Diggin' on DIGGA DAMe LEE

Written by Administrator

Wednesday, 24 February 2010 13:21

The charismatic draw of DIGGA’ DAMe LEE, “obvious to anyone who has ever seen him walk in a room,” is a powerful natural force which this individual has managed to harness to achieve his creative goals. DIGGA’ DAMe LEE uses the attention he has always attracted to convey to his audience the emotional and universal messages of his soul as expressed through his art. Whether as a Hip-Hop performer, a composer, or a producer, through his poetry & lyrics, as a model, or as an actor breathing his life experience into a character, DIGGA’ DAMe LEE is transmitting his emotional messages with a universal quality, connecting with the masses. As he puts it, ”the sacrifice was worth it, when I speak I spoke!”

DIGGA’ DAMe LEE was raised by his father in Columbus, Ohio. DIGGA’ DAMe LEE credits a karmic destiny which steers him to create and flourish as an artist, as well as making him a better person altogether in the face of a full range of life experiences, family relations, and neighborhood realities, which one might suspect to have produced quite another result. Rather than by force of will or due solely to his resiliency against the harsh realities of his circumstances, DIGGA’ DAMe LEE believes in destiny, which he says he's felt since his childhood. Whatever turmoil or turbulence, DIGGA’ knew he could do more than survive, that he would succeed. “Somehow I’ve always had angels around me.”

More difficult for DIGGA’ than avoiding the problems or pitfalls of his home or neighborhood was recognizing and realizing his calling, finding a place to use the gift in his soul, and educating himself on how to nurture the talents and gifts he had been given, many of which he wasn’t even aware of.

The poet in him was something he realized from childhood, with his earliest rhyming influences and inspirations coming from Dr. Seuss and Ol’ Mother Goose. He recognized the love of rhyming later, when it had evolved into a curiosity and admiration for the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Langston Hughes, and William Shakespeare, who would inspire his alias as an M.C.- “BILLY SHAKES.”

DIGGA’ freely admits that his love for women pushed him to develop his poetic gifts, rhyming and composing love poems to win the hearts of the girls. That would hardly seem necessary for him to do, in light of his stunning good looks and the athletic prowess he displayed throughout his school years in football, basketball, and track.

While at Ohio State University, he majored in Psychology and Communications, but his interests were broad, and he read a variety of texts, including philosophical and religious books, and listened to a variety of music, from Hip-Hop to Classical. DIGGA’s larger educational challenge was learning to recognize his own less obvious abilities, realizing that the music and rhymes he heard in his head were something he could and must find a way to transform into a medium that others could hear. Never having an instrument in the home or a formal music lesson, DIGGA’ DAMe LEE, simply taught himself how to express, produce, and record the music he heard.

With the suggestion and support of a sports star, DIGGA’ DAMe LEE relocated to Los Angeles--leaving Brooklyn, New York, at the end of 1998--where he instantly began performing at venues such as the Key Club, House of Blues, Atlas Bar and Grill, Luna Park, The Viper Room, and the El Ray, just to name a few. He has also opened shows for some of the biggest names in music today. The natural extension of his performance as a Hip-Hop artist in the clubs then led him to compose and perform an original song for the BET movie Rhapsody, directed by Jeff Byrd, The Horrible Dr. Bones, MTV’s Lyricist Lounge, WB’s X-Man cartoon, and the blockbuster Scary Movie 3.

Soon after coming to L.A., DIGGA’ was approached by various producers, which led to acting roles, including a cameo performance in the feature film The Horrible Dr. Bones and a starring role in the MTV pilot Lyricist Lounge, an innovative variety show (i.e. In Living Color meets Yo MTV Raps.) DIGGA’ DAMe LEE will soon appear in multiple videos and commercials.

Whether witnessing him perform his Hip-Hop songs, feeling the emotion created by his music, absorbing the themes of his insightful lyrics, or watching him breathe life into a character in film, fans can see that DIGGA’ DAMe LEE has learned to translate the poetry of his soul into a variety of mediums in order to reach his goal of universally communicating and connecting with everyone who is receptive.

As DIGGA’ DAMe LEE is first to say: “I’m not just interested in speaking to just one group or one community, because everyone can relate to pain and love and the desire for happiness."

Last Updated on Wednesday, 24 February 2010 15:17

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