By Ann Marie Trietley, Music Columnist:
On Thursday May 30, DBGB’s will host the #RapperProblems tour, featuring Dao Jones of Saratoga Springs, accompanied by AirlineJay, A.M.J, Austin and Nick Lyon. DBGB’s has hosted a variety of up-and-coming hip-hop acts to date, and the #RapperProblems evening will highlight a group currently on tour from Philly to NYC. I spoke with 25-year-old Dao Jones, aka Cole King, about his latest projects and his outlook on today’s music scene.
BR: Can you tell me about your latest release, “Dao Era,” and the inspirations behind it?
DJ: So “Dao Era” is my latest project. It’s my baby, for a year and a half I was cultivating it. It was a two year thing. We shot videos; every one of my music videos I’ve done with different directors. The director for Mr. October was my old college roommate. Ii always work with people that I know, and we’ve got our own thing going on now. It’s a small circle. When I listen to the songs I wrote a couple of years ago, I was going through some girl stuff, relationship failures, and also a lot of sitting back and looking at a view on society, and starting to scratch the surface. I will touch on that with my new music, too, about how everyone should think more openly. It’s about fun stuff too, my party and tour life.
BR: Who have you worked with, who are your contemporaries? Is there collaboration or competition?
DJ: On the #RapperProblems tour, I’m working with A.M.J, Austin and Nick Lyon. I’ve been working with them for a past few months. We built a new studio. Collaborations have been happening all the time, I have friends and collaborators living in Vegas, the Bronx and Milwaukee. Where I’m from [Saratoga Springs] there’s never been a hip-hop scene growing up. I was the hip hop scene, so to speak. I’m not far from Albany and there is a hip-hop scene there, but they are clique-y and don’t collaborate. I’ve always seen that, and I think people, if you want to make your area blow up, you have to work with each other. Dissing each other is old school. Everyone should be working together, and that’s what we’re doing with the #RapperProblems tour. A lot of people are starting to lighten up, and it’s good business to work with each other.
BR: How is your tour going? Have you been to Buffalo before?
DJ: All of us guys on tour, we have the same interests, we party together, we’ve been hanging out and also collaborating as colleauges. It’s fun to go out to different cities, meet new fans and try to hustle. I’ve done three shows in Buffalo [in the past].
BR: What was it like opening for someone as big as Drake? Do you see a parallel between your sound and someone like him?
DJ: The good thing about opening up for big acts is that it exposes me to new crowds and fans. His show was interesting; the crowd was right when he started to get really famous and have young teenage girl fans. Shows are usually hip-hop fans, and with that crowd it is hard to get on their side. But that show- they were easy to get respect from. It was eye-opening and inspiring.
Download Dao Jones’ latest album here.
#RapperProblems tour – Thursday May 30 – 10pm
This event is 21+ and $5 at the door.