Davion Farris "Bad Guy"

An Inglewood impresario is dishing on his latest single.

Davion Farris is debuting his new single “Bad Guy” via Hillman Grad Records, the new home of hip-hop and R&B founded by Lena Waithe, and Def Jam Recordings, and he’s opening up to BOSSIP about the song’s meaning.

Source: Courtesy of Hillman Grad Records / Courtesy of Hillman Grad Records

Farris’ single which recounts a personal experience, aims to show that pain and heartbreak aren’t exclusive to men or women.

“It’s also about learning how to stick by your boundaries, and an honest look at a man being the one in that position of vulnerability (as you’ll often find me),” says the crooner.

Source: Courtesy of Hillman Grad Records / Courtesy of Hillman Grad Records

The official video for “Bad Guy” shows Farris having suspicions about his curly cutie but trying to make things work.

“I gotta let you go cause I hate being wrong,” sings Farris. “My ego can’t take it. I hate giving up on things I put my faith in but led me on hoping you could profit. I made you my focus, you made me an option. Bad Guy.”

Below the two-time GRAMMY-nominated artist who’s also the brother of D-Smoke and SIR, dishes on the [messy] breakup that inspired “Bad Guy”, his forthcoming EP, and his undeniably musically inclined family.

We all know you grew up in a musically inclined family, but how did your interest in music get piqued?

 

Well, I mean, growing up in a musical family first off, we are not the first generation of musicians in my family. Our parents just really instilled that love right from the jump. My mom and all of her older siblings sang and played an instrument. So to us, it was just the natural order. And I think one thing that growing up in that family did, it made us competitive in a good way when it comes to making music and making quality music.

You have this single “Bad Guy” with Lena Waithe and Def Jam with Hillman Grad Records. Tell us more about it.

It’s been an amazing experience. Being with Hillman/Def Jam and with Lena has been a great experience because this having support as an artist is invaluable. Right? Especially as someone who is heavy on the creative side, having someone to help get your vision out there, help make sure that your message is heard and understood and even displayed the right way, that’s been an amazing experience.

What is “Bad Guy” about? I like the name, but are you the bad guy? Or is someone else the bad guy? 

So that’s what’s interesting about “Bad Guy.” I’ll come out and say, I am not an angel. Right? But in this particular case, the main line in the hook is, “Sometimes these girls with a bad guy.”

It was a situation where …I was talking with somebody and we’re both people who have access to people. I came up with the idea, “Hey, let’s just try being exclusive.” And long story short, I found out really through her laptop that I was using to teach a class—I wasn’t snooping, I was using it to teach a class, these text messages keep coming up from the same name. It’s like, “Okay, what’s going on?” So yeah. It came about that she wasn’t keeping to the arrangement of exclusivity. In that particular case, it was like, “Oh. This is what this feels like.”

Source: Courtesy of Hillman Grad Records / Courtesy of Hillman Grad Records

How much of your personal experiences do you put into your music? 

My music is very personal. I would almost say it’s like almost 100% personal. I am an empath, so I definitely have records where it’s like I’m writing from other people’s perspectives.

ut the majority of my music is from my own personal experience. Because I mean, I was told by an industry veteran by the name of Chris Hicks that as long as you write life, you’ll “never run out of things to write about.” And I mean, even what got me into songwriting “Songs In The Key of Life”, it was a project that just resonated with me emotionally and that’s what I wanted to continue to do for other people.

What else we can expect from you this year?

So this year we have “Bad Guy.” Obviously, that’s the next single and video to drop. Following that, we’ll have “Tunnel Vision”, which is a single and video and you’ll start to see a story connecting from Sometimes to “Bad Guy” to “Tunnel Vision.” And then the actual EP, which will be a seven-song project. And then we’ll start to have performances and tours and there’s stuff in the works I can’t yet reveal but this summer and fall are going to be a really exciting time for me and for R&B music, if you ask me.

Hillman Grad Records is the music division under the Hillman Grad Ventures portfolio that was founded by Lena Waithe in 2021. That same year, Hillman Grad Records formed a joint venture partnership with Def Jam Records – aimed to identify, develop and bolster the next generation of underrepresented artists. The first four emerging artists to sign include: two-time GRAMMY®, ASCAP Award-winning R&B artist Davion Farris, singer-songwriter & actress Jai’Len Josey, CS Armstrong, and female rapper & actress Siya.