D'Yani ADD

D'Yani - The 'Muse' Interview

02/28/2025 by Munchy

He is one of the most promising rising artists from Jamaica. With Live A Little, he already scored his first official hit, and now he’s following up with his debut EP Muse. Munchy spoke with D’Yani in Kingston and uncovered some surprising revelations about his childhood, the person behind the artist, his poetic talent, and, of course, the inspiration and stories behind Muse. Have you wondered who was the last person he said “I love you” to?

Great news: Muse is out today, on February 28. It is your debut EP!

Yes, my first project, my first compilation. Basically, the project is geared towards my most loyal fanbase which is females, women. Essentially just a women empowering sound, focusing on different aspects of love, different aspects of my muses, whether it be sensuality, whether it be love, whether it be intimacy, whether it be life. It’s just my observation of these experiences that I’ve been through over the period of my life. That’s what the muse is for me. It’s not necessarily a person. It’s the different experiences that I’ve been through with different persons, different people.

These would be all female persons?

Yes, 100%. But I said different persons because Life’s Amazing is not necessarily about a female. It’s about my experience of life itself, the ups and downs, the turmoil that I’ve been through. That’s why I said it’s a different type of muse.

Was that the aim, to create something like a concept album about love or did that simply fall into place?

Yes, that was always my intention being my first project. My music is always conceptualized based off two major themes which is either life or love. Ultimately, as an artist that’s my main focus in terms of my direction and the way I try to display or portray myself. So yeah, for this project specifically it was more like a teaser in terms of the sounds that I’ve been influenced by which is also heavily Afrobeats, a little mixture of Dancehall, R’n’B as well. Basically, it’s a fusion album geared towards not just the new space or the new sound that is out there but like a blend of Jamaican culture with the world itself.

Yes, the sound is very smooth, organic, round yet still diverse. Congratulations on this project! You mentioned the two sides of D’Yani, love and life. What about Andre McCormack, is he also the lover and the ladies’ man? What type of guy is the person behind the artist?

Yeah, I love love. I like being in love. I like healthy love. I appreciate the feeling of love and whatever it comes with, good or bad. I’m heavily inspired by love. I am love. We are love. We are here because of love. I think it’s a major theme not just in my life but in every single person’s that is on the planet. It’s a never-ending theme and for me not just as an artist but as Andre McCormack I was always fascinated by not just love itself but the experiences that love allows people to have. It’s also one of the most impactful feelings that one can have. Love is like one of the major things that people really get to connect without even having to speak a word. Ultimately, it’s my muse. It’s what fuels me to be who I am now. Because the likes of my mom, one of my major influences, she’s a lover girl. She’s always playing Lovers’ Rock, her R’n’B, and you know Jamaicans are famous for listening Celine Dion.

Oh yes!

She listened her Beres Hammond, her Dennis Brown. That also shaped me in terms of the way I view this type of music and also portray my view of women, my view of experiencing love. The majority of my fans they do realize, that even though there are different sides of love, I do also try to portray love in a positive light because in this life we have enough negativity. So, I try to make sure everybody feels loved in whichever aspect they may think or feel because you know, it’s free. It’s not a finite resource, it’s infinite. So, as much as I can give, I try to give to the world.

Yes, and that is so important these days! Tell me a bit about the person behind the artist still. You hail from Spanish Town. Is that also where you were born? Tell me a bit about your upbringing and how you grew up there?

Yes, I grew up Spanish Town, Jamaica, in a rural or more suburban part going towards Linstead side. For me growing up, it was a very simple life. I can’t complain to be honest. My mom did her best. It was a single parent household. I went from Spanish Town to Kingston for school, because I went to Wolmer’s Boys’ School. Ultimately, it wasn’t even music first because I was very active in football. I played from high school up until college. I was supposed to go abroad for football, for a scholarship. But, you know, life happened, and I ended up staying in Jamaica, completing my degree. I did International Shipping and Supply Chain Management. But ultimately for me it was a humble life. My mom tried to keep me away from anything that was not necessarily good for a young man like me. Irregardless, growing up in Spanish Town you do face challenges, as many people can tell you. It’s not the easiest of environments to grow up in. But it was also not the worst either because there were aspects of Spanish Town that I really appreciated, especially the comradery in terms of football. I went to different communities, “volatile” communities, and to see how they were appreciative of sports, not only just music but sports itself was also a really, really good, heart-warming feeling. As a footballer, we were almost cherished like musicians because it is something the appreciate in their past time. If it’s not music, you’re playing football or you’re doing tracks or something constructive.

Growing up I was an only child. So, I made the best of what life had to offer which was entertaining myself. Football was also one of those means of entertainment, of keeping myself out of trouble. After my upbringings in Spanish Town, I ended up venturing out, living with my grandma, which was in Duhaney Park, Sherlock Crescent specifically. That’s were Baby Cham and Konshens, those artists are from. Because my mom was busy with school and busy with work as well. So, my grandmother was the next person to keep me in check. I was back and forth from Duhaney Park to Spanish Town. My grandmother was a church lady. She was always singing. That is what I was influenced by, not just by music but expressing myself. Irregardless of the sound being off key or on key. She was always singing, she was always giving praises, making a joyful noise unto the Lord because that’s the best thing you can make. She was my hummingbird, my singing bird I should say. From upon that point, I was just playing around with music, playing around with sounds, playing around with my voice. I wasn’t taking it seriously, because obviously this was furthest from my mind becoming an artist doing music. But it’s also something I really appreciate as well. I am very spiritual with my music, I’m very intentional with my music and my words as well.

As I said, I was doing music as a fun, as a hobby and I had friends in high school who did music: Jamie Roberts, a very prominent name, his father is Patrick Roberts of Shocking Vibes. Jamie was going to my high school and that’s how I really got introduced to music. I had a friend called Ever Hype, he was very interested, he was fixated on music. He used to be in the same class and helped me singing at the back of the class, you know, humming, singing, making a lot of noise at the back of the class. I got in trouble just because of expressing myself.

At that time, I was very influenced by Jah Cure. That was when Jah Cure was just released, and he was like a superstar. I sang a lot of Jah Cure, a lot of Gyptian, Tarrus Riley, Beres Hammond and the likes during that time. These are my core memories in terms of artists I tried to sound like, I tried to emulate as much as possible. Back to Ever Hype and Jamie Roberts. They heard me and said “Yo, we should go to the studio!”. It was the furthest thing from my mind. First, I was like “Nah, I’m not interested” but then finally he convinced me. He said “No, you have a really good voice! You can sing!”. He actually wrote something for me to sing and I was like “OK, I’ll try.”. First studio session at Shocking Vibes: horrible. I hate the song to this day. I thought I could sing at that time. But the mic and the equipment told me otherwise. It wasn’t the best sounding sound but from that day on, I was hooked. From that moment I was hooked. I was really inspired on the process of making music, writing music, performing the music. I was so fascinated by the likes of Gyptian, Jah Cure, Dennis Brown, Beres Hammond sounding so good. So, I was wondering how they managed to sound so good while recording and then sound the same after recording. So, I was always trying to balance that spectrum. It was imperative for me to being able to sing and sound the same way live as on the recordings. Because most of the artists that I am inspired by, they sound even better live than on the record. That was also a big motivator for me.

Fast forward in high school, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do and then went to college by the wishes of my mom. During the four years I stopped making music, I wasn’t D’Yani, I was just focused on college until I reached like the third year. A full circle moment, I ended up meeting a next friend who was doing music, and he said “Yo, you stop doing music?!” and I was like “I don’t even know.” I didn’t think I started. I was just a youth who tried to do a thing with whatever talent God has given me. He said I should not have stopped and told me that I inspired him during high school being able to do what I did. And for me it was like “I didn’t even do anything”. I was just trying something. From that moment on I was like “alright, let’s try again”. And then the universe – as funny as it may be – pushed me in the direction of doing music full on. So, literally after college I didn’t even use my degree. I went head on doing music, doing what I love, focusing on the passion, focusing on getting better, being a better artist, a better writer and basically just becoming who I am now. It’s a very inspiring story for me and I am sure for many people who know the struggles of doing music, not only doing music but music in Jamaica where every year there’s a million artists. It’s a very inspiring story for me being able to push through and becoming something from nothing. If you check the statistics, five years ago nobody knew who D’Yani was, coming to now being an emerging act, being heard and being thought of, being looked for. I am grateful for the experience and the challenges. Essentially, that’s in a nutshell my story in terms of how I’ve developed into this.

How old were you when you first went into the studio with Jamie?

I was like 14.

Oh, wow!

Yeah, I was 14. Confidence: zero when I started singing and I heard it on the speaker. At one point I was saying: “Should I even continue doing music?!” My friends were lying to me. I thought I could sing but clearly, I couldn’t.

But they must have sensed the talent still.

Yeah, yeah, ultimately. Obviously, you have singing talent, performing talent and you have recording talent, which is two different talents. Most people don’t even know that. Recording a song is different from performing a song. And performing a song is different from expressing it. Ultimately, that was my homework, that was my groundwork to becoming the artist that I am. Being able to translate feelings and emotions through words into sound is not the easiest of tasks. Having people being able to relate and feel the same emotions that are being expressed is also a God given gift, which I am really appreciative of, and I am very intentional in terms of how I express it.

Speaking of your talents and your gifts… you mentioned that you still did go to college and finished with a degree in International Shipping and Supply Chain Management. You said because of your mom but did you also do it because you wanted to?

Initially no, no! Most people in Jamaica would say I’m a mama’s boy. My mom doesn’t ask me for much so when she does ask me for something I try to fulfill it as best as possible and that was one of her wishes. She said “please, just complete this and then you can do what you want after” because I told her of my dreams of doing music. She sat me down and said “I’m not saying that it’s not possible but it’s also good to have multiple eggs in your basket because it’s a volatile situation. You have to remember that this is life, and life doesn’t always work out how you want it to work out.” So, she gave me a big man reasoning, sat me down saying “just complete this and then we can figure out the rest after” and that’s what happened. And today, she is my biggest fan.

That’s great to hear! But even though it wasn’t your choice, ultimately you finished with a degree. Would you say you are a determined person? Doing something like that even despite not really being interested in it.

I am grateful. I am grateful to have the opportunity to get a higher degree of education. Most people in my situation don’t have that opportunity. Blessings to my mom for giving me the opportunity. But what I can honestly say, even though it wasn’t necessarily my honest intention to say “OK, get a degree” because obviously my vision for myself would be shortsighted in comparison to what my mom has, a bigger, longer experience of what life is. That’s why they say: Honor your parents and your days may be long, right?! So, in regard to that, I did appreciate going to college because I’ve learnt a lot and I apply that into my music as well in different aspects, especially philosophy. I read heavy on philosophy as well. That’s also why I said life and love are the major topics that I sing about. Those are my major influences. Life is a never-ending tale, a never-ending influence for me as well as love. They are one and the same for me.

How would you describe your character in general? You said you’re a mama’s boy, so apart from that…

Apart from that, I am very reserved. I guess that characteristic comes from being an only child. I was always in my shell, always by myself. I love being by myself and don’t have a problem being by myself. I’m very – the term I think they use is – ambivert. So, I can be an introvert but also a I can be an extrovert when the situation arises. Obviously because I do music, I need to be able to express myself effectively and make sure that you or the parties involved understand what I am trying to get across. So, I am an ambivert when it needs to be. Ultimately, I am very reserved, very focused on my personal goals ahead, very intentional in terms of my actions and my thought process and also what I do intake. I keep myself in my shell for that reason, because a lot is going on and I try to keep my influence on what I want to be influenced by.

Is there a difference between Andre McCormack and D’Yani?

Yes, 100%! Yes, there is honestly a difference. Obviously, the line has been blurred because they are one and the same but if I was supposed to put a term on the major difference, it would be that Andre is more reserved and D’Yani is obviously – based on what people would assume – more confident. Confident in expression, confident in self, confident in being D’Yani. He owns that, so that’s the major difference. If it was up to me, Andre, I’d probably just make music and not be seen, if I could make money like that. I’m that type of person, that type of reserved. If I could sing and nobody knew who sings the song and I could make the money, I’d be like “Perfect job!”.

Oh wow, that’s surprising though.

Why?

The way you dress up, how you style yourself. You seem like a person who wants to be out there and wants to be seen, or that character seems to be like that.

But there is also art and commerce. Cleanliness is close to Godliness, and I always try to put myself together. It’s not even just about looking good. Because I think I don’t do a good job at that. I am still learning that aspect of marketing. It’s a never-ending process especially in the scoop of TikTok and a lot of algorithms and different factors that impact the process of marketing for independent artists like myself. To be honest ultimately, if I could say Andre would definitely be that type of artist come and have a mask and sing the song and they say “Who’s D’Yani?!?” versus D’Yani being that modelesque figure, that very out there figure.

Let’s not talk what is still work in progress because we know you do have a lot of talent. The music is one, but you also mentioned football. What other talents do you have, or things are you interested in?

I love writing. I think I’m a poet. I was a poet before I was a musician or an artist. Most of the songs I’ve written, even Live A Little was a poem. A poem based off my experience in hardship, my experience in not being able to breathe because of the checklist that life has given me. “You have to do this today and you have to finish this tomorrow”, you know?! That was my poem to myself. And there are many songs that I’ve written that are poems which I have turned into melodies which then turned to songs. I am very heavy on writing. Actually, I would like to write a book one day. I think that’s my next talent that most people wouldn’t know. Or they would know, because of the type of writing that I’ve been doing. I really love writing. I like how words are crafted. I like how words can make you feel. And I like how they can be colorful and how they can paint a picture without even being more than black and white.

You also have this mantra of “Live Life and Prosper”. That’s why I was wondering if you were a very determined person. Is that a side of yours? Is making it somewhere something you are always going and looking for?

100 %! The term “Live Life and Prosper” is basically D’Yani itself because that mantra for me has so much depth and meaning to it. It really fueled my motivation in becoming a better person and a better artist. To live life and be prosperous in whatever I may do is always the aim for myself. I’m not sure about any other person but I always aim to be prosperous in spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, all aspects of my life. And that mantra basically coins up how I try to function on a day-to-day basis. Whether it be music, whether it be football, whether it be a conversation I try to make it as prosperous as possible because why not?! I would not want to go backwards. I rather be prosperous and fulfilled and very fruitful and bountiful whatever I may do, that is positive.

The Muse project shows the many sides of love as you told me earlier. What to you is the purest form of love?

I think selfless love. Love without reciprocation. Love without thought of receiving or thought of what the result will be of giving this type of love. It’s almost spiritual. For me, it’s what a mother gives to a child or what a father gives to his child. Love that a caregiver would give to a plant. Just watering it, irregardless if it may bloom or blossom, just watering it for the love of seeing the beauty of a rose. I can’t eat a rose, it’s not a perfume. It’s this type of love that I think is the strongest love of all because it’s the purest one, the cleanest one, it’s the most honest form of giving.

Yeah, wow, absolutely agree. Who is the last person you said “I love you” to?

My mom. Yeah, I called her this morning, and she said “Hey, when you tell me you love me?!” and I said “Love you moms!”. Yeah!

Sweet! Let’s talk about the Muse project a bit more. You invited several fellow vocalists to join you on this project. Shereita Williams (Lewis) is singing the backing vocals on the title track Muse to start the EP. Tell me how she got involved?

Yes, there are multiple backing vocalists on it, but I used Shereita heavily on this project. I love her voice. I’m a fan of Shereita. Even before doing music, I have been appreciative of her technical abilities. I got connected to her through Remus (XTM.Nation). He mentioned her in a track before this because me and Remus have other works. He mentioned her or Chevaughn and then I chose her. From then we’ve been doing work, on this project and even a project for the coming future that is soon to be released as well. Amazing talent, amazing vocalist! I’m really a fan of people who are prosperous in their work. I have to big her up!

Definitely! She is absolutely amazing. So is also Zhayna France who sings backing vocals on Lock N Key. She is an excellent artist in her own right. How did she join the Muse project?

That was also done by the producer. He was the one that developed the relationship regarding that backing track. But I knew Zhayna after that and we did some work as well. Amazing talent! Every single person that is one this project, I really appreciate their voice. It’s not just like haphazardly putting backing vocalists. These are people that I personally selected and their voices are really cohesive with my voice. It’s a nice smooth blend in terms of the sonics and the feeling and the sound that I am trying to emote. These are some really, really good talents.

Absolutely! You worked with several producers contributing instrumentals to Muse. Among them is Buju Banton’s son Markus Myrie or the multi-award-winning team of FaNaTiX. Tell me how you chose those involved?

As I said the universe has a very interesting way of putting the right people in the right positions at the right time. Markus Myrie, he was initially one of the first producers that I started on my journey with doing music. The second piece of music I recorded was actually at Gargamel Studio, Buju’s studio. That was before he was out of prison and Markus was the one controlling the studio at the time. Big up Markus! I did that song Lock N Key like seven years ago. That was one of the first songs that I did, a song that me and him worked on together and it developed into what it is now.

FaNaTiX happened because I did a couple of shows in London. I have a really good UK fanbase. The UK is like my second home. They really appreciate my music. I was there for a while, made some crossroads, made some connections. I was introduced to them and from then we did a lot of work. These two songs (on Muse) were a selection of the numerous amount of work that I have with them. That should be coming out after as well. That’s how the relationship was developed, and we’ve been continuously working because we’re fighting for the same goal ultimately and the goal is good music, meaningful music and music that can last beyond the test of time.

**One name stands out from the people involved in Muse and that’s of course Stonebwoy from Ghana who is featured on Life’s Amazing. How did this collab come about?**

I knew Stonebwoy before. He actually was one of the few artists that has reached out to me from before I even had a hit song. You have this thing in Jamaica called Audiomack. Audiomack is like a Caribbean/African based Soundcloud in a sense. He was one of the influencers and he was pushing my music in Ghana before I even knew who he was. I ended up knowing this because I saw some clips where he was actually playing and singing my music. He reached out, humbly, he was saying “Yo, I love the music! Keep on doing it. Big up, big up, big up!” I ended up understanding his music as well, appreciating his music. Amazing talent! Hardworking man as well! Fast forward now, which was like 2024, we have mutual connects which is FaNaTiX, because they did work with Stonebwoy and then there’s me. So, I reached out to him and said “Yo, I have an amazing record. I don’t know if you would want to be a part of?” and he said “Yeah man, it’s been years coming. You should have done this from how long!” And that’s how the track was created.

Initially I wrote the song before, but I think his voice was like the icing on the cake. A very inspirational song of what life is and irregardless of the ups and downs it’s amazing. From you’re alive every day above ground is a blessing. And I think he did an amazing job on that track. Big up Stonebwoy and the Ghana massive because they’ve championing for me, rooting for me. The whole of Africa actually has been one of my major supporters of my type of music. This project was also an offering to them as well to show my respects and regards. I have a lot of comments and responses, big ups coming from Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa… the list is endless and so is the appreciation of not just Caribbean culture or Jamaican music but music on a whole. They really love music, irregardless of who does it. Because I wouldn’t even say I’m that special, I’m just saying the continent itself is consumed by good music and I can see that because I am a testament of that as well. That’s like my third home other than London.

Have you been to Africa?

No, I’m going soon though. I got a couple of dates in Africa, and I am really looking forward to it.

Excellent! I am looking forward to that as well. Did you actually meet Stonebwoy when he was in Jamaica?

Yes, I met him two times. Jahmiel was doing a show, and he came to visit Jahmiel. I was doing a rehearsal as well and we ended up crossing paths. But that was before the song though. There was no music or no song involved there. That was just genuine respect, blessing up one another.

About Life’s Amazing you wrote on your IG “a song born from the depths of my struggle and the resilience that follows. It’s a mirror of my journey every high and every low, every struggle that has shaped me as an artist and a human.” Would you like to elaborate what the struggles are or were to you?

Struggle is universal term. So, my struggle is your struggle, and your struggle is a next person’s struggle. Everybody has a struggle and for me, my personal struggle comes in different forms, different ways. A struggle for me is not finding the right song at the right time or not singing the right key at the right time. That’s a struggle for me. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is more or less of a struggle than someone else’s. It’s just a different form. In that case now, what I am saying is, I am really appreciative of the highs and lows that I went through because at the end of the day it’s a process and there is no process without ups and downs. The only stagnation is death. Everything stops after that. Being able to face these challenges, go through these challenges and becoming something successful is always something to be commended. Something to be humbled and grateful for. A lot of persons do go through struggles that they are losing and it’s not always the easiest for most people. So, this was my light or my motivation in the darkness that regardless of the struggle that you may be going through, life is amazing. There is some beauty at the end of the crossroads, there is some light at the end of the tunnel, there is still some salvation that is available for you in some way, shape or form. Whether it be you have a meal, you have somewhere to sleep, you can feel the sunshine, you can walk, you can breathe, you have teeth, you have hair. Some people don’t have hair and that’s their biggest struggle. For me it was just always something to put beauty in despair and try to show a different perspective of what negative may be viewed as.

Would you say in general that you are a positive person?

100%. Especially doing music, you have to. You’d be depressed. Facing life itself, it’s very dark, very depressing. So, as I said earlier, if I can share some love, if I can share some light in whichever form, I’ll definitely will do the best. I won’t say that there aren’t moments when I do feel down. There are moments when I do feel sad. But irregardless of me feeling sad, I’m still grateful. Wah nuh dead, nuh dash it weh. You just move on, push on – because life is amazing.

Seen. You mentioned Spanish Town earlier, you mentioned Sherlock Crescent when speaking of your childhood, which is also – let me say – not the fanciest place in Kingston. Big up Sherlock Crescent still. But would you say that was rough and that that was already shaping you as the type of person you are today?

In most cases when people ask about Spanish Town being rough or if Sherlock did rough… when I was that age it was just what it was. It wasn’t good or bad because I didn’t experience anything else. There wasn’t something I could compare it to. I wasn’t like “this is a bad experience for me”, it was just life. This is where my grandmother lived and I have to live here because my mom is not available. For me, I wouldn’t say it was tough or rough. It was just a part of life; a part of my functioning and I functioned through it. I’ve always been the type to be motivated irregardless of whatever is in front of me because I’m always inspired. And I always aspire. Always try to be something great, always try to be something better than I was yesterday. Obviously, life isn’t ideal, and life doesn’t work on perfection but smalls steps make a huge move on the long run. That’s what I’ve always been doing. I’ve been taking it step by step, growth by growth, inch by inch. Becoming a better person each time. I think that’s what growing up in these areas has taught me. It’s always good to grow and there is always room to grow. There is always space to become a better person. I’ve seen gunmen become preachers. I’ve seen many people that have been deemed the worst of the worst become really successful and prominent and have established themselves in some inspiring ways with inspiring stories. I am amazed by that, I’m inspired by that and also try to aspire and bring that to people’s attention that irregardless of where you may come from, you are greatness. From you set foot on this earth, you are amazing.

That’s what I love about the reality tunes that you make. Works like Live A Little, but also Nine To Five or Hard Ears. You have very inspiring and motivational words for people. Apart from the Muse project that caters a lot to the female audience and is more the love song type of project, can we expect also more reality music from you in the future?

100%, 100%!

Excellent!

That was always the aim. I don’t want to give away too much, but me and Remus have been working tirelessly on a project. It should be out this year as well but seeing that I already dropped a project this year I will allow time for that to breathe, and we will prepare it for next year. That is more on my conscious side hence why I focused this year on providing for what my major fanbase is, love-based, light-based with a dash of life in it. But yeah, that was always the intention in terms of where I want to take it and how I want to portray. It’s always let’s say 60% love and the other percent life. Because it’s always a balance.

Speaking of the future. What is coming up from D’Yani besides the recent EP now, in terms of music videos, live performances or other projects?

We plan to do a Life’s Amazing video in Ghana. We try to do a really nice cinematic visual for that. That would top off the project because I did only two visuals for it, which was Ambience and the next one would be Life’s Amazing to balance the spectrum. After that I have a busy schedule in terms of touring. I should be going to Spain. I have a next tour in the UK as well. I’ll probably do like threes cities. I have a lot of shows in the Caribbean as well, filled up until August. Then I have a couple of States side tours, which will be like California, New York and Florida for Best Of The Best. And I have Reggae Sumfest as well again. So, I have a prosperous summer coming up and I am grateful for the support that I’ve been getting, grateful for the love that the music has been getting not only just locally but regionally and internationally and the blessings that I’ve been receiving. That I am super grateful for.