Houston artist Damaria recently released her debut EP, Love Overdxse, a genuine devotion to the many sides of love, and works to bring true R&B to the forefront. Emcee got the chance to speak with Damaria about Love Overdxse, and we were lucky enough to get some heartfelt and meaningful insights on the project in return.
Emcee: This EP definitely feels personal. What is the most important message you try to get across in your music?
Damaria: “I wanted to get across the emotions you feel when you’re in love. (Love) is not just butterflies and sunshine. Sometimes things are amazing, but other times you’re angry, or prideful. I know people who have let love drive them crazy because the emotions are so intense. So I relate love to drugs metaphorically…and what can happen when you overdose.”
How long have you been writing music and these songs specifically? Could you touch on your songwriting process a bit?
“I’ve been writing music since I was 10. I got put in time-out at recess for doing something.. I can’t even remember, and I always kept those small notepads and 
sharpened down pencils in my pockets. I wrote my first song in time-out because I got bored called “My Feelings”… and I just kept doing it for fun. Over time I started to explore what it really meant to song write… I started writing songs over youtube instrumentals, then once I got to college I decided I wanted to create my own original album… and I started working with producers and finding my own sound.
I like to write alone, or with my producers. The less people in the room the better for me. I just listen to the beat and the rhythm & melody pretty much always comes first… then the lyrics come after once I’ve found the vibe.”
What influences are important to you in relation to this project?
“I think the most important influence for this album had to be real life experiences. I decided to make an album like 4 years ago, and it’s just now being released (laughs). I went through a lot of periods of depression and not being inspired, and I don’t like to force the music I make. It has to feel real to me… so I only wrote when I felt like I had something I needed to get out. Love Overdxse is a reflection of that, and I think it came right on time.”
With Love Overdxse, Damaria finds herself contending with the best in the genre. Though the season is ripe for R&B and the genre is going through a bit of a revival through major releases by artists like SZA and Khalid, Damaria is just as much a part of this era of R&B revival. Over the five tracks on the EP, you get the sense that Damaria is a true student of the game, delivering sexy, soulful vocals and a deeply moody soundscape to perfection on literally every single track. Damaria’s consistency on Love Overdxse is incredibly comforting, and each song feels developed to the fullest. Not underdeveloped, and not overdeveloped, but just perfect.
The lead single for Love Overdxse, “Never Find Another”, received it’s own official video, and in it Damaria flaunts her style and appropriately matches the emotions delivered in the song. Between Love Overdxse and the video for “Never Find Another”, Damaria has put out easily one of the most impressive creative debuts in 2017 of any artist, R&B or otherwise.
Follow Damaria and check out the music video for “Never Find Another”
