When I finally meet up with Boston radio personality DJ DCaso, to discuss his unbelievably magnanimous monthly contest that aims to elevate the voices of some of the best artists in the city, he is powering through the kind of exhaustion that is synonymous with his profession. His fatigue, though, bears the weight that very few people could stoically carry; born Darryl David, he lost his mother in December, and he cites her as the reason he finally pursued his dream of making music his full time profession.
The last few months have been emotionally devastating for DCaso, but he remains determined to stick to his grind and continue to prove that Boston is a place of endless musical expertise.
A Brooklyn native, David moved to the city in 2004 for Brandeis University’s Transitional Program that gives underprivileged youth a shot at enrolling in college. “The biggest thing to me is paying it forward,” the Jam’n 94.5 mix show and club DJ says. “I’m from New York and everyone supports you there as an artist — as long as there’s money on the table and everyone can benefit. Since I’ve been here, it’s just been ‘me, me, me, me, me. You’re trying to take this from me, you’re trying to take my spot.’ But if everyone worked together, it’d be so crazy out here. I just think Boston’s scene is dope and people don’t fucking appreciate it. Sometimes it takes an outsider to see the gems of a city.”
DCaso’s blunt and unapologetic insight seems so happenstance that it almost comes off as accidental, but as time passes it becomes clear that his way of thinking is strategic and methodical. His monthly contest, in which aspiring artists submit their 60-second music videos in hopes of winning free studio sessions as well as photo and video shoots, is a direct result of this.
First, contest hopefuls email their clips to DCaso at dcasovisuals@gmail.com. He then has a team of distinguished music heavyweights select the best three which are then posted on his Instagram account. The artist with the most likes wins, with past victors including Providence-based artist Pyrex Lex and KyE Nathaniel from New Bedford. The contests are totally independent from his “day job,” and run solely by DCaso and his team. As such, the man’s generosity is unusually rare — especially in a city where local hip-hop talent face their own unique set of obstacles including pay to play models, stringent venue protocols, and dubious alliances.
When I ask why he decided to take it upon himself to help fellow musicians in such a significant way, I realized that nothing was off limits during an interview that lasted nearly two hours. “I’ve been blessed so far… I’m an ex-gang member,” he explains. “I was in a car accident three years ago, went through the window and almost died. My focus is not financial wealth, but social wealth. How can I help people while I’m here? Money can go any day and you can die any day. So why not give back while you can? There are no other motives.”
In a way, DCaso’s vision for Boston’s hip-hop scene is slightly utopian on the surface but completely feasible at the rate that he’s going. “Ultimately, I want to rally together and work with other collaborators in the city to do a big Boston artist kind of show that actually supports the artists with no ties… something that’s still gutter and street and feels like you’re beatboxing at the lunchroom table.”
His face lights up when he not only recognizes the possibilities, but runs with them. “I don’t want to be remembered for the material things I give to people,” he adds, “I want to be remembered for the experience I gave them.”
For more on DJ DCaso’s contests, click here. February’s winner is below.