Life & Work with Dashill Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dashill Smith.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. But I was raised in College Park, Georgia. My parents weren’t musicians per se, but there was always music around the house. My parents loved to sing and were into arts and culture. It all rubbed off on me as I grew to have a natural ear for notes and an innate gift for performing.

Like most kids born in the late 70’s, I was influenced by all the sounds that swirled through the air. From my Pop’s jazz and doo-wop records to my mom’s soul music feels. Then, there was funk, reggae, and early hip-hop that my older brothers and sisters were into. I was steeped into all of it.

Not long after I moved with my parents to College Park, GA (Around the age of 11), I began to write lyrics and play piano by ear. However, I also developed asthma due to the abundance of trees and pollen. My parents took me to a doctor who, instead of only prescribing me an asthma pump, asked me: “Are you into music?” I replied, “Yes.” He then suggested that I play a wind instrument to help build up my lung strength. My parents and I jumped on the advice. That’s how I began playing the trumpet in the middle-school band in the 7th grade. At that same school, I also met my two closest friends. We were into hip-hop and other genres of music and decided to start a band together. 30-plus years later, we still write and record together.

When 9th grade was coming around, my parents had heard about Tri-Cities Highschool; A burgeoning Visual and performing arts Magnet program in East Point, Ga. A seemingly perfect place for the growing, artsy, and eclectic teenager I had become.

I found myself in the music and theater program. I gravitated towards the latter and began to thrive under the instruction of the legendary Freddie Hendricks. He had a youth theater company that cultivated activism through performance art. And in this company, dozens of influential artists have emerged and are doing great things worldwide, in music, theater, dance, fashion, and education.

After I graduated from high school, I briefly attended Georgia State University. But collegiate studies was a bit too rigid for my free spirit. However, I continued to study music and do theatrical work while working odd jobs in my early adulthood. Somehow, I became good enough as a trumpet player for some of the top musicians in town to continue to call me for gigs. So I just kept working 9-5 jobs while playing gigs with nearly any and everyone. All the while pushing on with my hip-hop band that I formed with my aforementioned best friends from middle school.

Each musical situation was something new and different for me. And something to learn from. It was always a “learn on the job” kind of experience. As unconventional as It was, the path I traveled as an artist has taken me around the world and has put me on stage with some magnificent creative beings. And I’ve been a part of some wonderful movements that have made a mark in this world.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As a parent and full-time artist, there’s the never-ending quest of finding gigs, booking shows, or getting sufficient work that can pay the bills while keeping family, bandmates, and fans satisfied. Like with anything else, nothing is ever %100 certain or sure.

Just like layoffs can happen if you work a 9 to 5, shows or tours get cancelled. Payments come in slow. Or heavens forbid, the world gets shut down.

Also, in the midst of being a heavy-working musician, one of the biggest challenges is eating well, taking care of myself, and getting decent rest so that I can be the best person I can be for the people who need me.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a multi-instrumentalist. Singer/Songwriter. Producer. Performer. Actor.

I perform an eclectic array of genres: Hip-Hop. Free Jazz, Funk. Soul. Blues. Afro-Beat. etc…

I put together freestyle rhymes, and I play the trumpet, improvising with the same mind frame as I do when I rhyme. Strong, adventurous, and always going for new ideas. I sing soul and funk when I feel the urge. My north stars are P-Funk, Sly Stone, James Brown, and Fela Kuti.

I’m mostly proud of being a father, being a person that my daughter can look up to, and doing things that she can be inspired by.

I perform with quite a few bands in town. The Omega Level Squad. (My small unit that I’ve been leading for quite sometime.) The Biological Misfits. A band that I co-Lead with actor, poet, and musician Malcom-Jamal Warner. The Common Ground Collective. A band led by Mausiki Scales. I also performed regularly for a few years with the legendary Jazz-Funk pioneer; vibraphonist Roy Ayers.

When on stage, I’m very comfortable in my own skin. I perform with lots of energy, and I can bend and blend genres with little effort. I have a natural ability to engage with an audience and have fun with my bandmates while giving crowds everything they can and can’t handle. I’ve been able to transfer my abilities into a myriad of musical situations. That way, The music stays true, and I stay true to myself.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My parents, Helen and Alexander Smith, were major supporters of mine. They worked hard and taught me morals and values while encouraging me to do what I love with the understanding of handling the real world around me.

Freddie Hendricks. An actor, director, teacher, and mentor to many creatives. Outside of my parents, he was my first true mentor. He was the first person who believed in me, put me on a stage, and allowed me to “go and be great.” (As he always says.) Freddie, choreographer Charles Bullock, and my theatrical mother Debbie Barber have all been so essential in my learning experience as a youth and beyond. During my time with the Freddie Hendricks Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, I gained knowledge of being able to use my creativity for social activism and change. And that spirit in me continues to this day.

Also, my two best friends, My brothers Neal Ghant and Mark Stephens. They are fellow musicians, performers, and multi-discipline artists whom I met in 7th grade. We were the weird, awkward kids who formed a bond through our mutual quirky likings and the fact that we didn’t quite fit in with the average kids. We’ve created music and shared countless stages together over the years. Whether it was theater or in our hip-hop band, we’ve been brothers to the core. They’ve inspired me a great deal and have been among my biggest muses.

My brother Mausiki Scales. He’s a musician, band leader, Father, and Professor. I learned a great deal of musical sensibilities from him. I was introduced to original Afro-Beat and lots of West-African style funk by him. I’ve shared countless stages with him, and he helped me develop tremendously as a musician and a performer in a live band setting.

Also, artists such as Julie Dexter. Russell Gunn. Kebbi Williams. Chris Burroughs. Kennito Murray have been very influential in my growth and development as a musician and a performer.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @dashillsmith
• Facebook: dashill a smith

Image Credits
Photos by Dwaine Goins, Carlos Bell. Lliasd Htims