What is your name and what city do you rep?
My name is John Seeley, but I’m professionally known as D1C3. I’m from West Babylon, NY on Long Island.
Tell us about your latest releases, what inspired you to create them?
My latest project was released on my birthday January 13th and it’s titled ‘Thirteen’. That day is extra special because my wife and I also welcomed our newborn son into the family that same day. The album is actually a re-mastered compilation of various songs from my previous albums spanning back to 2016 and prior. There are also a couple of new/unreleased records on there too, one of them which will be featured on the current album I’m working on. Creating that project was actually something I’ve wanted to do for a while, but I didn’t feel it would have been ready. I made it a compilation because after taking multiple steps in life as an adult, I realized that I was coming to a point in time musically where I’m changing as an artist. That project takes all of the records that I feel truly define who I am or was as an artist and it puts a spotlight on where I was mentally then and where I am and plan to go moving forward in my music career.
What is unique about you and your music?
There are many people who tend to hear similarities and make comparisons to other artists when they first listen to my music, but I always tell people that there is a difference between those that listen to music and those that truly hear the music. Everything about my music, like who I am and why I do this, is all on a much deeper level than I can write, but for those who truly hear the music and what I’m saying, its easy to develop a mental connection to it. Some of the things that all of us go through are loss, pain, love, anxiety, stress, anger, sadness; the list goes on. That is what I portray in my music. It’s therapy for me, and listeners are sitting-in for the sessions when they play my music.
What shaped your music?
Pain has shaped my music more than anything. It’s something every single one of us experience whether it be physically and/or mentally. Every bit of pain I’ve experienced in my life has fueled the way I write, record, perform, mix, master and even release my music. Don’t get me wrong, not all of my music is always deep. There are songs that aren’t for everyone and some of them contain more profanity than some people tend to accept. I may say some relentless or offensive things at times on records, and sometimes I, myself, listen back and I’m like “wow, that was pretty cruel”, but that’s what fell onto the page. Music is expressive and I’m not always going to be able to make everyone happy. In hip-hop, we push the envelope at times, but just because I stir the pot or drop some names doesn’t mean it’s personal; it never is. I’m just having fun. My artistry has been shaped by not applying a filter to my music and how I create it. I’m as honest and open with my listeners as I can possibly be. So if I think or feel something, I just say it. Some people may love me for it and others may hate me for it, but that unfiltered openness is what continues to shape my music whether the music is deep, aggressive, upsetting or uplifting.
When did you realize you were going to make music professionally?
I’ve been doing music since I was thirteen so it has been a long time. I guess I realized it could actually go somewhere after I released my first album ‘XIII’ back in 2016. I signed a publishing contract with a Grammy winning company the year prior in 2015 while I worked on the album, and then we partnered to set up an album release party/show for XIII. When I seen the crowds response and how everyone took the album and the music I knew I finally connected with those hearing it. Anybody can just listen to music, but when people actually take the time to explain how and why your music spoke to them and how it affected them on a mental/emotional level; that’s real. Once I received that response, it wasn’t just about me anymore. I felt an obligation to continue speaking to my fans and connecting with them. That’s when I knew it was going somewhere powerful.
What type of music do you listen to?
I listen to everything. I don’t have a favorite genre, band, artist, album or song. If I connect with it, I support it all the way. I use to say hip-hop was my favorite genre but that was me just giving a cliché answer whenever people would ask me what kind of music I liked. Don’t get me wrong though, I love hip-hop. I’m a student of hip-hop and I study what I love, but I honestly feel having a type would probably limit me when it comes to creativity.
What inspires you to write music?
I always write on the spot. A lot of the process while I write is me freestyle mumbling to myself when I connect with a beat, topic or vibe. Whatever I’m going through or feeling at that exact moment is what inspires me. That’s what comes out and falls on the page, and then I make adjustments from there.
What do you do when you don’t do music (creative or otherwise) and that you are passionate about?
I would say “create photos, videos, etc” but I look at all of those things as pieces to the overall puzzle so I usually don’t separate them from music. They’re all important gears in the machine. What I love most is spending time with my family. As I mentioned earlier, I have a newborn son that was just born on my birthday. I also have a four year-old daughter and an amazing wife. They are my entire universe. So I would say being a husband and a dad is what I’m most passionate about; even more than music. Much more.
Happiness to you is…
As my stepfather use to say, “I’m happy every morning I wake up to see another day.” I’ve lost many loved ones in my life and I honestly use to tell myself I had the worst luck on the planet. Thankfully, I don’t feel that way anymore, but I’m not afraid to say that I’m a person with a lot of built up anxiety on my plate. That’s just mentally how I was constructed. Being able to wake up every morning and see the blessings I have been given is happiness to me. Being able to love and be loved, to connect with people all over the planet by doing what I love, and to even be able to help them just by doing what I love to do. That is happiness.
What do you wish you were told when you first started making music that you think would help artists just starting out?
“Do more” and “don’t doubt yourself.” When I first started creating music I was very insecure. I was a young kid who just lost the dad-figure in his life so I didn’t really know how to go about any of it. My mother and I were going through a terrible loss. I became a hermit in my mind and in my room; sitting there constructing songs and I had no idea how to actually do that. Luckily, I have an amazing mother, and we struggled through that loss side by side, but I could have pushed my music much further at a younger age if I believed in myself more than I did. I also could have connected with people through music much sooner if I knew that. That’s on me though. I wasn’t mature enough to realize it at that time, and we have to learn as we grow. So “do more” and “don’t doubt yourself.”
Tell us about your upcoming projects…
I’m working on two. One of them is another compilation project because I’m lazy. I’m just kidding, but seriously, one of them is another compilation project. It’s not even a re-master project. I’m going to be putting my favorite records together that had features on them and releasing it as a single project. It will also include a couple of new records too, but I’m doing this because there is power in those records and some of my favorite verses I have ever done are on those records. When you have a lot of songs with top-tier artists on them and every single artist on those records came to completely slay them, including the producer, that makes for a dangerous project. That’s why I’m doing that. The second project is my next album. It’s going to be titled ‘DICE’ because that’s technically my name when the numbers/letters are swapped, and it’s the nickname my stepfather had given me. Also, that’s how my name is actually pronounced. Alexa and Siri still call me ‘dee-one, see-three’ like I’m a droid from Star Wars. It’s just “dice.”
Where do we find your music / music projects?
It’s probably easiest to just Google “D1C3” but my music is available on all digital platforms. If you search my name it will all pop up. I’m most active on Instagram @D1C3official as well, and you can purchase physical copies of my albums at some local record stores around the United States. Two stores I will shout out are Looney Tunes in West Babylon, NY and Yellow Dog Discs in Wilmington, NC. You can order physical copies on Yellow Dog Discs website as well. I believe they even have some signed copies still available too and one of the signed projects is ‘The Beauty of Misery’ EP that I did with my brother Prophetnyc. Shoutout to both of those stores though. They’re both ran and operated by some really great people.
Any last words for the readers?
Thank you for taking the time to read up on me. Time is valuable and we can’t get it back so I’m honored that you chose to spend your time connecting with me. I’m going to keep it short and sweet because clearly I can talk forever as I’m sure everyone has already noticed. Thank you for having me and taking the time to chop it up with me. I appreciate it a lot.