If you’re looking for some uplifting music to get you through the election year blues, local rapper Danza is someone to keep an eye out for. After releasing his debut album back in 2017, Danza is back this year with feel-good, socially conscious rap music. “Life is like a journey on a magical ride,” he sings on the hook of his single, “Magical Ride,” and he’s ready to take fans on that journey with him.
Read on to find out all about Platte City’s own.
When did your love for music start?
Growing up, I always had a melody in my head. I was obsessed with jingles. I can still remember jingles from the commercials when I was a really little kid. When I first started, I was trying to produce, but I feel like my success with music really started once I put my energy into what I knew best. I embraced my obsession with jingles and put that energy into creating powerful hooks.
Who are some of your influences?
I liked West Coast hip-hop a lot growing up. I liked Snoop [Dogg] and his sound a lot. I think you can probably hear his smoothness in my music and I like that funky sound he had in his music. I liked Lil Wayne because he always has a strong melody in his music. But I think the first rapper that ever made me pick up a pen and actually get me to start writing was Kanye West.
When did you start looking toward music as a potential career?
When I started writing, I would go to open-mics around the city. It was just all about trying to get in front of people at first. I had been trying to get into bands and make beats for people at the time, but nothing ever really worked out. Then one of my friends came back home from music school. He was a sound engineer and made hip-hop beats. We started working together and that’s when I started taking everything seriously. After about three years of working together, around 2017, we made my first album, Danza Special. What does your creative process look like? I still work with my sound engineer, and my brother-in-law mixes my music. I write every day. I write poetry, jingles and verses. Whenever I find a song I like or someone sends me a beat that I like, I will kind of put the puzzle pieces together. It’s a very disorganized process.
Where did the inspiration for your single, “Magical Ride,” come from?
This was a song where I heard the music first. It was the day after the [Brett] Kavanaugh [hearing] and I was feeling everything about America—the division, the hate and the greed. The verses just spilled out of me from there. The goal of the hook was to just bring people back together and to see the beauty in the harsh truth.
KC Favorites
Anita B. Gorman Conservation Center
“I live right by Kaufmann Park and I’ve been taking a lot of walks lately, so I’ve been going there a lot. It’s really lush and beautiful. I go there to write because I can hear my thoughts.”
Ragazza Food & Wine
My late-night pop-in is Ragazza. I love a late-night Fernet or some kind of negroni before I walk home.
The Ship
I miss live shows, dancing and music so much. I miss Friday nights at The Ship so much. Those nights were special.
