Music And Me

We caught up with Damian Lillard akadame D.O.I.I.A. to talk about his music, his favourite rappers, the #4 bar friday community and JBL fest.

- Drew Ruiz

WHEN DAMIAN LILLARD announced that he was releasing a full-length studio album, many basketball and hip-hop fans didn’t know how to react. Although this isn’t the first time an NBA athlete has tried to pursue rap on the side, many tend to be skeptical when pros try to take on another career—especially music. There’s no denying that rappers want to be NBA players and vice versa, but very few—OK, none—have been as successful in the booth as they are on the court.

Before the start of the 2016-17 NBA season, Lillard, whose stage name is Dame D.O.L.L.A., an acronym that stands for “Different On Levels The Lord Allows,” dropped The Letter O, a 12-track album with features from Jamie Foxx, Lil Wayne and Juvenile. Long before the album, he released songs via his SoundCloud account and bodied multiple freestyles on Sway Calloway’s “Sway in the Morning” show, proving that his rap career isn’t just some kind of fad.

Since the release of his album, Lillard has performed on stage across different venues in Portland and has gotten praise for his passion in music from fans and NBA players both young and old. He also launched his record label, Front Page Music, to give up-and-coming rappers an opportunity to break into the music industry.

Last month, Lillard performed in front of the invite-only crowd at JBL Fest, a three day music and entertainment festival that took place at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. We caught up with Dame before he hit the stage to talk his rap career, storytelling through music, who he’d like to work with in the future, #4BarFriday and more.

SLAM: What’s the music process like for you?