An October clip of DDG revealing a very unexpected voice started making the rounds online, and he took the time to address the attention and why it makes him feel “real insecure.”
The original footage is from an episode of the Dope As Usual podcast, where host Yola said, “Maybe it’s an inside joke—we had like 200 people say ‘ask him about his real voice.’ I’m like, what does that mean? ”
“Nah, it’s real,” DDG responded, to which Yola said incredulously, “What, they think your voice isn’t real?”
“I have—I really talk like this,” the 25-year-old confirmed, taking his voice to an ultra low, Barry White-like octave. “This my real voice. I just talk like this when I’m trying to make music and make content and shit. But I really talk like this in real life. You can ask anybody. … When I’m around my family and shit I do that. But, you know, you gotta make a character.”
“That fits your face better,” Yola replied. “That seems like it would be your tone.”
The hosts were astonished, and plenty of people have asserted that DDG was trolling. He shared a new vlog in response titled “The Truth About DDG Real Voice...💔” and, at the 21:15 mark up top, spent several minutes opening up. He admitted going viral for using his own voice stirs up insecurity in him and “just goes to show why I don’t use it.”
“I just get real insecure, I don’t like to really, like, expose myself like that. I like to stay low-key and just be who I am. … So I’ve be trying to like, talk regular,” he said, switching his tone again. “I feel like when I talk regular, it’s like I’m more relatable to y’all. … It’s just easier for me to grow as a musical artist, creator and shit. I just feel like if I use my deep voice, a lot of y’all wouldn’t take me seriously, and it’d be like, funny. I see a lot of people laughing about it and shit, and that’s just like, that’s why I don’t like really using it like that. A lot of motherfuckers take that shit like it’s a motherfuckin’ joke, but it’s just me like, opening up.”
He concluded, “A lot of y’all wanna know why I don’t use my real voice, and it’s simply because I get insecure about it, I don’t really like to use it too much, a lot of motherfuckers think that it’s a joke, basically. … Day ones, they know about my voice, they know what it is.”
Back in September, the Pontiac, Michigan native shared his 12-track album It’s Not Me It’s You, with guest appearances from Gunna, Polo G, NLE Choppa, Babyface Ray, and Kevin Gates. The project arrived almost three years after DDG’s debut Valedictorian.
On Tuesday, DDG also shared an Instagram post celebrating his appearance in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 issue, which saw Megan Thee Stallion become the first Black woman to score the cover. DDG wrote of his own inclusion, “From college dropout to the FORBES LIST‼️ God is good 🙏🏽 I wanna thank everyone who ever took the time to support me rather it’s a stream or a view on a vlog.. My main purpose in this lifetime is to inspire the youth & especially minorities who feel like the odds are against them. This achievement is for you.. You can legit do anything you put your mind to.”
He added that he’ll drop a song titled “Forbes List” on Wednesday.
