Recently James Lowe from Project Backstage sat down with DNERO. The following is a written interview we conducted with the artist while they were
working on their next CD and Tour. DNERO will be in Kansas City on Wednesday March 14th at Craz located at 1531 Grand, Kansas City MO.
1. Do you remember how the idea of forming the band first came up?
I wanted to be apart of the music industry. I used to write poems since I was 11, so one day i
just put everything together with a instrumental that I found online, and I’ve been hooked ever
since.
2.How long after you formed was it until you played your first live show?
It took me a while actually. I tried to get shows set up, but I wasn’t developed yet. It took me 2
years to get my first show, which ended up being in front of the 1,400 people that I went to high
school with.
3.What are your memories of the performance?
The memories that I had, as far as that performance goes, It was legit. They had a camera crew
filming me, professional photographers, it was crazy. It was my first taste of what living this
lifestyle was like.
4.Tell us about the band’s name?
Of course. When you think of D’nero, you think of money in spanish because that is what dinero
means. Since I am half white, half puerto rican and love money, the word dinero describes
me very well (in my eyes at least) But I didn’t want to have it spelt like it already is, I wanted to
switch it up. So I took out the letter I and added a apostrophe and BAM!
5.What is your latest album and why should people buy it?
My last album was Chapter 7. I put a lot of time and effort into that project. You should go buy
it because my whole heart went into that project, and I did everything by myself. But with that
being said, right now it’s about that new single “Bottoms Up” that is about to have the whole
world going crazy.
6.How would you categorize the style of the band? And did you ever consider or try playing
other styles of music than the one you are playing now?
My style is hiphop/club/pop. I can do the biggest club song on earth, but best believe I’ll be rapping the verses.
As an artist I am very diverse. I have produced and featured in a rock/pop song, countless
hardcore rap and R&B songs. As an audio engineer, I have recorded and mixed styles like
country, ska and Hebrew Rock! I do it all!
7.Can you share with us one or two of your favorite moments with the band?
My favorite moment is when I got my first royalty check. To know that I was getting paid doing
what I loved, everything I was doing at the time was worth it. And the 2nd favorite moment
would have to be getting signed, no doubt. REFORMATORY!
8. Does the entire band contribute to the writing process?
I do it all myself. If I’m not writing my own material, I have no reason doing what i’m doing right
now, if that makes sense to you.
9.How important do you rate the lyrical side of your albums?
It is absolutely important, no doubt about it. With the type of style that I am going for, it is
nothing like lyrical hip hop, but at the same time, I can’t dumb anything down, I just have to write
in a different context. If I was writing garbage, I wouldn’t have made it this far.
10.What are your current tour plans or upcoming shows, if any?
Yeah man I’ll be on tour in March with my label mates. We’ll be in DC, Baltimore, Philly, Jersey,
New York, Indianapolis, Ohio, then back to Chicago.
It’ll be good, give me a chance to go back home and have my fans who still follow me come out
to the shows.
11.Describe your live performance?
My performances are epic. You put my in a nightclub performing my music and everybody goes
crazy.
Dudes get mad at me because their girlfriends love my music, they love to dance to my music.
I’m just like “sorry bro, I’m not changing” (lol) you know?
12.What one Album should everyone have in their collection?
Oh man, great question. In the past month, there have been great albums that came out.
J.Cole, Drake, Wale, Mac Miller, get them all.
13.Tell us about your local music scene?
The local music scene that I came up in was 90% rock and metal. I had to travel to Brooklyn
and Jersey City to get shows.
14.Why do you think people are into your music?
Because it is good. Especially with my new music, everybody wants to have a good time. It’s a
recession, nobody wants to listen to depressing music. And if you are making depressing music,
it’s no disrespect at all, because i’ve made my share of dark, deep, depressing music. But my
fans right now aren’t listening to you.
15.If we were to look at your IPod, what would we find in your music collection?
You would find artists like: Bobby Valentino, Chris Brown, myself, Drake, Lloyd Banks, Fab, Jim
Jones, Joe Budden, Lupe Fiasco, Lloyd, Stuey Rock, Wiz Khalifa, 50 Cent. Artists like that.
16.Would there be any one band or musician that would surprise us that you are listening to
them?
Nothing should be surprising with the music I listen to. I’m an audio engineer, I listen to it
all. I just love urban music.
17.Where can our readers find your band on the internet?
I’m everywhere. You can check out my own website, my label’s website, every social network,
every major online retail stores, just type in D’nero on the search bar. The official list of links is:
www.DneroMusic.com www.ReformatoryRecords.com www.Twitter.com/TheRealDnero
www.Reverbnation.com/dnero www.Soundcloud.com/dnero609 www.Myspace.com/dnero609
And my music is for sale on: iTunes, Amazon, Napster, Rhapsody, eMusic and so much more!
18.How has Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) impacted your band?
Social networking gives me a chance to add to my buzz and connect with fans more.
19.Thanks for answering these questions. Do you have any last comments or words of advice
for the readers of Project Backstage?
Look out for the singles and the album coming very soon!
Also see me at South by Southwest in March, as well as Kansas City & Detroit. Reformatory
Records to the fullest. Shoutout to Big Mike, Ciryl Da Great & Heena Klan. Lets get this money!
James Lowe
Project Backstage Contributor
