Interview with Dre the Monarch

Towards the end of May I got on the phone with the ever talented (and surprisingly soft spoken) Dre the Monarch to talk music, inspiration and his plans for the future.

How did you come up with your stage name?

D: Ooh, well the Dre thing...there was someone in school, one of my friends, who called me Dre. It was actually a really long process, I changed the name a lot of times. I just stuck with Dre, then I thought "Okay I have to add something because there's already Dr Dre", so to differentiate myself I added 'the Monarch'. I guess it's a word that people don't necessarily use a lot, so I thought it'd be kinda cool to use.

Would you put yourself in a particular genre of music?

D: Yes, definitely hip-hop.

Cool, so what made you decide to start rapping?

D: It was just how interesting the genre was to me. So, I was kinda introduced to it late - I was never really big on listening to music until I was like 16. But then, I don't know, it just got me so into it. Whenever I listened to rap I always got a lot of energy. Some of the people I listen to...the way they put their words together is just so smart. It's just so...good. So I felt like I should start doing it too, to see if I'd be good.

What's your favourite song of yours and what's the story behind it?

D: It's definitely 'imitate' [click here to listen on SoundCloud]. When I make songs I have a problem with listening back to them. I usually don't. Like I can't listen to my songs without cringing or hiding my face. I don't know. But that song...for some reason, it's really nice for me to listen to. I like the way it was put together and everything. I really like some of the things I said, because they were genuine feelings that I've had for a while.

Who are your top 3 artists of all time and why?

D: Number one is Kaseem Ryan [aka KA]. He's not very well known. He's actually not even a full time rapper, he's a firefighter but he raps as a side thing. But I think he's top because of how serious he is when he gets into it. All his albums have different concepts. Like in one album, he uses chess pieces to talk about how his life is and there a Greek mythology one...there's even one referencing the Bible called the Descendants of Cain. So I just like how vivid his imagery is. Every single line is important. There are no wasted lines.

My second best is J Cole, not because I necessarily think he's the best, but because listening to him introduced me to so many other artists. That's one of the reasons I started listening to more hip-hop. My third best artist of all time is Harry Styles because he's just amazing.

Good answer. So what does your music tell us about you as a person? How much does your music reflect who you are?

D: Completely. I say everything in my music that I don't say to people face to face. It's very hard for me to express my feelings to people because I'm afraid of being judged by them. But when I'm writing music, I'm alone so I can express everything I want to express. I try not to lie in my music.

Who would you say is your favourite OG rapper?

D: Nas. Nas is a poet. He inspired J Cole completely. And also, he got started really early. Like his first album, Illmatic, he [started writing and recording] when he was 17, and it's still regarded as one of the hip-hop classics.

So what's been your favourite album of 2020 so far?

D: To be honest, I'm really slow to listen to new music, so I really haven't listened to many albums that came out this year. I guess my favourite would be Descendants of Cain by Kaseem Ryan [Ka]. As I was saying before, he talks about his life using metaphors relating to other stories. So he's from New York, a place with lots of violence, and he basically talks about the violence in the context of Cain killing his brother Abel, and how the cycle of violence has continued into present day New York.

Oh I see. So there's a lot of biblical imagery in that album.

D: Yeah. I actually bought the album. I buy albums I like.

What does music mean to you?

Dre: To me, music is a kind of self-expression. You just talk about the things you think about , how you feel...even things you like. Some people don't necessarily talk about how they feel but they talk about the things they buy, the things they do...just their lives in general.

Do you have any advice for anyone that wants to get into music?

D: I guess the first thing is that you shouldn't expect to be good coming in. When you start, you're probably going to suck. Like that's just how it is. It's something you've never done before, so you just have to keep working at it. So you try again and keep working, and after a while you'll see the growth.

Alright, so last question: can we expect anything from you in the near future?

D: Definitely. Summer's coming up, and since we're in quarantine, I have a lot of time to just think and make different things. I'm definitely going to try and work with other artists this summer, that's for sure.

Interview done and written by Oluwadara Apampa

*This interview has been edited for clarity.

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Instagram: chideraokoli183

SoundCloud: dre, the monarch