Dawaun Parker the Next Big Thing in Music

Imagine just graduating from one of the most prestigious music schools in the country, and a few days later you go from a college dorm to the studio with Dr. Dre. This is not a fantasy for Dawaun Parker, this is his reality. His credits read like a who's who working with musical legends such as Eminem, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, T.I., Busta Rhymes and Stevie Wonder. Dr. Dre's protégé took a few minutes out of his incredibly busy schedule to sit down for this interview.

Dawaun Parker was born and raised in Rhode Island by his mother. He credits Public Enemies first album It Takes A Nation as his first real taste of hip hop. "I got it at a really early age somehow and my mom would have never approved but I used to rock it all the time. Then I started trying to get anything that was in that lane. Just growing up and watching Yo! MTV Raps. Even in Rhode Island, it's still an urban environment so the culture was all around me. I just really grew up immersed in the culture even if I wasn't in the Bronx. All of that made me a hip hop head."

Dawaun's famous keyboard skills can be prominently heard on Jay-Z's haunting hit single Lost Ones featuring Chrisette Michele. "I started playing keyboard kind of by chance. While I always loved music, I had a buddy who played drums and his sister played keys. She would always play this little groove and I asked her to show it to me one day and she wouldn't show it to me. I got so upset with that I'm just going to figure it out myself. She left and I just remembered what I heard in my head, it took a half hour but I figured it out in my head." From there Dawaun tried to pick up every song he would hear on the radio. "About 8^th or 9^th grade I picked up the drums and just played when the opportunity arouse. Then I started making beats with people in Rhode Island just playing keys. In high school I started making music at a pretty aggressive level and by the time I was finished I knew that was what I wanted to do professionally."

After high school Dawaun attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. "I honed my chops as a musician and started to network with people all over the world there. I had the opportunities to play over in Europe when I was still in school."

In terms of taking the college route as a producer, Dawaun offers the following, "I think my route is pretty unconditional at least with the hip hop route. Most of the biggest producers never had any musical training or aren't "musicians" it just shows you it's really about your understanding of the culture and having great ears. Having a great ability of what is hip hop, it's very difficult to articulate but there's a phrase people say "Real recognizes real", and I think that applies. For me being a musician helps me with being able to play something I hear in my head without having to sample it or have someone do it for me. It can also be a hindrance sometimes as hip hop is so anti theory and is all about feeling and the vibe. I try to make sure my training is an asset for me and not a stumbling block."

Two days after graduating from college, Dawaun got the opportunity of a lifetime. "I came across Dr. Dre through the connections of a few people who had heard me in high school. One of the guys became an assistant to Dr. Dre and I hopped on the very next thing smoking to get a shot at working with Dre. Ever since then I never looked back."

When it comes to long hours and lots of work Dewaun reveals, "I'm young and I make music to contribute to the cultural experience then I can't make any music that's relevant. I'm starting to duck from the fans and paparazzi." Dawaun does not seem to have the urge to be TMZ-worthy, "Most of those people go looking for that attention."

As for what inspires him musically Dawaun says, "Whenever I hear something I really like, I wanna go in the lab and create something equal to it or surpass it, if it's fair to say. I really love music and the fact that I can hear anything that can inspire a track. I could hear a car horn that drives by you and you can hear the pitch change and that makes me think of something. It keeps me hungry and motivated to make my own contribution to the culture."

Dawaun has the rare ability to stay cool in some of the most pressure packed situations imaginable. "Eminem has rapped right in my ear while I varied the hi-hat pattern based on what he was doing with his vocals." Dawaun credits his upbringing for his ability to stay cool in any situation. "It's part of how I was brought up, my whole family is pretty reserved. You have to poke me with a hot iron to jump. I'm always digesting everything internally inside of myself; being faithful and humbled by the experiences. I know that any day it could be gone tomorrow and everything is fleeting. So I try to take each day as it comes."

Some of Dawaun's favorite up and coming artists include, "Drake even before the Wayne association, Donny Goings, Theo, Pac Div and U.N.I." For his favorite producers of all time he cites Dr. Dre, Pete Rock, Just Blaze, Pharrell and Timbaland amongst others.

Besides hip hop Dawaun wants to musically branch out. "I create all styles of music; I plan on scoring for films and games. I want to get involved in electronic music and rock. I'll do a folk record with James Taylor if the record is right. Radiohead, Bjork, John Mayer I'm a fan of good music. I definitely want to make my name in all genres of music."

On his mentor Dr. Dre, Dawaun has nothing but glowing reviews, "Working with Dre is any producers wish. I'm just in awe in what God has allowed for me, that he has chose me to have this opportunity. Still being a fan being able to sit in the room while records are being created and be a part of that is a blessing."

When it comes to a hit Dawaun says you cannot identify a hit single right off the bat in the studio. "A public smash no but you know when you have a great song right off the bat. It's just a feeling; it's something that hits you. I know that's something that everyone lives by. When I first came around Dre told me, "When we get the song we'll all know." That's definitely happened on many occasions so it's been fun.

Aside from producing, Dawaun is also a member of the hip hop duo GodBody with Tre' Guevera. The group shows off how versatile Dawaun is as it is more in the vein of conscious hip hop. "It's not purposeful as making it anti-gangster but Tre' and I are big fans of A Tribe Called Quest and Slum Village so our love for that kind of music comes through. It just shows the fans another aspect and dimension of my production. I can do the more commercial records, the harder records and I can work with any kind of artist. When GodBody plays live we play with a pretty incredible band and I'm definitely going to explore that as long as I can. There is a series of EP's called the Triple 7 Series and there is going to be seven songs on each EP. We're going to drop the first one before the end of the year."

With all the social networking sites out there, Dawaun offers his opinion, "Social media is really great for you to connect with the fans. I have been on Facebook since college and I have seen the transformation of it. I think Myspace while its membership is starting to decline, for musicians it is a great business card. If you have quality music and your page looks nice it's a great thing. I like Twitter because it connects you with your peers instantly. It's like Instant Messaging the world at once. I think you miss the point if you look at it as strictly a promotional tool."

On the state of the current music industry Dawaun adds, "I think that we are at a transition point and I am excited about where it is going to go. I am not fully sure where it will go. But I am excited to be involved in whatever shift it takes. I think you can get your music to somebody so much easier than ever before and you can cut out so many middlemen. Obviously you may still need to follow a certain model if you are trying to reach certain stages. But it terms of getting directly to a fan if the music is quality and you don't know someone at the record label put it online and you will see a buzz as a result."

A lot of people have talked about the current state of hip hop and here is what Dawaun's view is, "I know for awhile people have said hip hop is dead but it shifted to some other demographics and other styles. But I think music is alive and well. Whatever label we want to put on it all of that is just classification and I think music is going to stay alive as long as we are."

On advice to up and coming artists and producers Dawaun adds, "Work hard on your craft rather than a connection. I think that will happen when your craft is ready. Remain hungry and make sure your motivation is about you contributing to the culture and not about money and your time will come."

The one thing that struck me about Dawaun is his total lack of an ego. While most hip hop artists come across as brash and arrogant, Dawaun is the total opposite. He often speaks to kids and up and coming artists to give them a positive influence going as far as saying, "Any inspiration I can be to anyone to show them that it's possible for them too, I'm all about that."

It's clear to see that Dawaun will soon be one of the most highly in-demand producers and writers in all of hip hop and go from Dr. Dre's "secret weapon" to one of the music industry's biggest names. Make sure you pick up Eminem's new album Relapse which features plenty of production, instrumentation and writing from Dawaun. Also look for the GodBody Triple 7 EP Series with the first EP being released later this year.