Today we’d like to introduce you to Dajaun Anderson
Hi DaJaun, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hello, I am The Xentry (sounds like “century”), an artist out of St. Petersburg, Florida. The day I discovered my love for creating music is documented on YouTube in a video entitled “I Don’t Care (We Will Rock You)”. That day was my first time experiencing what I like to call the “open-flow” state; A state at which the artist is not in full control but instead the world flows through them. Although this incident had been 12 years ago, my love for the production of the arts has only grown stronger. Flash forward to 2024, you would think that I have made huge strides but sadly not much has changed. I mean I’ve released a few songs, I’ve went to school for music, I’ve even started getting followers on TikTok by posting my beats, but if you asked me I’d say I have underachieved. You see when becoming an artist, there are many obstacles that one must overcome, and for me that mountain of an obstacle is fear itself. Fear of being told “you’re not good enough”, fear of being judged by family, fear of just letting it all go. There’s so many reasons I have to not release; not to push my work out there, that I simply just… don’t. For many years I just assumed that these fears will all one day vanish, but I know this will never be the case. So with the new year on the rise, I have made an early New Year’s promise to myself: do more for me! I’m tired of tiptoeing around everyone else’s feelings. I’m done shaping my life the way that everyone else wants it to be. It’s about time that I let it all go for the world to see. I am DaJaun Anderson -no, I am The Xentry, and this is MY time to shine!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been rough trying to do what I love with school and work. Not to mention I only record in secret whenever my family is out the house, meaning I have just a few hours a month to record all of my music. I grew up in a Christian household who wouldn’t approve of their son making Secular Music so I have to sneak and create whenever I can.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a producer, writer, and rapper rolled all into one. If you told me to choose which skill I was best at, producing or writing, I would probably say both! I feel like these are two categories that I could go toe to toe with the best out and have a good chance at pulling through. Of course there is always room to grow and I’d even say that I get better every year but I believe every artist who wants to make it in this world should have this level of confidence in themselves. Although I don’t stick to one style of production, I think the gift that I am most proud of is that all of my work has its own unique flavor to it that can’t be copied. I’d say my calling card would probably be vocal and breathy instruments. I I use these in just about everything I produce because I just love the natural inflections they give, which you can’t get from any other types of sounds. They tend to really tug on a heart string for me. Another component of my production is cinematics. When hearing my music, I want listeners feel like they are going through a journey. I believe that is what gives me my pride in my work.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Call it luck, call it God, I believe that all artists were given gifts that aren’t universally given and that we should be thankful for them. I think that I as an artist of this time am also lucky that I was born in an era where it is easier than ever to create your own music without being wealthy. I can simply turn on my laptop and plug in my mic and I am good to go. The bad part about this is that everyone else can as well and it is going to take a lot to stand out from the rest.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/thexentry
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xentry.707?igsh=MTI1YXJ6ejRmNW1wYw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
