Join us as we delve into the world of Damon Fletcher, a highly respected Atlanta-based singer/songwriter, known for his expertise across multiple genres. With connections to industry powerhouses like Ne-Yo and Usher, his name is destined to become widely recognized in the industry. He tells the story of his dreams coming true as a queer Black man, as he prepares to release his new EP.
I see that you grew up in Detroit and you’re now based in Atlanta. How would you say the two scenes compare to each other?
It’s different. Atlanta has a lot more going on. It’s different. I would say it’s comparing apples to oranges. It’s just not the same.
Were you still working on music when you lived in Detroit or was that something that formed from you moving to Atlanta?
So music’s actually formed later in life. Growing up in Detroit, you are exposed to Motown, listening to all the things that your parents listened to. Smokey Robinson, the Temptations, all those types of bands and groups. So, I always had the music in me because you’re just in the environment, living in Detroit. Then I started out doing musical theater and things like that. I was in the church choir. So that’s where I discovered I have musical talent. But, after I graduated from high school, I left Detroit. I went on about my career in ophthalmology. I just left and I never thought that I would ever see music or do anything in music. But 20 years later, here I am. Working on music.
So, is it easier for you to gain visibility as a queer artist being based in Atlanta?
I just moved to Atlanta in February, so I’m kind of newer to the area. But no, I’m just really just starting to get a feel for the scene just in general, down here. It’s a big scene for, you know, artists, but especially it has a very big queer network that has been forming more and more over the years. So, I’m actually interested in getting more connected with the community down here.
How did you and Ne-Yo’s professional relationship come about?
Right before the pandemic, I was watching Usher’s Masterclass, The Art of Performance, as I was traveling for work. And I had this overwhelming feeling of, “Man, I feel like I can do that!” But then it was like, “Nah, I can’t do that. I’m too old. I’m already living my dream.” As that happened, LL Cool J sat right next to me at the airport in D.C. And I was like, “Oh my god, I’d never get star-struck in here. You, sir, I have to talk to you. Your portrait is hanging in the Smithsonian next to Michelle Obama. How does that make you feel? Wow!” And he was like, “Oh, it’s a really great feeling.” I was like, “I want to do something like that in life.” He was like, “Oh, you will. I already see it.” I was like, “What? All right.” But that was in December 2019. So then you fast forward three months later. Now we’re in March 2020, everything shuts down due to the pandemic. And I was like, “Oh, well, I want to have used this time to do everything that Usher said. He told me that I will. And I started putting all the pieces together. I started to create music. I started to reach out to songwriters and producers and things like that to help bring my vision to life. So after I created it, I started to just DM artists that inspired me.
I DMed Ne-Yo. And I got a response. Instantly. And he was like, “What are you doing to promote your music?” I was like, “I’m just using word of mouth and social media. I feel like I’m right there. I just need that next little push.” He was like, “Oh, do you want to do an Instagram live?” I was like, “Oh, absolutely!”
So we did an Instagram live. I told him my story and told him what I was doing. What I was just trying to do, just to see what could happen. After we got off that live, he DM’d me after, he was like, “That was amazing, let’s continue to build, and let’s work. Send me all your music!” And he sent me his email address. He was the first person who actually opened the door for me.
How did COVID-19 give you a new chance to chase a different dream that you maybe didn’t expect to chase?
In my career prior to music, I traveled a lot for work because I oversaw clinical trials and ophthalmology to create new drugs. So I’m constantly on sites and all these places are all over the world. So I travel a lot. And with the pandemic happened, I ended up sitting at home. Because there’s no traveling happening anymore. And so now I just have all this open time, all my schedule is just filled with all this unknown. And I just knew, there’s no way in the world I’m going to be able to sit in this house with nothing to do. I was like, it’s my time to actually do something. Because I also knew that there was no such thing as failure, because even if I did that and people laughed at me, well, they would have just laughed and I knew that was a time when people needed laughter. So I just went for it. And here we are, four years later, still here.
In what ways do you think your age gave you some form of advantage in this industry? Do you think you may know what you want to do a little more than others?
I know how to manage myself because I come from corporate America, like upper management. And so I know how businesses work, so I see it on a daily basis. I just used the skill sets that I learned at work for myself. And I was able to just go. I was able to just take the vision and just run. Because I knew exactly where I wanted to go. And you just pick up on people that you need to get you there and you just keep going. There’s no one there to stop you. I’m my own boss. I know who I am. I mean, I still figure it out. New things about me every day, but I know who I am. At the core.
What were some ways where you were able to make a name for yourself in the industry, like starting out?
Obviously it was just reaching out to people, but it’s just my work has been speaking for itself. The passion that I put into it, and that’s been the attraction.
Can you describe a time where you received recognition that changed the course of your career or maybe changed the way you viewed it?
That started with Ne-Yo. So, and then after Ne-Yo, I kept going. I just kept creating and doing things and more people showed up. After I made my music video, and I did that with Cupid from the Cupid Shuffle. And we filmed that music video on a helipad in downtown LA. And so I really just had fun with it to see where I could go with it. And, after I released that, it was probably two weeks later; I got a DM from Zaytoven. Zaytoven won a Grammy for producing Usher’s Raymond vs. Raymond album. He reached out to me and said, “I spoke to Ne-Yo about you. He said you were putting in work.” I started to have a conversation with him about what I’m doing and where I’m trying to go. I started to work with him. And then once I got to Zaytoven, that’s when the flood doors kind of just really opened. I met Jadakiss in person. That was fun. I met Usher. That was very something different. When somebody who inspires you is star-struck when they reach you. That’s wild. I’ve met Summer Walker. I’ve had conversations with Fat Joe, Diddy, Bow Wow. It’s been a lot of folks who have inspired me.
Usher is an artist who’s been in the industry since he was a child and has really, like, worked himself from the ground up. Aside from his guidance, what’s something else about Usher that inspires you, as an artist?
Just the way he moves. His engagement with people. His dance moves. Just being up close and seeing him breakdance like you can just see the energy that comes off of him, just being next to him is insane. Yeah. He’s really an industry baby. So it’s like this, this is like breathing. Performing is like breathing for him. Then I also start to see the behind-the-scenes too, the work that he does, to do what he does… The rehearsals, the breathing, everything–just to sustain, to do what he does there. There’s a lot. And a lot of people don’t see that part.
Usher is one of those artists that he could be on Broadway, how does your background in musical theater relate back to your current career?
He’s very theatrical and exuberant, which just makes me want to be just like one of the most intriguing performers. I was in Bye Bye Birdie and Godspell, and I was always the lead in those in those plays. So, I knew that I had some type of talent. I knew that I had fun. I knew that I had enjoyed this because even back then people used to always tell me, Wow, like you’re amazing! But I used to just think that they were just telling me that because I was in high school. I’m glad that these things are happening to me at 40 instead of right after high school, because I did not go forward even majoring in theater or anything because I thought people would know that game. And that’s why I stopped.
Growing up, what did you envision for yourself as a queer black man? And how would you say your current life compares to it?
Honestly, it is exactly what I thought it would be. How it unfolded is a very is very surprising, but this is a vision that I had since I can remember. I knew I would be right here. I used to grow up and tell my brother all the time that I’m gonna be a billionaire even though I didn’t even know what a billionaire was. I don’t even know where I came from. I think it was because I used to watch Batman. Yeah, the 1989 Batman and watching Bruce Wayne. I always wanted to be Bruce Wayne. I think that was my first figure of seeing success.
What are some goals you hope to achieve in the next few years?
Sell out stadiums around the world within the next five years! Also, currently working on the second EP that’s due out in Spring 2024.
So tell me a little about that. Is there any collaborations that we should be looking out for on that EP?
There are no collaborations on here. It took me a lot of collaborating to get to the point of where I am over the years. And now this is my project now to come out uniquely as me, my sound of who I am as an artist and what you’ll start to see on my live performances. That’s what you’ll start to see through this music here. And so it’s very fun, big, engaging. There’s a lot of funk, kind of soul and EDM, house. It’s just real feel-good music. It’s all just fun! I will be diving into the EDM side of music with this new EP.
Is that something new for you, or is that something you’ve always kind of been experimenting with?
No, I actually started off here. So right before I got discovered by Zaytoven and Ne-Yo, I was actually doing EDM music. And then once I started working with Zaytoven, I started to do more trap things, doing more positively over there, so you start to see me doing just different types of things. So, but now, in this project, I’m combining everything that I’ve learned over these last four years. And you’ll see it all come to life in this project.
So growing up, what were some things you were in influenced by sonically? I know you mentioned that you listened to Smokey Robinson, things like that, like old school things, but what was some like maybe new wave things that may be inspired by you to make your own music?
Back then, it was Michael Jackson. That was the first concert I’ve ever been to, was a Michael Jackson concert. I’ve never been able to really go to concerts after that, because it’s just, nothing’s been the same. Everything’s underwhelming after that. You’re not Michael Jackson, but okay. But, I mean, Beyonce can do it… I mean, I eventually will be able to do it. It’s for a whole other generation.
Who are some artists you hope that you can produce for in the near future, and what do you think you could bring to their discography that they maybe don’t have?
Honestly, it is to work with Usher. I’ve become just everything that he said would actually come to life and I’ve just become another version of Usher. But then you start to go into the story and you realize that Diddy is the one who actually did it for Usher.
Nobody knows that. Nobody knows that.
I’ve actually gotten to see Diddy and now that all makes sense. Diddy’s the reason we know Usher, not very many people know that, however, but now Usher is that person for me.
