Getting To Know... Denzel Wilson

With his highly-anticipated new EP 'SILHOUETTE' expected to arrive in the near future, rising singer and songwriter Denzel Wilson has now returned to share the visuals for one of the release's most notable offerings 'Wine & Dine'.

Filled with its bright and seductive energy, 'Wine & Dine' is a wonderfully smooth and enticing release from the artist. With its heartfelt and romantic aesthetic running the length of the track, this new delight will have you swooning for the frontman at every turn.

So with the new video available now, we sat down with him to discover more about his background and what has inspired him most over the years.

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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?

The first instrument I fell in love with was the piano. I actually had a piano in my living room that wasn't tuned, and still hasn't been tuned to this day lol. But regardless, I always found myself playing around with it as a child. I would listen to songs on the radio and then try to play them. I just loved the sound of the piano.

What has been the most prominent inspiration behind your music so far?

The biggest inspiration behind my music is God's creations. I'm constantly inspired by so many different things, so God’s creations basically sums up everything I’m inspired by. As I constantly grow and change in this lifetime, I always subconsciously observe my environment in the moment, analyze how I think and feel in the moment, and then capture that moment through my art. Thus far under God's creations, my music has been heavily inspired by everything about women, in my opinion one of God’s most beautiful creations. In terms of sonics, the inspiration behind my music thus far comes from 2000’s R&B, 90s R&B, the neo-soul wave in that era, 70s R&B, and also a wide range of reggae dating back to the 70s. This type of music inspired me to take the sonic direction I took and make it my own.

What kind of music did you love as a teenager?

As a teenager I Mostly listened to straight 2000’s R&B and 90’s hip hip. I constantly had Ne-Yo in his early R&B days, and Chris Brown in my rotation. I was also listening to “Da Youngstas”, a young hip hop group from the 90’s. Illmatic from Nas was also in heavy rotation. Then there was always Reggae, Soca, and Dancehall playing in my house. So I was definitely listening to that as well.

Can you remember the first song that made you want to pursue a life in music?

Even though I truly started to pursue a life in music at age 17, I have some early memories of the songs that got me singing for the first time. “Yo (excuse me miss)” by Chris Brown and honestly the whole album kicked it off for me. So shout out to Chris brown for making his self titled album “Chris Brown” in 2005! I was 9 years old when that album dropped, and it had me singing all the time. There’s a video of me somewhere on Facebook singing “Yo (excuse me miss) lol. And then Ne-Yo came out with “In My own Words” in 2006. I remember having this little mp3 player that let me record voice memos. So I recorded myself singing “When You’re Mad”. A couple years later, I hopped on youtube and found a tutorial that taught me how to play “When you’re mad”. I was killing it on my untuned piano lol. Those 2 albums definitely put me on a musical path, even if I didn’t realise it since I was a young kid just having fun.

Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?

The artists I listen to are constantly changing depending on how I’m feeling. But at the moment I’ve been listening to Ahmad Jamal trio, Miles Davis, Larry June, Pharell, Kanye West, Shabba Ranks, Patra, Beres Hammond, The Internet, Frank Ocean, Anderson Paak, SWV, Donell Jones, D’angelo, and Sade.

How many of your songs have you written about people in your life?

I wrote 3 songs that were specifically about someone in my life thus far. Most of the time my song ideas are pulled from multiple experiences and inspirations that I’ve had in my life. I rarely write a song specifically about 1 person in my life.

What has been the most unusual moment in your career so far?

The most unusual moment in my career so far is when an anonymous person made a fake facebook account of all of my friends and my girlfriend and consistently impersonated all of us. This anonymous person would have all of these fake pages interact with each other. So essentially this anonymous person would talk to himself using our fake accounts lol. In fact, this person still has a fake page of me to this day on facebook, and somehow has more followers than me.

Outside of music, what is your biggest passion?

Outside of music, I’m really passionate about Health & Wellness. We only get one body in this lifetime so not only do we have to take care of it, we have to elevate it. I’m so passionate about training the body and consuming proper nutrition. I plan to open up a fitness centre in the future. I'm also passionate about financial freedom. My concept of freedom is being free through having a relationship with god, and then being financially free. Being financially free assists us in breaking through so many barriers and gives us the opportunity not to be controlled by the world's systematic oppression. Ownership and financial literacy is very important to me. In total I’m really passionate about 3 things. Creating art, health & wellness, and financial freedom. I use my passions as an avenue to fulfil my god given purpose, which is to inspire people to be their best selves, and plant seeds so people can seek a relationship with God.

If you weren’t a musician, what other path do you think you might have taken?

I plan to explore other paths that stem from my passions after my music is more established. So if I wasn’t a musician at all, I would just start working on the other things I want to achieve in life that stem from my passions. I will start out with focusing on opening up a fitness centre, and an athletic wear line. Then I will focus on becoming a real estate developer. I’ll also get into agriculture with all natural and organic produce. And lastly I’ll be heavy into philanthropy. Mostly focused on providing the youth with everything they need to live a joyful successful life. Change starts with the youth, that’s how we break generational curses. I’ll be using my capital to provide the proper resources, knowledge, and teachings about God. I plan to do all these things, but it starts with the music for me. So if I wasn’t a musician, I’d jump straight into these paths now.

And what advice would you give to other musicians looking to start a career in music?

Wow this is a heavy question, I can literally write a book about this lol. But i’d say my advice to other musicians looking to start a career in music would be to always trust your ideas, but also be open to advice. Just make sure you surround yourself around people who truly want you to do well. Pay attention to who you take advice from. Always follow your gut feeling. Also make sure you give as much as you take. Understand the art of mutual gifting. Don’t just expect people to do things for you to elevate your music career without giving them some value in their life as well. Building a community where everyone is adding some type of value to elevate everyone's life is key! There is a misconception that successful independent artists do everything themselves. This is true to a certain extent, but there is always some type of team involved. Make sure you get out there and network with people, decipher who’s genuine and who’s not, and make sure you can add value to everyone's life in some way. Lastly, this may sound cliche, but don’t give up! It’s going to be hard, you're going to struggle. But there is no greatness without struggle.

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Denzel Wilson's new single 'Wine & Dine' is available to stream and download now. Watch the new video for it in the player below.