Conversations: The Heart is an Eye - D(M)V to Dallas ft. WeslyNorth
In 2019, while finalizing an episode for the docu-series I created, Day With Dallas, I was in need of some music to include and wanted to use the tunes of a local artist. My friend and collaborator, DFW Suave, introduced me to local artist Wesley under the name Wslysaint.
Wesly and I chopped it up and I was able to use one of his unreleased songs as the outro music for the second episode of Day With Dallas.
We’ve kept in touch throughout the years and I’ve always been excited about his work. He released new music in 2019 and a deeper admiration of his work was fueled by the release of his song, Deep Sleep.
As time passed, I joined his fanbase in anticipation of his new EP which was released in June 2021, The Heart is an Eye.
On the day of the release, we met at a coffee shop in downtown Dallas. We discussed his journey to Dallas, his early roots, inspiration and more over an iced matcha latte and iced dirty chai. 🥂🥂
The album has circulated for the past two months and Wesly continues breaking new self-fulfilled streaming records showing the rise of an artist with great potential.
This interview is the first of many to come for this rising star.
WESLY NORTH
Imani: Are you from Dallas?
Wesley: I’m from the East Coast. I’m from a small city in Maryland called Salisbury.
I: When did you move to Dallas?
W: About four years ago in 2017. I lived in Cali for six years. Before that, I lived in Washington, D.C. I just wanted to get out and explore.
I: What brought you to Dallas?
W: My fiancé and I got pregnant while we were living in Los Angeles. She’s from here and we wanted to raise our child around her family in the South for the first two years.
I: Did the jobs or culture also attract you to Dallas? What attracted you to stay here past the initial two years?
W: I like Dallas. I like the culture. It’s still growing. There’s peace and quiet here too. It’s a lot more chill than the city. I miss the city, but Dallas is a good break from it. I’ve been able to grow here and learn more about myself out here.
I: Why did you change your artist name — what is the significance of Wesly?
W: My real name is William. I was making music in college with my friend Tenni and came up with the name Willy Wesly one day popped out of nowhere. I liked the way it sounded and I put out a lot of music as Willy Wesly. I even did music with Warner Bros. But, I kind of fell out of love with hip hop. I hate to say that, but I just stopped. I just wanted a new slate.
I: What happened to three singles you put out in 2019?
W: Under WslySaint, I didn’t really like that name. I wanted to give a new introduction to the music world since my relationship changed with my previous producers.
I: Why did you keep the old name and songs on Spotify? Are you unable to rename? There’s two versions right now.
W: I want to see what happens. I’m optimistic and if WslySaint gains more fans — I can always go back to that name.
I: Who would you say are your musical influences?
W: Right now, Amir Obè, Eli Sostre and Johan Lenox too — he's crazy!
I: Do these artists have anything in common with their sound?
W: They’re rappers, but they do rap melodies. I love the dark core they chose to have in their songs. It’s a dark, grunted sound that I love.
I: That’s cool. I definitely hear this in Deep Sleep. It’s dark but upbeat and harmonious in its own way.
W: I just really like dark music with a lot of pianos. All my friends are into hip hop and they can’t understand why I love this dark, weird music. I just love it. These rappers sing in the shower. They’re not gonna do it on a track, but I’m gonna do it.
I: Did you ever listen to Tyler the Creator back in 2010? Is he an influence?
W: Yeah, Tyler’s in there somewhere. I’m still new. I’m still growing.
I: Overall, who has influenced what your want for yourself in the future?
W: Right now I’m studying interviews and documentaries of my favorite artists. I don’t necessarily want to be like them, but I know I want the whole world to hear what I’ve been working on. I’ve always wanted to make music since I was a kid. My dad was a local DJ and my mom was in the choir. I always wanted to do what my mom did like singing on stage. My mom is probably my biggest influence. Just watching people cry when my mom would sing. I’ve always wanted that.
I: What was the significance of the excerpt on the first song of the EP, Fall Like That?
W: It’s a violent song that I wanted to make it. I wanted the listener to build their own emotions and feelings about it. I was spitting everything that came to mind, honestly. Kuwuu the Sensei — that’s my cousin reciting the excerpt at the end. He’s a deep dude. Initially, I told him to come in and just say something on the song. He took it far left and I was like ‘Alright, I love it. We’ll keep it.’
I: What’s the artistry behind your vocal changes and using autotune?
W: There’s a combination of a few things including autotune that go into changing the way I sound. As an artist, I want to change my voice a lot. I want to increase the pitch next time and just go crazy with my vocals as much as possible.
I: Like Kendrick Lamar?
W: I was inspired by Collin Munroe — He came out on the scene in 2010. He was pop, but hip hop and would play with his voice a lot.
I: Where’s he from?
W: I’m not sure, but he did some stuff with Wale. His music came out in 2010/2011 and was way ahead of its time.
I: I’m a huge fan of album artwork. It can add another element to the music and the overall theme. What was the vision behind your album artwork? Who’s the artist?
W: The album art was created by my homie from Russia @vandal2life! I basically told him the title of the EP and he sent this image back in 20 minutes and the rest is history.
I: That’s so cool! Is there anyone you want to shout out and give thanks to for helping your project come together?
W: The one person I’m going to shout out is @Dec6teen (Destini) — she basically co-wrote and added additional vocals to the whole project. She helped me put the tracks in order, select beats and overall played a huge part! She’ll be putting a project out soon executive produced by me! It’d going to be insane.
I: It’s always cool hearing about talented female producers being involved with iconic work. Shout out to her for sure.
I: Now that you’ve released the EP — what’s next?
W: Right now, I’m working on another EP to put out this year. I’m also shooting some videos! I’ve been very, very busy. A lot is coming soon!
Check out The Heart is an Eye - OUT NOW
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