DanimaL makes his return after a three-month hiatus due to personal reasons with ‘Inner Demons’. Heartfelt and insightful DanimaL shares his daily battles and struggles with mental health over a classic and hard hitting UK RAP instrumental produced by prodbyerik.  Raw, emotive and real, DanimaL holds nothing back as he navigates the complex chasm of his own inner troubles with an intense, fiery performance.

DanimaL sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:

1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?

I grew up in the steel city of Sheffield, shout out my 0114 gang, known to be the birthplace of bassline. Something about the wobbly sounds of 4x4 excites us northerners usually resulting in an uncontrollable urge draw the old gunfingers in a rather aggressive manner and bust out a one (or two if you are brave) legged skank. It was quite possibly a mixture of filthy dark bassline and grime that sparked my initial love for underground music growing up, as this was simply what you listened to in my era, or me and my peers did anyway. My love for hip-hop, however, probably stems from the first time i heard Eminem on a record with his technically impressive funny multisyllabic rap style, i was hooked. 50 cent was also a childhood favorite of mine and I still have a dusty CD copy of ‘The Massacre’ lying around in my garage somewhere. When I wasn’t engaging in underage listening of explicit rap music I enjoyed acting, rap battling, and staring in plays where I developed my knack for live performance. Anything in which I was the centre of attention seemed to give me a buzz I cannot quite describe. Guess I'm just another attention seeking narcissistic rapper. At least I can admit it, right?

2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?

There's a bag of really dope artists in the world of underground hiphop both in the UK and USA that I ain’t gonna name otherwise we would be here all day. However, without a shadow of a doubt, my dream collab would be with Mr Crustified Dibbs aka R.A. the Rugged Man. This fella is most definitely one of my biggest inspirations musically holding a significant influence towards the way I rap.

3. What projects do you have coming up and can you give us any info on them?

Without giving to much away I've got a really dope 4 track E.P ready to go and a super ill cypher style music video with the Lower Sector familia named Seven O’s lifted from Big Toez solo project ‘Drunk Tales’. Big love Grotty White, Simiyun, RICKYWORTHLESS, Kushty and Lost Luke on that one.

4. How would you describe your sound?

My sound is eclectic and unique. Somedays I remain infatuated by the dusty breaks and loops of old school boombap and others I just want to stick on a mainstream UK rap instrumental and write some deep ish about how I'm feeling in the moment you know. I can do grungy, raw, deep, slow, whatever, I'm not really bothered to be honest if it bangs it bangs. I say this with a pinch of salt as ukhh gave me my name and I still have a real love for the music and culture.

5. What's your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?

I've had many proud moments in my musical journey but a couple that stand out in my psyche are supporting ukhh heavy hitter and proud traveller Smellington Piff at a gig in Leicester and shelling my first festival performance at Green Gathering.

6. Do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to play the mad game of music?

Don’t bother. I'm kidding, I promise. Don’t let the numbers get you down, focus on the art. If your music is good enough the listeners will come, supposing you're releasing correctly and doing all the internet and social media thingy's we must do in 2023 that is. Remember you’re a small fish in a big pond so try and stand out but don’t force it. This is easier said than done but once you’ve found your sound and style believe me, you'll know.

7. Are there any artists on your radar right now that we should check out?

Conflix and Cappo are two criminally underrated super dope lyricists that have been around for time. It’s a monumental shame that people with that much talent can't earn a decent living from music. I guess it reflects the state of the music industry and profits over talent mentally labels have always had. Ain’t no one that real getting signed anytime soon.

8. What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify playlist currently?

I like my classics, so I've been banging O.G.C (Original Gun Clappaz) ‘Da Storm’ a lot lately combined with Da Youngsta’s ‘I'll Make U Famous’. If you know you know these are essential albums for any real hiphop/boombap fan to get their head around ya dig. Also been pumping lots of Sonnyjim, Vinnie Paz, Merkules, Big L, Evidence and Nas.

9. What do you like to do when you're not making music?

Making pretzels with my girl (yes, I said pretzels). Believe it or not, when I'm not screaming obscenities down a faulty condenser microphone, I'm an avid walker and love exploring the vastness of the peak district in all its beauty. In the words of Mattafix “big city life me try fi get by, pressure nah ease up no matter how hard me try, big city life here my heart have no base and right now babylon de pon me case”.  It’s super important for me to share these little adventures with my special person and create what we call ‘magic moments’ as we only have a very tiny finite time on this planet. Oh, and I pretty much bang gym most days now come find me at Virgin Active in Sheff if you wanna smash a session son.

10. Name Three things you can't live without when in the studio?

Hi-Viz for safety, flat cap for swag and ginger beer for thirst (lol).