BIG DANI
THE MELBOURNE BASED BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST KNOWN AS BIG DANI COULDN’T GRACE THE PAGES OF R&B AND HIPHOP EARLY IN HIS LIFE BUT HE HAS ACHIEVED WHAT HE HAS ALWAYS WANTED AND HAS COME A LONG WAY FROM JUST WRITING SONGS AT THE AGE OF 10. HE HAS ALWAYS WANTED TO ACHIEVE THE LIFE LONG GOAL OF GETTING SIGNED TO A RECORD LABEL AND THROUGH HIS EXPERIENCE AS AN ARTIST, HE HAS FINALLY MADE THAT DREAM COME TRUE IN SIGNING WITH WILLIE WAGTAIL RECORDS. WILLIE WAGTAIL RECORDS IS AN INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL BASED IN AUSTRALIA. BIG DANI HAS SO FAR ACKNOWLEDGED THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE HELPED SHAPE HIM INTO THE R&B SINGER/RAPPER ARTIST THAT YOU KNOW TODAY. HE IS KNOWN FOR HIS MELODIC CHORUSES WITH SLICK RHYMES OVER AWESOME STYLE BEATS. HE HAS ALSO COLLABORATED WITH TOP NOTCH ARTISTS INCLUDING TORRES GREEN AND ALSO AUSTRALIAN/WESTERN ARRERNTE/LURITJA WOMAN FROM AWABAKAL COUNTRY JESSICA LA JUST TO NAME A FEW.
BIG DANI STARTED WRITING RAPS/POETRY FROM THE EARLY AGE OF 10 AND HAD ALWAYS DEDICATED HIMSELF TO WRITING, WHETHER IT WAS SHORT STORIES OR POETRY OR EVEN SHORT SCRIPTS, IT’S NO QUESTION, BIG DANI LOVES TO WRITE. BORN AND RAISED IN SAMOA FROM A YOUNG AGE AND THEN EVENTUALLY RESIDING IN NEW ZEALAND, BIG DANI HAD A PASSION FOR WRITING AND IT WAS AT 5 YEARS WHILE ATTENDING HIS LOCAL CHURCH, AND AT THE ADVICE OF THE LEADING CHOIR REPRESENTATIVE, WAS ASKED TO JOIN THE CHOIR IN WHICH HE DID AND OBTAINED THE NICKNAME (SMOOTH) BECAUSE OF HIS SMOOTH VOCAL HARMONIES. AT THE EARLY AGE OF 7-12 HE HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN HIS CHURCH CHOIR AND WAS DEVOTED TO CHURCH AND SINGING. BIG DANI HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN A FEW SINGING GROUPS IN NEW ZEALAND. ONE GROUP HE WAS IN CALLED (3RD WAVE) WHICH CONSISTED OF 3 GUYS FROM OTARA, SOUTH AUCKLAND, (JOSEPH, PETER AND DANIEL) ALMOST GOT SIGNED WITH LIL’ CHIEF RECORDS BUT ENDED UP DISBANDING WHEN ONE OF THE MEMBERS GOT ARRESTED AND CHARGED. HE WAS
ALSO INVOLVED IN DBK (A RAP GROUP OF 3 MEMBERS CONSISTING OF DANIEL, BRENDON AND KORINTH. THE FIRST LETTER OF THIER NAMES TO FORM THE GROUP DBK) FORWARD 8 YEARS LATER DANIEL MOVED TO AUSTRALIA FROM NEW ZEALAND AND HAD BEEN LIVING IN BRISBANE, WHERE, HE DECIDED TO MAKE A MOVE TO MELBOURNE TO FURTHER HIS MUSIC CAREER AFTER HEARING ADVICE FROM A FEW FRIENDS THAT THE MUSIC SCENE IN MELBOURNE WAS BOOMING AND THAT HE WOULD BE ABLE TO GET SIGNED TO A RECORD LABEL IN MELBOURNE. IT WAS HERE HE MET TJIMBA AND THE YUNG WARRIORS AND ALSO FELLOW RAPPER AND R&B ARTIST CASEY ATKINSON ALSO KNOWN AS CAPPA AK. WHILE CONTINUING TO MAKE MUSIC TOGETHER, UNFORTUNATE EVENTS CAME WHICH LANDED DANIEL IN PRISON BUT HE DIDN NOT LET THIS BREAK HIM BUT EVENTUALLY MOTIVATED DANIEL TO CONTINUE FORWARD WITH HIS MUSIC AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HE DID. UNDER THE PSEUDONYM (JUSTASTA) HE SET OUT TO MAKE HIS DREAM COME TRUE. ALTHOUGH HE MOVED TO MELBOURNE, HE LATER DISCOVERED THAT IT WASN’T AS EASY AS HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE AND HAS STATED THAT “ IF IT WASN’T FOR HIS COMMITMENT AND DEDICATION,
HE WOULDB’T BE WHERE HE IS NOW.” WHILE IN MELBOURNE AND PERFORMING AT A FEW UNDERGROUND RAP SHOWS AND FREESTYLING EVERYWHERE HE WENT, PEOPLE STARTED ACKNOWLEDGING HIM AS A FRESH NEW UPCOMING RAPPER. WHEN HE USE TO FREESTYLE, PEOPLE STARTED CALLING HIM BIG D, AND THEN AFTER A WHILE, IT STUCK SO HE LATER CHANGED HIS STAGE NAME FROM JUSTASTA TO BIG DANI BECAUSE “IT JUST RESONATED WITH PEOPLE HE STATES.” THROUGH MUSIC CONNECTIONS BIG DANI ENDED UP SIGNING TO WILLIE WAGTAIL RECORDS AND IT WAS HERE THAT HIS STORY STARTS WHILE CONTINUING TO MAKE GOOD MUSIC. WHETHER IT’S CHRISTIAN HIP HOP OR R&B VOCALS OVER FRESH TUNED STYLED BEATS OR JUST A SIMPLE DOWN TO EARTH RAP, IT’S NO DOUBT THAT BIG DANI IS NOW GRACING THE PAGES OF R&B AND HIP HOP. HE CREDITS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS HIS INSPIRATION AND HE STATES HE WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE GREAT MUSIC FOR FANS, FOR HIMSELF AND FOR GOD.