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Image via Danny Seth
The Internet is an incubator for artistic talent. The digital world holds no geographical boundaries, allowing for global reach and universal interconnectivity for any artists hoping to share their talent.
Danny Seth is a sign of the times. He’s UK rapper who’s proud of his roots, but he utilizes an online platform to connect with likeminded artists around the world (Jace of Atlanta-based Two-9, Jimmy Johnson of Toronto’s Prime Boys, LA-bred Tre Capital, to name a few). But an Internet-fueled music industry also has a downside: with every timeline scroll and notification check, we’re constantly being fed text, sounds, and images, and this fast pace can result in overconsumption and quickly forgotten content.
As he rolled out his debut album Perception (download here), Danny Seth understood this. He knows that while some passing listeners will give the album a once-over, those who connect intimately with the music will more thoroughly digest its messages—messages that are far from one-dimensional. In fact, the hidden symbols and underlying themes on Perception, which took two-and-a-half-years to perfect, are intricate as hell. The album runs the emotional gamut, as Danny falls into a nightmare, escapes from it, then tosses aside his haunting thoughts to confidently tell the world his story. Weaved into all of this are fresh ideas, ambiguous experimentation, and inquisitive imagery in the album artwork that becomes Danny’s way of saying, “Here’s my album, take from it what you’d like.”
At the end of the day, Danny is open to—and is encouraging of—his listeners approaching the album through many-sided lenses. After all, everyone will have a different perception.
Why did you name this album Perception?
I wanted to leave it open-ended. The word “perception” is so strong, especially when it comes to me. People will judge me before they even hear my music or my story because of what I look like, where I’m from, and what I do. With this album, I want people to leave their preconceived notions behind and I want it to change people’s perceptions, in a good or a bad way. There are so many hidden things on this album, even down to the artwork. Some people will notice them, some will look deep, and some will brush past them. I wanted the whole project to be up to the listener to interpret.
What are some of these hidden symbols in the album artwork?
It was shot by a friend of mine, Hamish Stephenson. The concept came up between me and my creative partner SKARIE. My Instagram is @GalerieDeSeth, meaning “gallery of Seth,” and I wanted to be sitting in the corner of this gallery setting. I chose the corner because one of my favorite albums, which is really inspirational to me, is Dizzee’s Boy in Da Corner.
With this album, I want people to leave their preconceived notions behind and I want it to change people’s perceptions.
There’s actually a lot of hidden symbology here. I didn’t want to be wearing any clothes because I don’t want to be marketed as someone who’s just known for what he wears. The blindfold is because I feel like I’m blindfolded by a lot of bullshit going on. The globe is significant in many ways; I’m trying to take over the world. The book on the floor says “The European Discovery of America” which is significant because I’m trying to discover myself over here.
What about the painting over to the left?
Originally the album’s artwork was going to be that painting, but that in itself has loads of hidden symbols. I don’t want to tell you what they are because I want people to find them for themselves. But in the top corner, there are two and a half scratches. If someone’s in prison, they usually scratch away the years they’ve been doing their time. Two and a half years was how long it took me to finish Perception.
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I think it’s cool that you recognize that not everyone is approaching your music the same way. In the Internet age especially, we’re constantly being fed content, and usually people don’t take the time to sit with a project like they should.
I think we’re force-fed a lot of bullshit. I think there’s a lot of music which becomes huge for the wrong reasons. I feel like music, and fashion for that matter, come in cycles, and we’re slowly getting back into this era of real music where people actually want to hear a story. When I was making Perception, I listened to a lot of old Kanye and old Drake and it helped me understand why they’re so great now: I know them without knowing them personally. I know their stories. I think a lot of artists nowadays are missing that. I don’t have a hit; I’d rather tell my story to lay down the foundation to become something great one day. I just want people to know where I came from and who I am, and we’ll see where the next few years take me.
I don’t have a hit; I’d rather tell my story to lay down the foundation to become something great one day.
Toward the beginning of the tape you talk about being stuck in a dream, and as the track list progresses, you dig yourself out. Was this bad dream your reality?
I’ve put my life on the line for this project. I live on my manager’s couch. I put everything into this. To see how the Internet works, and how the wrong type of music prevails, it’s hard, and it hits you in a dark place as an artist trying to change that. The whole dream sequence is a reflection of what I’ve been going through. One minute, I feel like I’m in a dream, another I’m in reality, and the next I’m in a nightmare. That was the reality of making this album.
Was that why the album was delayed as it was?
The main reason was mixing. We had to mix is like, five different times. One dude over here fucked me over, so I went to Finland to mix the whole thing. It came out okay, but the vocals weren’t totally right. So I came back to LA and found someone to do it with who really understood me and let me be a part of the process. Once we worked on it there, I was happy with it and ready to let it go.
You talk about your relationship with London a few times on the album.
I think “Our City” talks about my relationship with London more than paying homage to it, whereas in “Homecoming” I pay homage to it. “Homecoming” is my favorite song because it doesn’t matter where I go, I’m repping London always.
I believe the UK breeds some of the best artists on the planet, and we just haven’t had the platform to show that.
Originally I was going to be singing the hook for “Our City,” but I wasn’t the greatest. I didn’t want to use too much autotune, and Louis [Mattrs] had that London twang. That song is so powerful to me because of this line, “Bright lights in my city, I’m dark knight,” which I use throughout a few of my songs. In Batman, nobody knows who he is, but he still does good for his city. I don’t care if I get credit or not; I just want to be the one who bridges that gap, so we can have UK artists taken seriously. I believe the UK breeds some of the best artists on the planet, and we just haven’t had the platform to show that.
It seems like this idea of geography is a big theme for you. You’re from London, and you rep it heavily, but you also connect with artists from around the world, which is evident on Perception.
It goes without saying: artists don’t blow up nowadays without the Internet. You’ve got to use the Internet as a tool to get yourself out there. I’m connecting with artists who connected with me, who showed support to me, who were the first people to really give me a chance over here.
I had some opportunities to work with some big artists for this tape, but for me, I wanted to work with the people who are supporting me, who I also want to show support to. People like Su Bailey—I think TRIBE GVNG are some of the coolest people I’ve worked with in America, and they deserve a lot more recognition. Jace of Two-9, too. And people like Jimmy; we’ve been supporting each other since day one. These are artists who I really respect.
At first it was hard to transition a balance between UK and American hip-hop because UK hip-hop is a genre in itself. I see myself more as a rapper who happens to be from Britain. This is just me. This is the music I like to make and these are the artists I like to work with.
