Ladarryl

LaDarryl Valentine Winsley II is my name, nice to meet you. Ultimately, what I do is receive all of life’s experiences, emotions and whatnot, reinterpret them into a piece of work that resonates with me and you, in that order, and release that work back into the world, where it hopefully ripples out and resonates further.

The experience of being born and raised in Memphis, for example, is one that’s constantly haunted by the word “potential”. A foundationally rich and cultured atmosphere plagued by crime and classic American top-down incompetence, the shortcomings that can be seen from miles off do an excellent job of obscuring the absolute raw soul emanating from our slice of the mid south. An underdog. Always a favorite, but never the best. I personally identify with Memphis on a meta level, and I hope that I can spread that identity contagiously through the city and bring about some kind of renaissance.

How do I do all that nonsense? I perform!

I sang on stage for the first time 14 years ago. I wrote my first song and joined my first ensemble 13 years ago. I produced music for the first time 9 years go, I learned my first instrument 8 years ago. I earned money performing for the first time 6 years ago. I marched, I played jazz, I sang soul, I wrote poetry and I made beats. I’m certainly a rapper who makes rap music, and that’s pretty cool on its own. But even more than that, I’m an artist who makes art.