Faith, Feelings and Finding Her Sound: Welcome to Danni Baylor’s World (Interview)

"it really is a God thing you know, because I couldn’t have put this thing together myself."

Destination, Washington D.C. - known for power, politics and soon, R&B singer-songwriter Danni Baylor. Inspired by greats including Brandy, Stevie Wonder and India.Arie, she’s a versatile artist with a knack for faultlessly blending genres and supplying thought-provoking lyricism.

Taking from her city’s soul and the intimacy of her own journey, Danni’s musical offerings are as heartfelt as they are gritty - crafting a space for listeners to connect with her on a personal level and get a true taste of what she’s about. Off the back of her debut EP Things About The World That Burden Me, I sat down with her to talk about her early days in the industry, how faith shapes her artistry and why she deserves to be on everyone’s radar.

Hey Danni, thank you for joining me!

It’s great to be here!

We’ll start off quite simply, tell us about yourself - who is Danni Baylor?

Danni Baylor is a deep feeler, a deep thinker. A very introspective woman. I’m very faith-based first and foremost and that really encourages everything that I do. I’m a very family-oriented person, I’m a wife and I’m very passionate about what I see around me and it inspires everything that I do for sure. I’ve felt very deeply ever since I was a child, it’s giving empath.

What is your earliest musical memory?

I would have to say being maybe five years old and my Grandmother was the organist at our church, and I remember her standing me on a chair in front of the church choir - the ‘Sunbeams’ - and I had a mic that was basically bigger than my face! I was singing “Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam” and you know, I had no fear at that age. It was like hey I’m here, I don’t care what people think and my family obviously think I’m good at this so I’m gonna do it.

Love that! So how did you get into the music industry?

So I started off as a background singer. I would do vocal arranging, people would call me in to arrange background vocals. I’d record myself doing different layered parts and things like that and that was the beginning of me rubbing shoulders with people. I was singing background for Tye Tribbett for three years and then from there I started songwriting. My first big major placement was with Fantasia Barrino for her song Enough in 2019 and after that we were working with artists more on the gospel side, Jason Nelson and Tamela Mann. I started embracing my own artistry and I feel like those experiences helped me hone a lot of my skills as a musician. Then I kinda just went out on my own and instead of being a conduit of emotion for other people, I was able to put my own sounds and feelings into my own stuff.

Would you say you’ve always known you wanted to be a musician? Has that been a thing from a really early age?

I feel like it has been. I did run away from it for a while. There was an awkward phase where I was like, I know I wanna do this but I’m so afraid and so nervous, but I felt like again doing background work was kinda getting me there. Like I knew I wasn’t the main person, but it was something I had the desire to do. I will say shoutout to Tye as he would pull me out sometimes and kinda say “hey, you got this”, this is training and I have to get ready. It really is a God thing you know, because I couldn’t have put this thing together myself. The timing, the skill, the challenges I faced all culminated in me being able to do what I’m doing now.

God’s timing is real! How would you describe your sound to people that haven’t listened to you before?

I would say it’s a mix of alternative R&B and soul meets singer-songwriter. I have those stripped away moments where it could almost go… I wouldn’t say folk, but I listen to folk music so it can merge in those lines.

How did you actually get to work with Fantasia? How did that whole situation come about?

I was doing covers on YouTube and Jevon Hill who’s a great producer and now great friend reached out to me on Instagram. First off, I don’t even do DMs so I was like who is this? I’ve never seen him before, and I didn’t initially respond. So I’m down in Florida recording vocals for Tye Tribbett, I think it was his The Bloody Win album, and Jevon was there and he was like “alwaysdannimusic?” and I’m like yeah, he said he’d been trying to get in touch with me and I was like I’m so sorry I didn’t know who you were! This validated everything for me. We got connected and me and my long term collaborator, my husband, we built that relationship for maybe a year. We were writing to every track he sent, everything we just took a shot at and maybe a year after we had done that he pulled up this opportunity with Fantasia. The crazy part about it was she already had a single picked, and we sent Enough in and she switched the single to that because she liked it that much. I was like “thank you Lord!”

Would you consider Fantasia to be one of your musical influences?

She definitely is. That was like a dream for me. I grew up watching American Idol and it’s crazy the way that whole thing came full circle. One of my biggest influences starting off was probably Yolanda Adams in Houston, and then I got into Brandy - I’m a huge fan like I would study Full Moon front and back. I feel like I’m kind of a Gumbo of influences, but Fantasia is one of those for sure.

Perfect! Okay for this next section we’re gonna talk more about your project, so I’ll start by saying congratulations on releasing your debut EP! How does it feel to share it with the world?

It feels great! It feels like I was finally able to put words to what I saw was going on, and I didn’t hear too many other things talking about it. At first you know, I’m always kinda nervous because that’s my baby and I’m very sensitive about what I put out, especially if I’m baring my soul. I feel very proud and grateful that I was able to finally finish it. As a perfectionist as well sometimes, putting something out and then saying this is it, here it is, I’m not touching it again. It’s getting a really great response which I’m grateful for.

I’m happy to hear that! So you feel like now was definitely the right time to release it? Because you’ve obviously been in the music industry for quite a while.

I do, I do. Just the timing of where things are now like with social media and how people’s values kinda feel like they’re based off of that. I think social media’s a great tool and I would never knock it, but it should never be something that defines us. That was one of the messages of the EP.

What made you go with the name Things About The World That Burden Me?

My team Global 7 that I’m working with now, we had a meeting and I wrote Things About The World That Burden Me as a PowerPoint and I had like two pages. It included people looking down on mental health and it was just boom boom boom, bullet point after bullet point and I was looking for the name in that. My team were like Danni, that’s it, that’s the name of your project because you have so many feelings about all of these things it makes sense.

It was meant to be I think.

It really was meant to be!

So can you describe your creative process when writing the project?

Usually everything’s on guitar first. My husband and I will come up with the melody and then I’ll go off that. Music for me is the way that I see the world, so I’ll go off of where I’m at in that moment. I was inspired by The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and also To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar. I was in that space and my raw feelings were just coming out, what I saw and what I felt. When I have a song written, that’s when my husband produces. I also wanna shoutout my other two producers, my brother Dave James who’s been with us for years and a newer edition, Nick Pedraza, he just fit right in there. That was my core team creating songs.

Would you say writing the lyrics or creating the melody is your favourite part of the songwriting process?

I would say the lyrics are my favourite part because I’m so deep, I’m a deep dive. The melody is a universal language so of course it’s the most important thing hands down. But being able to plug those lyrics in and then seeing the finished product after… I’m always amazed that I’m able to do it because sometimes I’m like can I even write? You know there are days where it’s like that didn’t go as easy as I thought, but it’s like every time you have this piece of work it’s like man, I’m grateful.

Did you meet your husband through music then?

We sure did! The crazy thing is, I didn’t even know he liked me. We were in a writing session and different people were pulling us together. I didn’t know he was looking at me like that, I was just there writing. The chemistry was great but I wasn’t thinking in that way at all, and people were like I think you need to know he kinda likes you and I was like what? From there we just kept collaborating and it was great because he got to see me for who I really was - he saw the real Danni. I wasn’t there all cute, I was like I’m here to work. I’m just grateful for that, that was another God thing you know, I couldn’t have done it myself. It was the perfect thing and I didn’t even know I needed it.

That’s so cute!

Thank you!

What was the first song you wrote on the EP?

The first song I wrote was Do Not Disturb.

What’s your favourite one?

Ooh that’s so hard. Right now I would have to say Liar Liar, that would have to be the one because I feel like I do these things where I exaggerate a subject. Like, who wants to call themselves a liar right? No one. But if I have to call myself a liar to remind myself that I need to speak up, and if I’m not speaking up then I’m lying, you know that helps me and I hope it helps somebody else. I just want the point to be driven home so hard, like you need to speak your truth and love, but never just go on and get along because it doesn’t last.

For me, Go Home Roger is one of my favourites, as well as Liar Liar - was the Go Home Roger title a reference to Sister, Sister or am I imagining that?

It sure is! It’s a nod to culture, I wanted to keep the levity you know. Keep it light. But yeah I love Sister, Sister, I love Tia and Tamera and of course you know Roger, he’s a sweetheart on the show. He’s not toxic, but it was just my nod to that and how to tell anything that’s negative or anything that reminds you of your past, anything that tries to hold you back - get outta here, it’s go time.

“Just being able to put myself out there on social media in the ways that i have, it’s good. but when you start comparing yourself, that can be a thief of joy.”

Right, I don’t know what it’s like to be famous or involved in that sort of area, but I can relate to the whole ‘the grass isn’t always greener’ message with Koolade - so was there a particular moment in your life where you thought “I need to write this song right now?”

Mhm, yes. So I had an experience that I’ll call a learning experience at this point, it was a disappointment when I was going through it. I had this opportunity that I thought was gonna change my life and I felt like the hope that I had put in that was so big, it was so huge. I was telling my family and everybody and it just fell through. I’m glad that it did because it’s now that I’m able to write these songs from that. It’s a learning experience, I’m never a victim you know just… don’t drink the Koolade! Don’t just take things for face value, don’t just take what people say. Do your own research. On a deeper note, going back to not subscribing to the idea that I’m just a sum of my ambitions, I’m more than a number, more than a following. I am who I am because God put me here for a purpose and you know, it’s good to have a large following and all that, but to seek it like it’s gonna change your life or make you happier, that’s Koolade and it’s just not true.

You kinda touched on it already but there’s a lot of debate about social media’s influence on the music industry nowadays, so for you would you say in general it’s helped your music career or made it more difficult?

It has helped, I can’t lie it really has helped. But it’s then my responsibility to be responsible with it. I’ve noticed times where I’m on it too long, so instead of creating I’m consuming too much, you know what I mean? Everything has the ability to be addictive or bad, it’s just how you regulate it. So you know, just being able to put myself out there on social media in the ways that I have, it’s good. But when you start comparing yourself, that can be a thief of joy, and when it starts going there and I feel like I’m lingering, I get off. I’m like hey, I’ve posted, I’m gonna go outside, gonna look at a tree you know, do something other than just scroll.

What would you say has been your favourite performance so far?

I had the chance to open up for Melanie Fiona at Howard Theatre back in April, and that was actually my first time on stage in like six months and it just felt like home. I do feel like I’m at home on stage, that’s something I always look forward to doing and she was so kind to have me open up. She was a sweetheart and she invited me out to her other dates. She can do no wrong in my eyes! But yeah Howard Theatre was my favourite, being at home and having my family be able to see it and that was probably the largest venue that I’d done. They’ve had a front row seat to the journey and it was just like wow, what a full circle moment.

Do you have any plans for your own tour?

I do… we’re actually planning it now!

Amazing, you need to come to London I think that should be the next stop.

Please! I would absolutely love that, just tell me when.

For sure! So who are some artists you’re loving right now?

I love Olivia Dean, Ravyn Lenae she’s really dope. I love Lola Young, she’s incredible. I’ve always been a Taylor Swift fan, is that weird? She’s such a great songwriter and I’ve been studying her for a while. I don’t know if he’s well known, but this guy called Q, he kinda reminds me of Frank Ocean. He’s really cool.

Who would be your dream collaboration then? You can have multiple.

I would love to do something with Kendrick Lamar one day. Also with Doechii, that would be awesome. Taylor Swift of course and Lauryn Hill would be a dream come true.

Good choices! So of all of the songs that exist today, if you could have written that song and have it as your own what would it be and why?

Oh my goodness. Of all the songs today… you know what, I don’t know if it’s a popular one, but Jessie Ware has this song called Til the End. It’s a love song and I literally have goosebumps every time I listen to it. I would have loved to have wrote that. Also, Victoria Monét’s How Does It Make You Feel, so good! It’s like a merge between an older sounding song and like now, she did that perfectly.

Perfect. What would you say is your favourite part about being a musician?

Being able to have these thoughts that come and I’m able to have autonomy to push them together and get feelings out, that’s like the biggest part for me. It’s just amazing.

On the flip side would you say you have a least favourite part about it?

Just when it gets really technical when it’s like mixing and mastering. So it’s like okay, turn this up two dB, turn that down, you know? I can get really technical but then I feel like my ears will play tricks on me if I spend too much time listening to something. My husband will say to me “we have to put this out” because I’ll linger and be like I wanna turn this third harmony up. I can really get in my head about it.

If you weren’t a musician, what do you think you’d be doing as a career?

I’d probably be an actress, I’m very dramatic. I would probably be doing comedy because I’m a goofball for sure. I have a very big sense of humour. Hopefully we’ll see that in the future!

What’s one piece of advice you wish you were given when starting out as a musician?

That’s a good one. I would say, nothing happens overnight. I feel like people don’t tell you it happens overnight, but they also don’t tell you it doesn’t. They don’t tell you how long it takes. People are more open now with that dialogue but as a child it wasn’t like that. If it wasn’t happening overnight then something must be wrong, but nope - that’s just how it is.

What do you have lined up for the rest of 2025?

I’ve got some visuals that are coming out. I wanted to put visuals to every song, so we’re working on that and I also want to do an album release some time in November which we’re scheduling. I’m thinking about Christmassy things but we’ll see. Just continuing to promote with socials and spreading the message of this EP, get it out to the people who really need it!

Do you have anything to say to your fans or anyone who’s going to come on board?

I just want you guys to know that I’m big on authenticity and I feel like I champion anyone who wants to just grow and get better. Anyone who’s brave enough to be introspective and say what can I do in my own heart? What work can I do within myself? I’m for that 100%, I’m your girl. That’s what the music is gonna be, I’m very clear on what I wanna talk about and that’s the journey that we’re gonna be on.