Heart & Soul Black Music Month Spotlight On-BD3

Black Facts.com

by Staff

Welcome back to Heart and Soul BD3, we are glad to have you as part of our Black Music Month Spotlight, we loved your song “Green Juice” with Trew Culture 

Your diversity really stands out to us from “Green Juice” to ‘Sacrifice” to your songs wih Marlon McClain and the Sunnydale Songs.  First question your latest single “Chicharron de Pollo”  what exacty does that mean and why did you pick that title?

Chicharrón De Pollo’s literal meaning is fried chicken. It’s actually chunks of chopped up fried chicken. There’s so much cultural nuances around chicken when it comes to people of the diaspora (wealth). The single is a lyrical flex of where my mind is currently. Reflecting on where I am right now and what my trajectory is. Who I am as an Individual, as a creative as a business man and a culture keeper. It represents the bodega, the journey, the richness, the seasoning of life! I ain’t leaving nothing on the table, i’m coming for all of it!! 

Why the name BD3?  what does it mean? 

Short version lol BD3 is an abbreviation for my former rap moniker B.O Da Trio. I’ve had many nicknames over the years that surround my last name and the number 3. There are people in this world that know me as BOX or B.O.X because my last name is Boxill. Early on in life I flipped that to give it meaning, so B.O stands for “Being Original”. The “3” represented my mantra “What you know, What you think you know, and the TRUTH” There’s always 3 sides to everything, it’s a divine number. So when I was on stage I got tired of how long the name B.O da Trio was and I just abbreviated it to BD3. It’s the code that encompasses the journey of the man

We mentioned your musical diversity, but in your opinion what makes you stand out as an artist 

What makes me diverse is my approach to music. I never come to overpower it but to add onto the composition as another element. To compose the best moment and feeling that the universe is channeling through me. It’s about the writing, the tone, the arrangement, the melody, the performance, the magic. I think about magic, the thing you can’t quantify.  

Who do you feel is your ‘core’ audience ?

People who enjoy diversity, people who enjoy complexity and composition. I don’t divide people into buckets because humans are nuanced and so is inspiration and music. Picasso had periods where he would paint particular things, nothing should always be the same. We should have space for music and people to grow, stretch, and develop however the inspiration seems fit.  

What do you feel is missing in contemporary Hip Hop that you can bring? 

Accountability. People gotta hold themselves accountable. We can place blame on a lot of factors but at the end of the day you are pushing the button on letting that material go into the world. You manifest the shit that comes. On the flip side the same thing that is missing is in actuality right here, but we gotta dig and find it. There’s a lot of artists and a lot of music that can satisfy the needs of everyone. It just depends how bad you want it.

SAY LESS 🤫🤐🤫

Who are 5 current Hip hop artists that should have more people paying attention to tgem and why? 

Me- Just cause it’s me lol

Walky Wah- he blends Hatian Creole with English, and there’s a deep connection with his culture in his music that’s honest. Everybody is super Hatian right now because it’s popular, but I remember when it wasn’t cool to rep that. They would say you got HBO (Hatian Body Odor) . I think Walky Wah touches on that alot. Even earlier on denying his heritage to his American friends. That’s super deep, honest and powerful.

WestSide Boogie- I like his introspective stuff

Griselda- When i’m feeling grimey and in the element they are a go to

JSwiss- Smooth cadence and delivery. Jazz influenced and just an all around solid human  

You have a Birthday show coming up on Juneteeth, Happy Birthday in advance. what can people expect from your upcoming show that we do or do not hear on your recordings 

If you are coming to see a regular hip hop show then this aint the show for you, But if you are looking for energy, entertainment, honesty, introspection, and an all around PERFORMANCE then you definitely need to come to Rockwood Music Hall June 19th @ 8PM. I’m definitely going to be doing some unreleased cuts, some new stuff on the upcoming album and some cultural surprises.  

This year Juneteenth also happens to be Fathers Day. We understand that you are a proud and active Dad of a young daughter.  How old is she? Does she have any impact or input in your musical choices?  How is it balancing being a responsible Dad and pursuing your career?  Is your daughter curious about eating and drinking healthy?  Is that a challenge?  Did the pandemic affect her? Did the pandemic cause you to make any significant lifestyle or career changes for you and your family ? 

My little chicken booty is 7 going on 27. She is one of my biggest supporters and knows alot of my lyrics, even the ones she isn’t supposed to know, which definitely pushes me to have conversations with her about the content and why I say the things I do. And for her age she is wildy receptive and can understand context. The balancing has become a bit easier with each year passing, it’s a trial and error thing, thank god for co-parenting and my small tribe who holds it down. But also she is a festival kid so she’s used to being at the shows and the studio rehearsals. She loves junk like any other kid, but she also loves fruits and will bust down string beans sauteed with garlic any time of the day. She’s also a big fan of okra which is mind blowing. I cook all the time and she’s getting to the point where she wants what she wants, now i didn’t grow up like that, I had to eat what we had or  I didn’t eat, so that’s the only challenge. Pandemic took away her opportunities to be social in school, but we tried very hard to instill a routine and play dates and family brunches so she didn’t miss out on the joy of being around people. I think she adjusted seamlessly, she’s an old soul. As far as the pandemic and its effect on me, I definitely recorded more at home, which cut my recording budget in half. I work alot from home which allows me to be more present with my daughter so I took this all as a learning experience. I still need a vacation tho, it’s well overdue!  

What can we expect next from BD3, in the next month, 3 months and 6 months

In 3 months you can expect the release of the 1st 2 singles off of SUNNYDALE 2, more visuals, more content, more shows! Look out for me in Philly July 12th, all of my tour dates have been posted on my website!

More importantly working on a subscription based initiative for people who really want to support and invest in the things I create even outside of music, so look out for that as well

Remember to follow me @whoisbd3 on Instagram and Twitter and PLEASE support my website, its hosts all of my music, videos, content, any updates on bd3 

WHOISBD3.COM 

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