“Some kids ran up to me a while ago. They were saying I’m their favorite rapper, and they wanted to take pictures with me. That inspired me.”
What’s been your biggest accomplishment through your music? I did some work about a year ago with the late Chicago artist, FBG Duck. A mutual contact put us together. FBG and I made our song “FNG Remix,” and he came to Madison to shoot that video. It now has more than 400,000 views on Youtube. Did you ever see yourself getting to the point where other artists want to work with you? No. Everything really just happened so fast. Being a dad, I was just trying to balance everything else I needed to build.ings really sped up after I did that song with FBG. It just brought light to everything I was already doing. What inspires you when you’re in the studio? I try to get my imagination going. I usually start o with a freestyle before I write and then play with it to see what I want to do. I just pull what I like from there. Everything’s just natural, and I don’t have to force it. Looking ahead, what are some goals you’ve set for yourself ? ese days, I don’t really plan anything. 2020 really showed me that tomorrow isn’t promised. I don’t really have any goals, but I really hope all the work I’ve put in pays o for me. I know I want to be successful in my music. What does being “successful” look like for you? When you’re doing music, everyone has that same goal, to become famous o their music and live the life of a star. I come from Madison, where no one’s really ever been on a major music platform. My goal is to be that person.
Dante Alexander, better known as “Taye Sharkiee,” is a Madison-born rapper and performer. What was your childhood and early music career like? Music really chose me. Growing up, my whole family was always into music. I’ve been around it all my life. A lot of my family is really talented, so it’s almost genetic. I always knew I had the talent, but I never really took it seriously until about a year ago. How did music grow from something you enjoyed doing as a kid to what’s now your career? I ended up getting around some guys in 2017 (we call ourselves “1947 WeDaOpps”). Everyone is musically talented, and when you’re around people who want the same goals you do it’s easier to see what you want.ese guys pushed me to my potential.ey were telling me, “You got it. Keep going.”ey helped me with recording and releasing music videos. What was your plan before you decided on making music? I wanted to play basketball. I’d always played basketball. In high school, I tore my ACL, so due to those health issues I wasn’t able to pursue that. I decided to turn my focus to music. When did you realize you wanted to make music full-time? Some kids ran up to me a while ago. ey were saying I’m their favorite rapper, and they wanted to take pictures with me.at inspired me. I have two boys, and they always watch my videos and know my songs word for word.ey’re basically why I keep doing what I do. How’s your music career going now? I’ve started promoting my music more and being consistent. Doing this full-time now, I promote it enough to charge other artists for features, videos and performances. Before the coronavirus pandemic started, I was getting booked every weekend.
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