BETTER THINGS

LANN DIOR ON GETTING ADVICE FROM TRAVIS BARKER, "MOOD" AND HIS FIRST HEARTBREAK

- Devon Preston

Over the last few years, more artists than ever before have bucked against rigid music genres. Machine Gun Kelly and Mod Sun, who made names for themselves in hip-hop, are now making pop-punk music. Ice-T goes back and forth between gangsta rap and thrash metal. These artists laid down the groundwork for iann dior, who refuses to be defined by one specific genre. "I want to be the first artist to be able to dominate every genre of music," dior says. "When I go to the studio, I could want to make a pop song or a punk song. I have the right people around me to be able to do whatever I want, so why not experiment and see what happens? The thing is, with me hopping onto different genres, my music still sounds like me. And the fans, they adapt to it."

Dior showcases his genre-defying prowess on his latest studio album, "on to better things." He's broken new ground with this album, flexing his versatility as an artist through the diverse features he chose to include, the first being Lil Uzi Vert. "V12' was a fun song for me," dior says. "I'd texted Uzi the hook and he fucked with it. So we ended up going to Miami and shot the video out there. Uzi's someone that I've always wanted to work with-he's a funny guy and amazing to collab with. That song was more so me living my life, having fun and you can't stop me."