Meet Clayt of New Paint

Today we’d like to introduce you to Clayton Duncan.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Clayton. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up Downtown, east Newport News, VA. Growing up people referred to it as “Bad News”, characterizing it by the crime that went down and ran through the town. My neighborhood was always identified as one of the bad areas, but I never truly felt that. Regardless, I stayed away from most of the influences of my surroundings and really tapped into my imagination at a young age. I was one of those kids that used to write stories and illustrate them on computer paper, staple them together and share it with people as a book. I was always the class clown too. In hindsight, I realized the classroom was really my first platform for entertainment.

Just like most African American kids, all I wanted to do was play basketball. That was my passion and kept me out of trouble up until high school. I got to a point where it was no longer something I wanted to pursue, but just like most teenagers I was searching for an identity, so I stuck with it for a little while longer, until I found music. I recorded a song for the first time at 15, and it became something I grew in love with. Eventually, it became something I wanted to pursue seriously once I became an adult. I was still struggling with my identity then though, so like most kids right out of high school, I felt pressured to just follow along and go to college like everyone else. I was back and forth being in school and being withdrawn the next few years, really trying to figure out what path would be best. I was making a name for myself locally, but I hit a boiling point while I was attending ODU in 2014. I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. I was waking up angry every single day. I was miserable, so I decided to make a change.

I had friends living in Atlanta and I decided to take a leap of faith. Taking that risk to up and leave to a new city, with very little funds or support became one of the defining decisions in my life. It inspired a 2015 EP, New Paint, which would eventually transform into the visual art and event platform it is today. I created an Instagram page in 2016 and since then it’s only continued to grow in following and impact. We have been able to feature hundreds of artists, giving them additional exposure, giving our followers inspiration and encouragement to create themselves. All the while I’ve continued to develop my own creativity through my music and have continued to grow my brand as an artist. It’s been a process, but since moving to Atlanta, I’ve definitely grown as a member of the creative community, as a creator and just as a human being in general.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up I really had multiple sides to me. I could be really reserved, but then once I felt comfortable, I could be super goofy and out-going. I think the reservation came a lot from my mother sheltering me early on. While the other kids in the neighborhood could basically do whatever they wanted, I was restricted to only being free to go certain places, during certain hours. Of course, back then I wasn’t fond of the boundaries, but looking back, that was key to me becoming who I am today. I’m grateful. Even still, I would interact with the kids in my neighborhood a lot because I loved to hoop, and I was good at it. That would just be once I got home though. In elementary school, all the way up to high school I was in a gifted program with kids considered to be “smarter” than average. Early on I think this was one of the biggest factors for my identity struggles. In the classroom, I would have to adapt to a setting and standards completely different from home. As soon as I got back on the bus, I had to adapt again. I never really felt like I fit into either world. Basketball was basically the middle ground where I felt completely accepted no matter what. Once I stopped playing in high school and got into rapping, that’s when my identity shifted again. I think I latched onto the idea of being a rapper a little too much in hindsight, and I feel like I’ve only recently begun to shape my own, true sense of self. Nevertheless, most of the people I grew up with would tell you I was someone they generally enjoyed being around. A majority of my yearbook signings reference how much I made them laugh all year lol.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not at all. When I first moved here I came with no degree, no car, no guaranteed job….nothing essentially. I was sleeping on the floor for a while in my friend’s apartment, eating two meals (if you could call it that) a day. It was to the point that when I was able to go back home, my friends were asking me if I was ok because of how skinny I became. It was definitely a struggle, but I knew what I was getting myself into when I decided to move. I accepted that things would be a challenge. I literally got into a car accident a month before I was supposed to move that totaled my car, but I wasn’t going to make any excuses to stop me from changing my environment, changing my life.

Eventually, after I kept applying myself, I was able to work and provide myself with my own space, tools, and resources to help turn my visions into reality. When I first dropped out of school, I heard a lot of chatter, from people even very close to me, that I was making the wrong decision. Fast forward and I put myself in position to make more money than I would’ve if I finished school anyway. That’s life for you. There’s no such thing as right or wrong, just right and left.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I’m most known for being a hip-hop recording artist. Most notably people commend me for my rapping ability, but I also sing, as well as do some production and engineering. I think what sets me apart from others really is my lyricism and just my voice in general. It’s one thing to be lyrical, but when you have the voice to deliver, to perform the words and really make people feel what you’re saying, that’s an entire gift in itself. I feel like I have both, and the people that have heard my music will attest to it for me. I’ve tried to expand from just rapping though into creating more melodic music, more complete songs. I definitely feel like my new music will set me apart even further, combining the elements I already possessed with tapping into my singing voice. I was always discouraged to sing before, but I think that’s just because I was so caught up in the idea of being a “rapper” and following other people’s narratives. I’ve broken free of that way of thinking though, and you can definitely hear it in the music I’ve been creating recently.

As far as New Paint, we feature mostly up and coming visual artists on our Instagram page, as well as curate and host art and music showcases. It’s one thing to experience creative, appreciative energy as a performer, but to be able to orchestrate an all-around experience for performers, guests, etc., that’s an amazing feeling. I have to say that’s what I’m most proud of so far, giving artists the opportunity to be appreciated, and giving others the opportunity to be inspired by them.

Our showcases are different from what I’ve seen around the city, intentionally. As a recording artist, I feel like a majority of the people throwing showcases don’t care about the artists at all. They just want to collect a performance fee and pressure you into selling tickets, so you can make money for them and perform for….a crowd of other artists that did the same thing you just did. I was fed up with it personally, so I decided to make a change. We hand pick all the performers in our shows and select them off of pure talent alone, not an artist fee or how many tickets we can pressure them into selling. With our visual artists, at a majority of our shows, we interview them live on stage to encourage engagement. When I went around the city to different art shows, I noticed that there wasn’t really much focus on actually interacting with the artists. It was more like “buy drinks, look at art” type vibes. Very zoo-like. In doing our live interviews, artists have personally told us they’ve seen more people initiate conversations with them afterward. My philosophy with it is, if we can break the ice and introduce you to the artists, you’ll be more inclined to introduce yourself, interact, and support them. It really creates a dope vibe in the space when everybody feels like they can communicate with one another and not feel weird about it.

Contact Info:

• Email: NewPaintVA@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/new.paint_ and https://instagram.com/dolodarnell
• Other: https://linktr.ee/dolodarnell <— for music and music videos

Image Credit:
Breonca Trofort, Essence Ransome

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.