Marquavis Goolsby (born July 29, 1992), better known by his stage name Dae Dae, is an American rapper from
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia. He is best known for his 2016 single "
Wat U Mean (Aye, Aye, Aye)", which entered the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and led him to sign with Atlanta native
Nitti Beatz in a joint venture with
300 Entertainment
Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, ele ...
.
It remains his
only song to enter the chart.
Early life
Dae Dae grew up in Atlanta's
Boulevard
A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district.
In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...
Fourth Ward. He found early interest in music at about 8 years old, when his estranged father, John Burton, bought him
Bow Wow and
Lil Romeo CDs. At age fourteen, Dae Dae dropped out of school and became a father for the first time. Still interested in music and rapping, Dae Dae's father converted a room in their home to a recording studio for him. Shortly after, police arrested his father for having drugs in the home, and confiscated the studio equipment when his father was unable to provide receipts for their purchase. Left with nothing, Dae Dae quickly got a job doing concrete and flooring work, saving all of his earned money to record at a local studio and participate in weekly
open mic
An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, often taking place at night (an open mic night), in which audience members may perform on ...
nights. He eventually met his manager Anthem, who knew Atlanta based producer Nitti, and was offered a record deal from
Nitti Beatz Recordings.
Career
2015–present
Dae Dae released his debut commercial single "Wat U Mean (Aye, Aye, Aye)" in 2015.
He wrote the song while at work,
freestyling
Freestyle rap, also simply known as Freestyle, is a style of hip hop music where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure ...
lines in his head and writing them in his
iPhone
The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
before calling his producer and recording the song later that day. After signing with
300 Entertainment
Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, ele ...
in 2016, Dae Dae released his debut mixtape, ''4 Reasons'' (2016) which features guest performances from artists including
Rich Homie Quan. In February 2016, Dae Dae released the single "Spend It", which was later remixed by
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...
and
2 Chainz
Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...
. The song was produced by Young Trill Beatz.
Dae Dae joined
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...
's May 2016 Hi-Tunes tour throughout the United States along with
TM88
Bryan Lamar Simmons (born April 4, 1987), known professionally as TM88, is an American record producer. He is part of the Atlanta-based record production team 808 Mafia, as one of its lead members alongside Southside. Simmons produced the 2017 ...
and
Rich The Kid
Dimitri Leslie Roger (born July 13, 1992), known professionally as Rich the Kid, is an American rapper. After a number of independent mixtapes, he signed with Interscope Records in 2017 to release his debut studio album, '' The World Is Yours'' ...
.
An official remix of "Wat U Mean" featuring
Lil Yachty
Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night (Lil Yachty song), One Night", the lead single from his debut extend ...
was released in July of that same year. Dae Dae's third single "Dej Loaf" was released in the following month. In November 2016, he released the collaborative mixtape ''Tha DefAnition'' with
London on da Track.
In January 2017, he released the single "Dem Days" and was named one of FACT Magazine's 10 Rappers to Watch in 2017.
Success of "Wat U Mean"
The popularity of Dae Dae's "Wat U Mean" had been steadily increasing since its 2015 release, especially after being remixed by
Young Dro
D'Juan Montrel Hart (born January 15, 1979), better known by his stage name Young Dro, is an American rapper. Best known for his association with fellow Atlanta-based rapper T.I., Dro signed with his label, Grand Hustle Records, an imprint of ...
. The song was the top song discovered via
Shazam in Atlanta in early 2016. In May 2016, a video of a dancer named Matthew King dancing to the song went
viral via Twitter, further increasing its exposure and popularity. During the week of June 11, 2016, it was featured on
Billboard's Twitter Emerging Artists chart at No. 24. He performed the song live at the
2016 BET Hip Hop Awards
The 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards were held on September 17, 2016 and aired on October 4, 2016 at Atlanta’s Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. The nominations were announced on August 18, 2016.
For a third consecutive year, Drake heads the list ...
.
Legal issues
In June 2021, Dae Dae was arrested for stabbing a 17-year-old
Dunkin' Donuts
DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...
employee in December 2020, because the store was out of what he wanted.
Discography
Mixtapes
*''4 Reasons'' (2016)
*''The DefAnition''
(with London on da Track) (2016)
*''5 Reasons'' (2017)
Singles
As lead artist
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dae Dae
1992 births
Living people
African-American male rappers
21st-century American male rappers
Rappers from Atlanta
Southern hip-hop musicians
African-American songwriters
Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century African-American musicians
American male songwriters