Every town or city has something it’s known for, be it notable locations, events, or persons. Straight out of Madison, Florida, David Fletcher, popularly known as DGdidit, is on his way to stardom. He moved to Tampa, where he got a solid hold on his music and began to put his materials out to the public. He began to upload music instrumentals to YouTube, which caught the attention of many music lovers and musicians like Dave East, Jim Jones, and Johnny Cino, among others. DGdidit continued to post his beats until Trinidad James picked up one of his beats and used it to make a song. This gave David Fletcher even more confidence that he was doing something right.

DGdidit began to rap on his beats before uploading them, and he got endorsements and encouragement from artists like Waka Flocka, Downtown Dion, and Gio Dee. It took other people recognizing his talents for him to break out of his shell. Once he realized his abilities, DGdidit decided to be more than a producer by showing the world the beauty of his musical talent.

Since DGdidit had already gained traction on YouTube before going mainstream, many of his audience already formed opinions about his sound, style, and artistic representation. Veteran rapper Waka Flocka once called him the “Next Pharrell,” which was a major confidence boost for him as a person and an artist. He stopped putting limitations on his abilities and decided to go full-fledged by showcasing his talents to the world. As an independent artist, DGdidit understands the amount of work he has to do to become a superstar, and right now, that’s all he’s focused on.

DGdidit’s motivation comes from the growth he has experienced over the years as a musician. “I never thought much about music professionally or as the only thing I wanted to do. I started producing beats because I enjoyed it, but now, it has become so much more for me,” he says. He sees his music career becoming big so that it can help him give back to the community. David Fletcher has focused on growing as an artist and a brand to improve his life and others’ lives.

Building a music career from scratch and then catching the attention of many people, including some musical greats, are some of the noteworthy things that DGdidit has experienced. Now, as his career seems to be taking off, his goal is to become successful enough to help others achieve success too. Putting Florida on the map for positive reasons is a feat he’s passionate about, and nothing can deter him from making that happen. Despite the cutthroat competition in the music industry today, DGdidit is optimistic that whatever a person wants to do is worth pursuing anyway. “Nobody should give up because it’s the easy thing to do. If there’s anything you want, take the step. Once you do that, you are one step closer to making your dreams happen,” he says.Listen to DGdidit’s music on SoundCloud or follow him on Instagram.

Music is powerful medicine. These challenging times make it more important than ever to feed your mind positivity, so it can be channeled to create a positive environment of motivation and success.

YngSolomon aims to create music that is not only conscious of the world around us but is also inspirational and elevates the soul. 

YngSolomon is a Northern California-based singer and songwriter who is co-founder of the acclaimed hip-hop and pop duo, The Collective Conscious. The duo aims to create catchy music that shines through the darkness of the global plandemic. They knocked it out of the park with their sophomore album titled “Full Moon Intentions” which they released in Feb of this year. 

The esteemed musician is also the founder of YngSolomon Presents, a series of live music pop-up concerts that began in July 2020 after being inspired by Reprezent Clothing – a local conscious clothing company. The pop-up concerts continue to gain traction in the north bay.

YngSolomon is a holistic individual – when he’s not creating uplifting music and performing at live events or organizing them, he can be found enjoying a game of basketball, practicing guitar or exploring the wonders of nature. 

The world-renowned musician is also a leader in the local chapter of a Buddhist organization, which has been a major driver for his personal development over the last six years. Through chanting the Buddhist mantra Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, and sharing this practice, he has managed to stay happy despite the challenges of 2020.

YngSolomon is the only person in California who is actively organizing and promoting pop-up concerts. He understands that live music heals, and should be spread as much as possible. With the mounting suicides since the lockdowns, YngSolomon has taken it upon himself to encourage troubled youth. 

“Now is the most important time to provide a platform for people to commune and dance while helping artists pursue their dreams….most of the world has put their dreams on indefinite hold,” says YngSolomon. Anyone who enjoys listening to live music and loves to dance will greatly benefit from his pop up concerts.

He is determined to host events, and is not afraid to fail. “If a pop-up gets shut down, I find another location,” says YngSolomon. “The very first event I hosted this summer had to be moved twice. Once due to the fires, the second due to a park ranger shutting us down near Fort Mason, so we moved a third time to Ocean Beach, and everyone had a great time,” he added. Most promoters would have canceled or postponed their events, but YngSolomon is different. 

Find out more about YngSolomon by checking out his Instagram account.

A look at Jasmine Ortiz, and one would think dedicating the last seventeen years of her life to music is all there is to her. She breathes and lives music, but at the same time, she’s passionate about making an impact in young people’s lives.

Jasmine is currently studying at the University of Miami, where she majors in Musicianship, Artistry Development, and Entrepreneurship. As a multi-layered individual, Jasmine Ortiz has engaged in many leadership programs on the college campus, such as her work with the Butler Center for Service and Leadership, where she served as an ambassador for young Americans in social advocacy and public policy. She also served as a senator in the student government and works in various communities. She is an active participant of the Guitars Over Guns Initiative, a mentorship program that fosters community building in young people using music.

Being a songwriter, producer, instrumentalist, and recording artist, Jasmine Ortiz keeps putting in work to perfect her craft and grow as a musician. Music is everything for her, and one thing that keeps her going is getting feedback from people about how her music relates to them or has helped through one time or the other. Jasmine currently shuttles between Miami and Los Angeles, but she has expressed her desire to settle permanently in Los Angeles sometime soon. As her growth journey continues, Jasmine Ortiz keeps exploring different sounds and styles. “I have some sounds in my head that I would like to hear on the Billboard top 40. I also think the future of pop music is rapidly shifting, thanks to super unique artists like Billie Eilish, Ashnikko, and Melanie Martinez re-defining what it means to be a pop star,” she says.

Jasmine is a person with a passion for learning, and every aspect of her life reflects that. She is learning everything about music production and the business aspect of music. She has been involved in some social causes that she cares about. Her work with the Guitars Over Guns Initiative has kept many children productively engaged through free after-school music education all over Miami-Dade County. Jasmine hopes that someday, she will start a non-profit organization to further her cause and contribute to humanity.

Her love for music keeps her going. She also enjoys connecting with people, sharing thoughts and feelings with them through any medium. One of her life-long goals is to use her platform to give people a voice and the power to express themselves. “I think giving back is of the utmost importance,” she says.

In five years, Jasmine sees herself releasing a successful album, going on a world tour, and nominated for a Grammy award. Her current mentality is all about growing, getting things done, connecting with people, and helping others grow. She also wants people to see the side of her that is passionate about social causes, mentorship, and education. 

With 1.5 million streams in the one month since the release of her current hit single “Cherry on Top” and with well over 200K streams on Spotify within that same period, Jasmine is well on her way to reaching the heights she dreams of, where she will imprint her name boldly as a talented musician but also as someone who can do far beyond music by contributing to the world positively in more ways than one.

Learn more about Jasmine Ortiz and her work on the website.

As a musician born in Africa, Kweku Smoke has his eyes set on joining the long list of musicians who have put Africa on the global map. On a musical journey with different influences, Kweku Smoke is steadily working his way up to fame and success. Born Paul Amankwa in Kumasi, Ghana, Kweku Smoke is one of the most highly rated rappers in Ghana, and his latest album, “Snoop Forever,” is a testament to that.

Early in his life, he set out to become a lawyer, a plan that was overridden by his brother’s influence. As a child, Paul followed his brother to the recording studio anytime his brother went to record songs. He would watch his brother closely as he rehearsed and recorded songs, and his interest in music was piqued. Soon, he began to listen to his brother’s music CDs and fell in love with Hip-hop and rap lyrics.

Everything about watching his brother create music played a huge role in his career, and as his passion for music grew, his interest grew too. In 2018, Paul Amankwa started dropping freestyles under the stage name YRS and started gaining some traction on social media. He changed his stage name to Kweku Smoke in 2019 shortly before he met famous rapper, Sarkodie who endorsed him on social media.

Meeting Sarkodie changed things for him, and they both created a song together titled “Yedin.” “Yedin” became a catchy anthem in Ghana, which gave Kweku Smoke some popularity in the Ghanaian music scene, and many people began to follow Kweku Smoke’s music. Since the collaboration happened, he has been working on building a name for himself and growing his brand as a musician. On the 18^th of December, Kweku Smoke released his album titled “Snoop Forever,” an album dedicated to his late brother, who went by the name Snoop when he was alive.

Losing his brother, who single handedly influenced his entire career changed things for Kweku Smoke. According to him, he had other ideas for his album, but his brother’s death made him overhaul the idea to create an album that pays tribute to him.

“After my brother’s death, I went back to the studio to record all over again because all I felt at the time was keeping his memory alive. My brother is the reason I make music today, and naming my album after him was one of the least things I could have done to honor his memory. It relieves me that the album is out and doing numbers, and I know he will be proud and happy wherever he is,” Kweku Smoke says. 

The album addresses a lot of societal issues in Africa while also talking about the challenges he went through while building his career. Kweku Smoke is all about inspiring the next generation to be successful and showing them that they can achieve it if they truly want it.

Learn more about Kweku Smoke on his Instagram page, and watch his music video, “On the Streets,” here. His album is also available for streaming here.