Walnut, California rapper David May presents “Black Box”, his new single produced by Lake Indigo. In 2012 Black Cloud released David’s debut album The Lifestyle Of A Dream Chaser and performed alongside Pac Div, Curren$y and joined The Road To Paid Dues Tour with Murs and Fashawn before following up with 2014’s Video 94 EP (watch the music video for “Store Runs”). Since then David has released tracks with Fashawn and Trizz as well as several collaborations with California producer Huss (stream “That’s Crazy”), alongside his work as a member of the One Step Ahead collective. “I wrote this song after coming back from a writer’s block,” says David about his new single. “I had a child, my relationship crashed and burned. My whole life was in pieces. I had to sift through the mess and find what was me. In airplane crashes they call the last recordings a ‘black box’. This song is a metaphor for those recordings. It’s a look at where I was prior to my life taking a turn. And in turn familiarizing myself with that part of me again. It’s go time, baby.”
How did you connect with Lake Indigo?
I came across Lake Indigo on traktrain while I was looking for new beats. His beat came up and I was really feeling it. It sounded raw, and wide open. I went to his page and found a few beats I liked. The beat was called Indiana Jones and that was the beginning of my comeback as an artist.
Do you guys record in person? How did the track come together?
Nah man, I’ve never even met Lake Indigo in person Haha. Strictly an online relationship at this point. That beat really just clicked in my head for me and I imagined myself walking out onto a field.. a court… a fuckin gladiator match whatever. This beat was playing and I started saying some wild shit. It was really easy to write… the longest part was probably the recording. I wanted it to be the perfect comeback so I redid the verses 50 times probably. It’s funny cause I didn’t even end up releasing this song first as I had initially planned. I dropped a few other singles. I’m happy the way everything turned out. I sent Lake Indigo the track and the thought it was dope. I got a few more songs to his beats that I don’t even know if he’s heard yet, I just cut the check. A lot more introspective on those joints forsure.
You’ve done a lot of touring. How do you prepare for a show?
Well honestly I haven’t toured and been on the show circuit for a while. I recently started getting back into it. Preparation is a lot different for me now. I used to be so comfortable to the point it led to complacency even. Just smoked a gang of weed then hit the stage. These days I rehearse the day before make sure I’m happy with my setlist… I also wait till after the performance to smoke. I’ll take a shot of whiskey to get me a little loose beforehand. Just go out there and have fun you know?
You’ve been through a lot recently, which propelled you to write “Black Box”. How did you come back from all that?
It took a long time to come back from everything. I had got out of a long relationship with my daughter’s mother and it changed the entire dynamic of my life. I had honestly put music on the back burner to focus on fatherhood… so when that chapter had come to an end I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to get back into music but it had been years. I had to make up for lost time, but I had to be smart about everything the second time around. I got a new job to earn some money and I really started investing in my craft. I treated my music like a brand and was much more tactful this time around. I learned a lot about being able to step back and give an honest assessment of a situation. It helped for my development of self as well as for development of my brand. I felt like I had a plan in place, and I wasn’t wandering around aimlessly hoping I’d end up somewhere. it felt really good to take control of my life and my career.
Who’s your dream producer and why?
That’s really tough. Growing up it was always Kanye. But like 808s and earlier ‘Ye. He’s evolved so much and is trying so many new things that you never know what you’re gonna get ha… Alchemist would be really fucking dope too honestly.
Shoutouts?
Shoutouts to the whole squad.. OSA… Hussle House …. gang gang.
“Black Box” on Spotify | Soundcloud | Youtube
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