Dad Bodi is an independent artist looking to “get [his] bread and cater to [his] fanbase” above all else. Still undecided about involvement with major record labels, Bodi is a rapper that claims the space of unsigned artists with pride.
“I’m not trying to be Drake or nothing like that,” the 26-year-old rapper from Raleigh, North Carolina said.
“I pretty much put myself into my music,” the up-and-coming artist said, and he won’t stop until he’s at the top of his game on his own terms.
Whether you’ve heard the Bodi essentials from “Bodi and Friends” to “Credit Card,” or you’ve only just opened the vault to more hidden gems like “Coulda Been,” Dad Bodi is a rapper with trajectory.
The artist started the ‘Bodi brand’ after realizing he needed “a name that was gonna stick out.” His signature ski mask set up and the Dad Bodi name were Bodi’s first steps in carving out his place in the rap game.
Level after level, the rapper has started to make his mark on the music scene. “I would tell myself to get a home studio earlier,” the artist said with a smirk.
Thinking back on it, Dad Bodi was keen to emphasize how important it is to take care of your music – to put in what you want to get out.
From starting off as “damn-near like a music nerd,” to becoming a hotshot SoundCloud rapper and verified Spotify artist with almost 24,000 monthly listeners, Dad Bodi takes pride in his evolution as an artist.
The further Dad Bodi gets into his groove, the more renowned the evasive and hard ski mask-bound image is starting to become.
Dad Bodi’s work to date
So far, the rapper has dropped three albums and two EPs, – with a variety of singles – allowing his ability to produce work with quality and quantity to speak for itself.
His latest work “Hold It Down” has over 2000 plays already on Spotify, whilst his other recent drop “Fix It” really stood out to him with a distinct “plug-type sound.”
Both releases resemble just how confident the rapper is in what his work is all about. “I definitely feel like I have a signature sound, it’s kinda more like a laid-back trap,” he said when describing the beats and flow that have that quintessential Dad Bodi vibe.
The trap musician “gravitate[s] towards style” and has a clear confidence in what works for him as both an artist and an individual.
Dad Bodi owes a lot of his production credits to underground producer Icy Twat, and is a big fan of other producers like Cardo Got Wings and Pi’erre Bourne – “that’s the type of beat I am tryna rap on,” said Dad Bodi.
Though the rapper backs himself and his talents regardless of external help and production, describing himself as “pretty consistent [… and] prolific” in his field.
The visual identity Dad Bodi has engineered for himself comes across in his music videos and social media presence.
From humble beginnings, as someone who started off virtually clueless to what the rap scene was all about, to an identifiable musician with a recognizable aesthetic of attitude and reverence for where it all started for the North Carolina native.
Bodi’s collective and potential NFTs
Back in 2018, Bodi formed a “loose collective” of TommyxBoi and himself called ‘Champagne Club.’
This acted as a launching pad for Dad Bodi’s career, as “there’s strength in numbers” the artist said. ‘Champagne Club’ allowed him to reach new audiences for his beats, and have new platforms where he could express himself, by pushing past the boundaries of his immediate circles.
This collective has been a major turning point for the artist in many ways, especially with how ‘Champagne Club’ collaborator and high school friend TommyxBoi “damn near taught [Bodi] how to rap.”
The musician is excited to take his collection even further by eventually starting his own label, to facilitate the careers of other like-minded artists new to the scene just like he was back in 2018.
Bodi also talked to us about his future steps as an artist through his potential for involvement with NFTs going forward. “I gotta do my research before I just jump into it,” Dad Bodi said.
Love for that Bodi
“I get a lot of love,” Bodi said as he reflected on the outpouring of appreciation and love he gets on social media.
With at least one to two DMs every day and over 1000 followers on Instagram, the rapper smiled saying “it’s really genuine, and they’ll just be quoting the lyrics to me.”
All his viewers and fans tune in from across the globe, with supporters from across America, reaching states like Wisconsin, to international fanbases in places like Italy and South Africa – “they’re tuning in from everywhere man,” said Dad Bodi.
We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the masked maverick next.