Dampszn is a rising hip-hop artist from New York who has been making waves in the music industry with his unique blend of hip-hop and EDM. After gaining popularity in 2019 with his singles Canceled and Hydroplane, Dampszn has been turning heads and drawing attention to his music. But is his sound truly unique and noteworthy or is it a mere copycat of another successful artist in the industry?
Dampszn claims to have been inspired to begin his musical journey after following the career of one of his idols, Juice Wrld, whose career took off after gaining popularity on Soundcloud. He started writing music in high school and continued to create, first releasing his music independently and then later coming under the umbrella of Next Chapter Music, an independent record label in the Netherlands.
His creative process is said to involve drawing inspiration from his environment, specifically the music that made his childhood; hip-hop and EDM. He states that when trying to find his sound, he realized no artist had thought to combine the two genres. However, this is a claim that can be easily disputed. The combination of hip-hop and EDM is not an entirely new concept, and there have been other artists who have explored this fusion before.
In an interview, Dampszn also revealed that he sometimes searches for new beats and sounds on YouTube. This raises the question of how much of his sound is truly original and how much of it is influenced by other artists. Additionally, his process of having several freestyle sessions before sitting down to perfect the mixing and the fact that it takes him roughly seven hours to make progress on a song to the point where he feels happy with it could indicate that he is still in the process of finding his own voice and style.
When asked what impact he wants his music to have, Dampszn said, “I like to have fun and I like to be serious sometimes. But I just make whatever comes into my head. I just want music people can listen to and enjoy. I want it to be a part of people’s lives the same way music is a part of mine.” It is a noble goal but the question remains, is his music truly memorable and impactful?
Dampszn’s advice to other budding musicians to surround themselves with a good team and to not piggyback on other artists’ success but instead to take time and build their brand is solid advice. His experience as an artist and his work as a digital marketing coordinator for different kinds of musicians has no doubt given him a good understanding of the industry. However, his focus on branding and digital marketing raises concerns about the authenticity and originality of his music.
Dampszn is putting in the work to make his career one to watch but it remains to be seen if his music will truly stand the test of time. His work can be found on all music streaming platforms and you can follow him on Facebook and Instagram, and it is up to audiences to decide if Dampszn’s sound is truly unique and worth listening to.