many records — whether I played a big part or a small part. I am also grateful that [Chance] credited us all properly on that and gave us that opportunity that opened a lot of doors for a lot of us who worked on that project. Again, shoutout to my brother! He’s always looking out — he’s always solid!
That’s beautiful that he credited you and everyone got credited where due.
- I really feel like that project is one that will age very well. I still love those songs; I still love that music that we made. I was also fortunate enough to be able to go road with him and sing those songs with him and see how the audience reacted to those in real-time.
Of course, of course. You’re from Atlanta. What was it like growing up there and how has it influenced your music and producing style ?
- Obviously, everyone knows Atlanta to be like one of the blackest cities in the south; it’s one of the blackest cities in the world, outside the continent of Africa. There is so many parallels being from the south, like you understand your roots a little more — they’re right in front of you. They say all the black cities have a ‘MLK Drives’, but I’m from the city where MLK was from. There’s a deep connection to our history and being from Atlanta is almost like a dream.
- As a kid growing up in church… [there are] so many amazing churches in Atlanta. Becoming a little older and tapping into the nightlife, you get to see a lot of moments growing up in Atlanta. I saw Migos early; I saw Soulja Boy early; I saw Monica early. I saw Jermaine Dupri and Bryan Michael Cox and it was close to me. I was right there for it and it affected my music.
- I love real music and I feel like Atlanta is one of those cities that you can get anything you want musically. If you want a good rap song, there are so many incredible rap artists and writers. You want good beats, there are a bunch of producers form my city. Even R&B is great. India Shawn is from Cali and spent most of her time in ATL. We all know each other. You got Brandi Williams and myself and Summer Walker… So many good singers from ATL. Just growing up there is a melting pot of culture and art and, obviously. good food. So, I got to see a lot up close, got to see a lot of movements start from a very close perspective. It affects everything I do, man, so much of what I make… so much of what my subject matter is in my music. I am always shouting out my city — I love where I am from.
I remember growing up, first seeing Soulja on the Internet and seeing Migos. That was monumental to the culture, it was huge.
- It was huge! I was just talking to someone about the first time… like, I knew exactly where I was when Soulja Boy first uploaded that first YouTube video. We all were discovering YouTube at the same time. Its not an ancient company; it’s a fairly new business and a lot of that transitioned from music being on television to being on the Internet happened with a lot of artists being from ATL. P Laffy with “Crank that Laffy Taffy” and Soulja Boy to “Crank That Soulja Boy”. There was so much culture happening from the city and it was timed perfectly. It was a moment, it was a moment being from there.
Your recent single with Tinashe, “Heat”… how was it like creating that?
- Tinashe is incredible. She has set a standard for what black pop music really looks like; that is commendable in itself. She has an incredible fanbase that has really supported the record. Making it was really cool… the funny part about the version of ‘Heat’ that is out right now is that it’s not the original version that we made — it was to a different beat, in a different key. It was incredible that we opened in that space to write such an cool song and I am thankful to her to allowing me to remix it a little bit. I talked to her the other day, she was like, ‘we should low-key still release the other version.’ And, I was like, ‘that’s actually not a bad idea’… but we’ll give it time. This version is doing so well. It’s the highest streamed song that I ever released in week one. I am thankful to everyone who listened to it. Hopefully, we get a visual for it soon and everybody can get see what we can do visually with the record, too.
I can’t wait to see the video! I feel like you are really putting in the work to make it and do what you love.
- I’ve been so lucky to connect with female artists and singers throughout my career. Everyone knows about the the records with Beyoncé. With Sevyn, with Tinashe, with India Shawn, I feel like the world needs good duets. I am always trying to figure out a way to incorporate that.
- I write for so many female artists that it always ends up the perfect marriage. Like the song with Tinashe “Heat” is my most streamed song in the first week, but “Cherry Sorbet” is #19 at the radio right now with Sevyn. I am very thankful that it’s working and I am very excited about the future, too.
DIXSON – “Heat”, feat. Tinashe
In-article photography by Anthony McCray; Thumbnail photo courtesy of Roc Nation
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