Adrian Dzvuke on Why We Need to Stop Pigeonholing Black Artists
It’s simple: Adrian Dzvuke cannot be stopped.
Despite the devastating impact the coronavirus pandemic had on the music industry during 2020, the Perth-based solo artist still managed to have one hell of a year.
As Adrian tells me when we meet up for a chat, he felt he was "kind of the odd one out."
"Last year was probably my biggest year I’ve had so far," he says.
"I had the San Cisco tour and I sold out my single launch. I don’t know how that happened."
Faced with a lack of live shows and way more time on his hands, the singer continued to explore his sound and released a string of hit singles, including the WAM-award winning track "Bad Like Ri Ri", and the MTV Australia-featured "Feelin’ Myself".
Adrian has only continued to build on that momentum this year, with guest appearances on new tunes by Supathick and Grace Sanders. The performer also recently took home the 2021 WAM Award for Best Hip Hop Act just last month.
Although, as the Zimbabwe-born artist explains, he doesn’t necessarily think that he should have been nominated in the hip hop category, considering he largely makes pop music.
"I really appreciate the award and everything, but I wouldn’t call myself a hip hop artist," he says.
"I definitely feel like if I was white and made the music that I make, I would not be considered a hip hop artist.
"Personally, I feel like I make pop music. I’d say everything that I’ve released like ‘Darling’ and ‘Bad Like Ri Ri’ is afro-influenced pop."
As Adrian highlights, it’s important to continue having conversations about pigeonholing BIPOC artists. He points out how Tyler, The Creator criticised the Grammys for relegating black artists to rap and urban categories after winning Best Rap Album for his 2019 release, IGOR.
The American artist’s message resonated with Adrian, who won the 2020 WAM Award for Song of the Year in the Urban/Hip Hop category; a category that has since been removed from the annual awards ceremony, based on criticism tied to the ‘urban’ genre.
"You never see white people in urban categories," he says.
"Those younger artists that are looking up to me—if there are any—should see me speaking on these things. They shouldn’t be boxed because of what they look like."
Adrian believes that being restricted by hip hop and R&B expectations has made him more cautious of dipping his toes into other genres.
"I want to make whatever I want to make because I feel like making it," he says.
"But you start internalising pigeonholing subconsciously. You’re like, ‘There’s no one like me winning Best Pop Artist, so I have to be stuck in this R&B and Afrobeat zone.'"
Despite this, Adrian has experimented with his sound on his upcoming EP, which is slated for release later this year. The first single “Take Your Time” is set to land on 23 April.
"The new stuff is less of what people know of me and more of me doing different things," he says.
"It still has that old flavour though. There’s still a lot of me in there."
Adrian—who is scheduled to perform at Youth Week WA’s KickstART Festival Amphitheater Closing Party—reckons it’s important for young people to know that you don’t have to head to university or undertake a traditional career pathway to be successful.
"I deferred uni for the whole of 2019. I had to focus on what I wanted to do," he says.
"I think the KickstART Festival is really important for young people to see what kind of things they can do. It’s good to show them that there are other options in life.
"When I was younger, I always felt bad for wanting to do music. I didn’t know I’d be able to play some of the stages that I’ve played now."
Having had such a wildly successful year, Adrian acknowledges that he’s feeling some level of pressure to keep creating bops. However, he’s grateful to be following his passion.
"You can’t really help but want to keep the momentum going. I like being in the studio, I like creating," he says.
"It’s internal pressure for me to keep this going, because ultimately this is what I want to do with my life."
Header Image: Supplied
