Why CSI rapper believes success comes from embracing every side of who you are
By K. Nieves
Demori Pierre-Louis, better known as D-MO Smooth (Demori’s Main Objective: To Be Smooth), entered the studio and pulled out his Roc Nation notebook, turning pages of lyrics to record the next song for his mixtape. Though Louis’ creative process comes easy now, it was not always that way. The up-and-coming rapper reflects on code-switching, authenticity, and the lessons that shaped his artistry.
“My real main objective is to spread the culture through music,” said Louis. “I want to show people that you can be an intellectual rapper. A lot of boys take the gangster route, but if they applied themselves intellectually, they could do big things.”
Attending the predominantly white, upper-class St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School presented certain challenges for the Stapleton-raised rapper, who described his experience being the only black kid in his grade as a culture shock. Louis felt he had to downplay how he naturally spoke and reduce his use of AAVE (African American Vernacular English) in order to be accepted by his peers who came from more posh upbringings. Though done out of what felt like necessity, suppressing his identity had a detrimental impact on his music.
“I regret dumbing down my blackness and forgetting my artistry,” said Louis. “I felt like I was boxed in due to my environment and didn’t fit in anywhere. I was becoming too white for my hometown, but too black for the people at school.”
Louis explained that his classmates’ mindsets were rooted in ignorance and genuine lack of self-awareness. They would ask to touch his hair when he had waves, and they did not know anything about police brutality or commuting by bus to school. Louis felt he had to acclimate to his peers’ lifestyles, which had such a stark dichotomy to his own true identity, and thus forced his artistry to suffer.
Code-switching, adjusting one’s speech or behavior to conform to certain social norms, is unfortunately a common practice for many black individuals. But only when Louis began to embrace his identity and own his blackness did his creativity as an artist really begin to flourish.
Louis names Lil Wayne, J. Cole, and Central Cee as some of his primary musical influences. His style takes inspiration from trap, melodic rap, afrobeats, and even Gospel music, with lyrical content ranging anywhere from expressing mental health struggles, saving the world, or flexing about girls.
Now, in the spirit of remaining authentic and embracing where he came from, Louis is preparing an upcoming Liberian-influenced project under the D-MO Smooth moniker titled The Mizzy Tapes, slated for release this July. He aims to push boundaries with this release, maintaining the belief that art is meant to promote discussion and divide people – you need to have some haters in order to prove that you are doing something different and breaking barriers. Louis asserts that from this point forward, D-MO Smooth is going to approach everything he tackles with 100 percent conviction, and advises others to follow his lead.
“Otherwise,” said Louis. “Why are you doing it?”
