LU: When was the first time you visited Jamaica?
LD: It was the beginning of June to film the OnStage TV interview with Winford [Williams]. That was the purpose of the trip. I did an interview with DJ Sparks, and Dennis Brooks of Nationwide 90 FM. I also got to see the Bob Marley Museum, which was probably one of the coolest experiences of my life. That was phenomenal. I didn’t understand the legacy that he left. I was not ready for it. It’s one of most memorable experiences I’ve ever had.
LU: How did your Dream Weekend appearance come together?
LD: Someone from my team contacted someone from Popcaan’s team, and we got the invite. Dream Weekend flew me out. It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I met Popcaan at the Bahia [Grand Bahia Principe Resort]. I knew from being around him that he was a super genuine guy. I took a nap, cause I had to perform at two in the morning. We headed out, watched performances, and met people. It was crazy.
LU: Airhorns galore.
LD: Yeah, wasn’t expecting that. After I got off the stage, it was a surreal experience getting that kind of feedback.
LU: What was the most gratifying aspect of performing with Popcaan?
LD: It didn’t seem like he was forced to do it. He was really friendly the entire time, and fun to hang out with. I think the coolest part was when he got up on stage and started singing “Get Gyal Easy.” I knew the song too, but I was so focused that I didn’t want to join in. I wasn’t even going to groove because I was like “man, I gotta make sure I play these chords right.” Of course, no one could really hear them because everyone was screaming. Now, it’s getting me hyped to collab with everybody. That little thing on stage sparked my imagination of who would sound good on a particular verse.
Assassin was also there, and the only thing I knew him from was “I’m In It” off [Kanye West’s] Yeezus. He’s sick. I did an Instagram video with him as he was singing the verse from “I’m In It.” He saw my performance and he was like “Hey man, great job.” I’m sitting in Negril at 4:30 in the morning and Assassin is bigging me up. It was surreal. At that point I realized, “Wow, it’s really happening. We’re really doing this music thing.”