Poised to strike
Locally raised R&B talent prepares for the big time.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
New York City-based R&B singer Daylon Alexander makes it home to Little Rock when he can. But Saturday’s return for Philander Smith College’s graduation is a special homecoming as Alexander watches his mother receive a bachelor’s degree in business.
Just five years ago, Saturday’s reality was a distant dream. Born in Chicago but raised in Little Rock since the age of 6, the budding R&B and hip-hop artist experienced time shuffling from home to home, shelter to shelter and even homelessness as his mother battled a crack and alcohol addiction.
But at the age of 17 Alexander delivered an ultimatum to his mother.
“I had gotten kicked out of school for fighting,” Alexander said. “We didn’t have any food, and my mom had been gone for about five days. It was a terrible situation. She finally came home, and I told her that if she didn’t straighten her life out that I was going to leave.”
Alexander went on to graduate from Parkview High School, and his mother has not touched drugs or alcohol since the decisive day, according to Alexander.
“I wasn’t a stupid kid; I knew I wasn’t supposed to be living like that,” he said. “It took me going off on my mom to change her life. I’m very proud of her.”
While his mother has experienced a metamorphosis, Alexander has emerged as a budding R&B singer in the vein of R. Kelly. Having just returned from the National Hip-Hop Summit at Temple University in Philadelphia (organized by record mogul Russell Simmons), Alexander is back in his new home of New York City. The artist is splitting time between New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia prepping a follow-up album to 2006’s Da Mixtape, an album hosted by DJ Enuff of New York City’s Hot 97.
Toward the end of the month, Alexander will split time between Atlanta and Los Angeles as he completes the album that he hopes will garner him a record deal.
“There’s a lot of companies interested in my music,” he said. “I feel as though I have my own brand of music.”
It’s a constant hustle, but Alexander is taking no time off. Since departing Little Rock in 2003, Alexander has recorded and performed shows with hip-hop royalty such as Jay-Z, The Game and Lil’ Jon in addition to touring.
In the coming months, Alexander will unleash his swaggering R&B filled with a natural charisma and real-life experiences opening for Atlanta hip-hop artist The Dream in Bermuda on June 16 and for 18 dates on an upcoming Bacardi Tour.
It’s a far cry from the 6-year-old child who moved to Little Rock with his mother to be close to a grandmother.
“My first years were not for a little kid,” Alexander said. “We moved all over the place from homes to shelters to the streets. It was kind of like I was an Army brat except for a different reason. I was homeless a lot as a child.”
Alexander’s mother continued to experience problems with crack and alcohol in Arkansas, but through it all Alexander was a caring son and protector.
“As a kid you see your parents out and doing their thing, and you don’t necessarily understand,” Alexander said. “You know right and wrong, and what they are doing might not be right, but you don’t want to be apart from them. My mom was all I knew. My mom was all I had.”
Robbed of the innocence of childhood, the real-life experiences shaped the sultry singer’s life and music, lending his soulful sound words from the heart.
“It made me a completely better person,” Alexander said. “A lot of people are told not to do drugs and not to get into bad things. I got to witness it. It’s not the best lifestyle. But it is what it is.
“It influenced my music a whole lot. I remember writing about my emotions at an early age. Seeing what I saw I wrote about it. I do try to put it in my music. But I also don’t try to dwell on it. I try not to sing one song.”
Along the way Alexander was introduced to soul and R&B legends such as Al Green, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, but it was the updated soul of artists such as R. Kelly and Ginuwine, and their music magic that focused Alexander’s talents.
“I got to see how the girls reacted and said, ‘I got to get me a piece of that,’” he said. “But it wasn’t just the women. It was the mood. It was the way the music made me feel. I wanted to recreate that.”
But even with stardom peeking over the horizon and a new life on the East Coast, Alexander hasn’t forgotten the city that gave himself and his mother a new start.
“Arkansas is where I rep,” he said. “I want to show love to my city. And I want my city to embrace me. I’m repping for Arkansas.”
Comments
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)