Getting Eclectic With Everyone From Damon Albarn To Kevin Parker

The US singer/rapper DRAM (aka Shelley Massenburg-Smith) has emerged as one of pop's most charismatic millennials - blowing up with 2016's mega-hit Broccoli. But, with his unusual combo of soul, funk and trap, he's also impressed music industry heavyweights like Rick Rubin.

This New Year's, the exuberant prodigy will descend on Australia - performing at Falls Festival. "I'm hella excited!" Massenburg-Smith drawls. He welcomes those meandering country drives to the sites: "I wanna see the kangaroos."

As an artist, Massenburg-Smith's philosophy is to "roll wit' it". Yet the star's success is surely down to his gregariousness and persistence, in addition to an original talent. Massenburg-Smith was born in Germany - his mother serving in the US military. Nonetheless, he grew up in Hampton, Virginia. Here in the Old South, Smith sang in church, while studying both vintage soul and George Clinton's funk manoeuvres. He gravitated to hip hop - Virginia's own Clipse an inspiration. The aspiring rapper struggled until he encountered beatmaking ally Gabe Niles. In 2014, Massenburg-Smith circulated the mixtape #1EpicSummer as DRAM (Does Real Ass Music). His festive tune Cha Cha (sampling Super Mario) generated ever-louder buzz. Massenburg-Smith attracted such champions as Chance The Rapper, Erykah Badu and Beyonce (though Drake seemingly took sneaky cues from Cha Cha for Hotline Bling). Significantly, Rick Rubin became his "mentor".

Today, Massenburg-Smith relates how the producer extraordinaire advised him to overcome any diffidence - "Don't go into a situation expecting a 'No' out of it." Now, when networking, he will request someone's phone number, rather than ask if he might have it. "It's more affirming - you feel sure about yourself." Rubin introduced Massenburg-Smith to the Atlantan teen Lil Yachty - who'd cameo on his chart breakthrough Broccoli.

Signed to Warner, Massenburg-Smith dropped his debut, Big Baby DRAM, late last year. The album incorporates Princely funk-rock (Misunderstood, with Young Thug), smooth R&B, Massenburg-Smith's trademark "trappy-go-lucky" genre and more. "Basically, I just literally go about every project the same way - I wanna give [listeners] something eclectic; something that showcases the many sides of you," he says.

The Big Baby DRAM art went viral - Massenburg-Smith, with that winning smile, snapped cuddling his adorbs goldendoodle pup, Idnit. "I wanted a picture of me and my dog," he shares. "I was going for the look of Cam'ron's [2002] Come Home With Me album where he's holding his son on the cover. It was like a full frame shot at first. [But] when the photographer sent us back an option with it zoomed all the way in, it was really dope. We fell in love with it - and we took it from there. So I never really [put] much into it; much reason and explanation - it's doing what you do."

This year Massenburg-Smith has surfaced on other blockbusters - notably Gorillaz's shrewdly curated Humanz. He duets with Damon Albarn on the Bobby Womack tribute Andromeda. "It was hella cool, man," Massenburg-Smith recalls. "My manager hit me up one day and was like, 'Would you wanna work with the Gorillaz?' I'm like, 'You're kidding!' So they set it up." After sending Albarn "some shit", he was flown to London for session time. "He's a legend in the flesh - just doing what he does best." Massenburg-Smith features, too, on Calvin Harris' Funk Wav Bounces Vol 1, praising the Scot as "a stand-up guy." Then he's cut a song with Neil Young (!) for the soundtrack to Will Smith's Netflix sci-fi movie, Bright.

Massenburg-Smith has lately been in the studio with Rubin - even delaying this interview to spend some more time in the vocal booth. He's just aired their first official collab, Check Ya Fabrics. And Massenburg-Smith is progressing on a second LP. "Stay tuned - more coming soon!" he teases.

Bizarrely, on the Falls banner, DRAM is listed alphabetically alongside Daryl Braithwaite - the Australian vet enjoying an (ironic) comeback. In fact, Massenburg-Smith is reportedly working with a hip(per) Aussie muso - Tame Impala's Kevin Parker. "We actually got some shit in the woods - him and Mark Ronson - and also Chet Faker," he reveals, before swiftly acknowledging the latter's reversion to his "government" name of Nick Murphy.

As for Massenburg-Smith's live set? "It's like music, unadulterated, live and direct - it's got a lotta energy, it's got a lotta variations," he promises. "It shows the many sides of my repertoire. I think it's a good time - it's fun."