'5 Questions With': Darrell Cole
"Always expect the unexpected when it comes to International Cole..."
Born in London to Sierra Leonean parents and having lived in various countries such as Belgium and the United States, Darrell Cole - nicknamed ‘International Cole’ - has been exposed to a huge array of musical influences growing up. Mainly drawing inspiration from the likes of Styles P, Nas, Jay-Z and Biggie, his sound is a compelling blend of Jazz, Neo-Soul and Hip Hop, with a dash of Afrobeats. Only recently, Cole has dropped his brand new single ‘Bruddah‘, a spellbinding ode to his late friend which truly captures the artist’s talents. It’s taken from his upcoming project ‘Return on Investment Pt. 1‘, out soon… EQUATE spoke to him about his creativity, his EP and more.
Read the full interview below…
EQ: Hi Darrell, good to meet you. You’re an all-round creative and entrepreneur - how did you first get started in music?
DEE: Salute Equate Mag! I appreciate you guys having me!
I been making music for about 10 years give or take… it started with my mom asking me to write down the lyrics to her favorite songs. So I used to play the song, write it down… and rewind… One day I just started writing my own lyrics.
EQ: You’ve lived in so many corners of the world already, how have those stints shaped you as an artist and as a person?
DEE: It t helps me understand the different cultures more. Especially the sounds! I speak 5 languages, I switch lingo constantly, my closest friends speak french, with my family I speak english, dutch with my daughters…krio with my cousins and spanish with some Dominican friends..that’s exactly how I want my music to be aswell soundwise. It keeps things exciting.
“I speak 5 languages, I switch lingo constantly, my closest friends speak French, with my family I speak English, dutch with my daughters…Krio with my cousins and Spanish with some Dominican friends..that’s exactly how I want my music to be as well sound-wise. It keeps things exciting”
- Darrell Cole
EQ: Your brand new visuals for Bruddah are out, can you talk us through the inspiration for the video?
DEE: I have an amazing team I can sit down with to brainstorm on ideas for video’s. Seeing that the song is about a late friend, Director Poria Asghari came up with the idea of following two kids through the neighborhood where you see all the Bruddahs. We went over the specifics a few times with the team and got it done!
EQ: So tell us about your upcoming EP ‘Return on Investment Pt.1! What can we expect?
DEE: Always expect the unexpected when it comes to International Cole 🙂 The project is about us…and the position we put ourselves in…us as a generation. If we succeed? That’s a return on investment for our parents that really went through a lot to get us here.
EQ: Finally, what else are you working on right now at the moment? Anything exclusive you can let us in on?
DEE: Really just working on my own project with Samuel Kareem to be honest. I’ll have 2 UK artists on my next project that I can say 🙂
Watch the visuals for ‘Bruddah’ below…
Youtube/Darrell Cole
Stream ‘Bruddah’ HERE
Follow Darrell Cole on socials:
Twitter: @darrellcole
Instagram: @darrellcole
