A PIECE OF WERK: DARIUS THE BARBARIAN ON UNLEASHING AUTHENTICITY AND BOLDNESS IN MUSIC

PHOTOS BY Martina Thalhofer ★ WORDS BY Uju Ike

Photo By: Martina Thalhofer

In a world where authenticity often feels like a buzzword, Darius The Barbarian stands out as a beacon of originality and fearlessness. Recently, I had the opportunity to delve into the mind of this boundary-pushing musician whose alter ego, Darius The Barbarian, encapsulates a bold, cutthroat spirit that challenges the conventional limits of artistry. From his EP MOUTHWERK to his brand new LP Body Gospel, Darius shares his journey, creative process, and the essence of being unapologetically true to oneself. In this candid interview, he offers advice to Black creatives worldwide and reveals the depth of his multifaceted persona that transcends music.

Uju: What is one piece of advice that you want to give to Black creatives WORLDWIDE?

Darius: I feel like saying “Be authentically yourself” is so cliche. Everybody says that; that’s the basis. But believe in your vision and be consistent with it. That’s the key to any creative that wants to take it seriously. Believe in your vision, be consistent, believe in yourself, and your craft. Don’t really take in other people’s opinions. I would say that’s my main thing. Because they’re not always gonna see that vision. And that’s okay!

Absolutely. I love that answer. And it’s like– just because they don’t see it doesn’t mean someone else won’t.
Exactly! There you go. That’s exactly how I feel.

When I first listened to your latest EP, it felt like I knew exactly who you were and your exact target audience. Where do you pull inspiration from and how did you manage to conduct such a solid sound and brand?

Interesting. Darius The Barbarian is actually my realtime alter ego, ya’know? So Darius The Barbarian is everything that I would want to do and would want to hear. It’s very bold and cutthroat; my lyrics and just me in general. That’s what the “Barbarian” stands for. At the end of the day, the reasoning behind the music is matching the energy. I want you to be free, be bold, and be yourself. I want you to really like–be your alter ego.

I honestly think one of the biggest parts of your charm is your authenticity.

Thank you! That’s really sweet of you. It’s hard. Hard in the sense of executing.

I mean it takes a level of vulnerability.

Yeah! It does take a lot of vulnerability. And having the courage to execute the vision. A lot of my personas and characters I do through Darius The Barbarian, whether it’s on TikTok or through music, it’s always a very cutthroat, interesting character. I just try to execute it in the correct way.

Yeah, absolutely. One of my questions was “How’d you come up with your stage name?” but I love the fact that we are already hitting on that as we are talking about your artistry. It really shows how connected your art and persona is.

Mhm, yup.

In regard to your released discography, your musical style has undergone quite a bit of changes from your first single to your latest EP, MOUTHWERK. Can you speak to your choice of letting the beats in your music speak more than your words?

Yeahhh. I have to keep in mind that my key point in the music I make is experience. So whenever someone hears my songs, I don't want the lyrics to overpower the music and I also don’t want the production to overpower what I’m saying. So many times, I can be very minimal with what I’m saying and the beat can be telling the story for me. And vice versa. The beat can be very minimal but my lyrics and the texture of my voice can be the storytelling, as well. I’ve evolved so much since my first single compared to MOUTHWERK. Oh my God, y’know what’s so interesting is the person I made MOUTHWERK with is one of the people who I discovered online who I looked up to when I was making my first single.

Oh, wow!

Yeah! So it’s a real full circle moment for me.

How does your creative process look? I’m sure it’s changed from when lyricism was the heart of your music but what does it look like now? Where do you start? I’m sure this is a loaded question, but take us through the process.

A lot of the music reflects where I was and where my headspace was in my life at that moment, y’know? So if I’m in a very emotional stage, I tend to sing a bit more. And whenever I’m in my hustling and hungry stage, I rap much more. I connect with the producers I work with based off of their music. All of the people I work with, I’m a fan of their music–literally. So whenever we work together and they send me stuff, I’m already feeling it and seeing the vision. The story conjures up in my head and I think about the different ways I want to portray this character. And who is the character? Because Darius The Barbarian is multiple people, y’know? And you’ll hear it. Sometimes you’ll hear a more softy voice like this. And then you’ll hear a more raspy voice like this.

*laughs*

It’s really all about where I am in the story that I’m telling. It’s interesting, it’s very interesting.

There’s a fairly strong presence of sexuality in your music, particularly with your upcoming LP, Body Gospel. Can you speak to your creative direction of using sex in your branding?

Yeah. So like I said before my music is about connecting and giving you the experience. And I use myself as a visual example to connect the listener to the full experience of what I’m saying in the music. Sexuality, sex, attraction, desire; it is so boxed and conformed in our society today. And Body Gospel is about openness and fully engaging your desires and all that good stuff. Yeah, it’s very sex positive–for sure.

How do you see your brand evolving in the coming months?

My brand is so versatile–that’s the thing. And keeping up with the versatility is crazy. But I see it evolving into so many different things. It just all trickles down to the brand of Darius The Barbarian in the end. Even the next projects that I do, whether it be on TV or in a magazine, it’s all still going to be the same person, brand, and vision. And that’s big, bold Darius The Barbarian–limitless. Pure limitless. That’s the word for it.

Well speaking to this multi-dimensional character that is Darius The Barbarian, one of the traits that I picked in your artistry and brand is humor. It seems to be a relatively significant part of your artistry; particularly with some of your music videos. Where do you think you got this sense of humor and flippancy from?

Yeah! *laughs* A lot of it comes from the natural creativity I see in my head. The humor about it is I want you to laugh. Subconsciously, I kinda want my listeners to laugh and feel all types of emotions. But also, that’s me as a person. I’ve always been extremely humorous and goofy. But that’s part of the vision. The vision isn’t just “sexy” or “checkin’ a bitch.” I want you to come and have a good time. I want you to get the full experience of Darius.

Yeah, absolutely. And that’s one of the things that make you feel so personable.

Mhm! For sure.

And to circle back a little, how has your upbringing fostered, cultivated, and shaped this character that is Darius The Barbarian? How much do you have to thank for your upbringing to your artistry now?

Yeah! That’s so real; such a good question. Subconsciously, I almost feel like I’m the person that I wanted to see and look up to growing up. I don’t even want to see myself as a queer figure because I don’t limit myself to being queer. But we’re the same age so you know we didn’t have an openly expressive butch queen, y’know? And it’s not just music that I’m into; it’s TV, film, etc. And I was to be that limitless character that I’ve always dreamed of–while successfully doing so. I want to be a figure for our upcoming generations that shows you can do whatever you want to do and you can also be successful in doing so.

Funny enough, my next question was going to be “Is it safe to say your past self would be proud of your present self?” I’m assuming the answer is yes!

Oh, my God. Yeah, for sure. I have decades of work to continue to put in but I would be extremely proud of the things I’ve done and the risks I’ve taken. And I’m not even where I want to be yet so we’ll see.

Who do you want your music to reach and why?

Okay, good question. What are those people called? Wanderlusters, right? People who want something more out of life. People who are willing to expand their mind to receive all the fruits that this life has to offer. And it doesn't have to be confined by what we’re being fed by mainstream media or even just mainstream typical shit. My music is for the person that wants to hear and experience something different; someone who wants to “feel the captain.” I describe my music like being in a ship and I’m the captain. And I want everyone on the ship to feel what I feel. And that’s pure life and energy. Limitless–no judgement; just being yourself in an open space where you’re celebrated just for being you. That’s my audience.

What would you like to see more of in today’s music? What would you say is lacking in today’s musical landscape?

I feel like we’ve settled. I feel like when it comes to the talented and creative artists, we truly only have a few left. The people who make their creative visual match with their creative word techniques and rhyme schemes. We’ve really steered away from that and I definitely want to see that again. I really miss those Missy Elliot days; the days when the music videos were really like…wow.

In a few sentences, why should we care about Darius The Barbarian?

Because he’s here to stay. I’m here to shake the table in everything I do. I’m the IT factor; the vision. It’s either you see or you don’t. But 9 times outta ten, you’ll see it. I’m not really here for the glitz and glam of it; I’m here to serve my purpose.

And what’s next for you in your creative journey?

I’m about to release a new LP called Body Gospel. It’s coming out of Italy on July 19th. Then after that, I’m releasing a new project out of Germany that’s coming out in August… fingers crossed.

*laughs*

And I’m gonna wrap it up with a world tour. I’m going to India, Germany; a couple other places. And there’s more creative projects in the works too but we’ll just keep it at that.

*laughs* Fair enough. Last question. How can we create a space for representation, inclusivity, and diversity of Black / POC creatives in fashion, art, music, and online WORLDWIDE?

Ouu, good question. I think first we need to dive into ourselves; allow ourselves to be more open and understand what’s holding us back from celebrating all of these artists that we stray away from due to stigmatization.

Mm, fair point. Thank you so much for your time and doing this interview for WORLDWIDE!

Thank you! The pleasure’s mine!

Photo By: Martina Thalhofer