The journey of pop-rock artist DaChri moving to Nashville in pursuit of his craft as a musician.
DaChri is an independent recording artist, based in Nashville for over a decade, pursuing his musical calling. DaChri is a pop-rock artist with roots in alternative rock rock and pop R&B, creating music that is deeply personal, authentic, and rooted in real-life experiences.
While is story comes across through his music, DaChri joined us to further tell his journey, which is one of resilience, reinvention, and staying true to himself despite a world that tends to reward image over authenticity.
As a working musician balancing creativity, career, relationships, and personal growth, DaChri brings a unique perspective on what it means to keep pushing forward despite life trying to set you back.
Realizing Your Dream
Before moving to Nashville, DaChri lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and before then Detroit. He treated music more as a hobby. His journey as an artist started not too uncommon as many others, being part of a few bands. He grew up as a shy kid, no one paying too much attention to him, and music was his vehicle to “say all the things.” When he started recording his own music, he realized his enjoyment was from this connection with people who heard the songs and heard the messages within them.
Leaving Tulsa and going to Nashville brought him to back to his roots, joining another band. It was a way to get out there, start playing, and it put a responsibility on him to perform for his bandmates. he was always the lead vocalist, and the songwriter, so much of the band became his responsibility. “What am I writing? What am I saying?” These were some of the responsibilities DaChri commented on, but he also noted the power that came with these responsibilities. He wanted to use that power for good, to uplift the little guy, the quiet guy, and others who may relate to him.
DaChri acclimated to Nashville well, especially since he moved to Tulsa first, since his teenage years were spent in Detroit. Oklahoma was a connecting point. There was a music scene there, and the culture was closer to Nashville than the larger, more industrial city of Detroit. Nashville being a major step in his music career allowed him to come in with inspiration, feeling “ultra driven” and “super locked in.” Difficulty quickly arose though as the competitive nature wore on DaChri, especially the urge to compare oneself to their peers. “You see people that you came up with in basements… all of a sudden [they are] doing crazy things, and your pride tells you that it should be me,” DaChri said. For a good period of time, it was an internal battle for him, ebbing and flowing as he tried to remind himself that his journey is his own, no someone else’s. It is hard to not feel envious, or jealous, or have these comparisons deter him, but he always brought it back to being inspired and motivated. Channeling the negative thoughts and feelings into positives has been crucial in his journey. Surrounding himself with a good balance of people that are new to the city and scene was also vital as “they usually have that bright eye, that drive, whereas some people that have been around for a little bit can be more jaded or decide to hang it up,” DaChri noted.
Continuing Down Your Journey
DaChri sees his journey starting when he moved to Nashville, but the path it has taken him, and will go down, is the story. He was bright-eyed, slightly naive, coming in and while he is still a dreamer, there is a “bit more realism in the dream.” Musically, his journey started out in the alternative, indie-rock space. As he learned how to write pop and R&B songs, his sound developed more into pop-rock with strong emotional themes coming through the lyrics.
Eventually, he met somebody, fell in love, and got married. All the while he was falling in love, he was in a band and starting to tour on a smaller level. Lots of change in just two to three years. At that moment, he felt like he had made it. A few years later though, “it all starts to fall apart.” He was working a lot to pursue his craft, but his marriage was falling apart, and his friends were moving away. “That’s the one thing they don’t tell you about Nashville. For a lot of people, it’s a pass-through town,” DaChri said. He thought he would build forever relationships, so he attached himself to a lot of people, but many ended up moving on for their own reasons.
Divorce served as a wake-up-call of sorts. It was when DaChri realized that his relationship with music became unhealthy. It was an idol as opposed to his career path or dream. He also discovered things about himself, and as an artist, which shaped his journey. Some parts of him realized that maybe he wasn’t as deep as he thought he was, or maybe there’s a journey yet to come that will bring him where he really wants to be. He knew there were songs and messages he had yet to write, or perhaps scared to write because of the existing fanbase he built. He knew that if he were to continue on his journey as an artist, he would have to get deeper, more honest and authentic, rather than chasing catchy songs that the labels or producers would push.
Arriving at his Upcoming Album
His upcoming album is where this journey has taken him. He began writing it as he was in the process of divorce, when it was actually final. “It was an interesting head space and heart space to be in while trying to create something,” DaChri said.
While it was difficult, so too was it motivating and pushed him to be deeper in his writing. The hardest song he wrote for the record, which released last year, is called “No One Said.” This was the song he wrote when in the middle of separation. He hadn’t publicly spoken about the divorce, and this was his first time telling people, through this song. Doing content and marketing for the song, playing it live, “that was the hard part,” he said. The song deals with anger, at himself, at his ex-wife, but also confusion. The difficulty of the process paid off as the song received great reception, and it became the song to perform at each of his shows.
The album is written, it’s done. There is no release date yet, but follow DaChri’s social media to know when it is coming out, as well as his page on Spotify!
The entertainment industry, especially as a music artist, is a cut-throat highly competitive field. Everyone is on their own journey, but it can also feel as though you are fighting against each other for the audience’s attention.
- To our readers, do you have any experience navigating highly competitive fields such as ones in the entertainment industry?
- Did you too struggle with comparing yourself to peers? Do you still struggle with this? What helps you push aside that urge to compare?
As always, thank you very much for reading, and if you would like to hear more about DaChri’s journey then watch his episode on the Common Ground podcast here!
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