Dupont Pavilion: Asheville's MONKEYCHILD

Everything is going too fast. It feels like the fun has been taken out of everything, especially online and in music. Dupont Pavillion arrives as a kind of Nintendo-style boss hero, who champions the powers of positivity onto his fans, slowly curing our algorithms of dystopian gloom with human spirit. It has a real element of rebellion to it. He emits energy which makes us like we’ve known him for years, embodying a simple formula of warm padded beats, life affirming lyrics and Animal Crossing style melodies, all applied with a weightless experimentation which feels authentically reminiscent of the pre-2020s. It’s crafted with real emotion, relatability, and fun, not like the curated nostalgia slop and forced auraism we see so much of in rap today. Dupont is proof that when you are authentic, there are no limits. He stay’s un-pingeonholed, and maximises creative freedom.

His recent come up appears rapid, with viral reel snippets only dating back to earlier this year. It’s a freak occurrence to get established artist features like Evanora Unlimited and 10kdunkin on your first mixtape, however, the self pro-claimed MONKEYCHILD has been quietly grinding in Asheville's shadowy tree-scapes for some time now, under his multi-genre producer alias “RiCh LoSeR”. 

We caught up for a chat with him and reflected on what’s brought on his sudden success.

What’s it like finding some success after a slow consistent grind making music? 

It's really satisfying, but it doesn't really change much. Not to sound corny, but I have never done music for the purpose of being successful. I had fully accepted that I might never find success as a rapper and that was pretty much ok with me because the main reason I make music is the human need for creative expression. I do it the same way people game or watch movies. It is satisfying though.

How has your life in scenic North Carolina impacted your art?

A lot. The music scene in the area I lived in is much more focused on indie music and alt rock, which didn't come naturally to me. If I grew up in New York I probably would've never heard of Archers of Loaf or Polvo or anything like that. That sort of earnestness that comes through in their music would just be absent from mine if not for their influence. I also think it's a really beautiful, and frankly mystical area. Climbing a mountain. Swimming in a river. Walking through the forest are all really important sensory experiences that impact my music and my visual aesthetics.

You’re going up online right now. How and why is it important for you to stay in touch with home?

It's important to stay in touch with home because the internet is hypothetical. That's not to diss my fans, I love ya'll, I've met ya'll, I know ya'll are real, but the massive internet support is fickle. Rappers fall off in years or months now and so if you invest too hard into the internet I think you're gonna regret it in the long run. 

How important do you think them years of development were? Your production has grown to be so solid in it’s versatility.

I'm not exactly sure how to answer this question. I do appreciate the compliment though. I think being a type beat producer did a lot of work in making my production better. In order to keep up with trends I had to do a lot of different styles and listen to a lot of different music which I'd say pushed me to experiment with styles of production I wouldn't have otherwise explored. I feel very lucky to have been pushed outside my comfort zone so many times by so many people and to have it largely pay off.

What future plans do you have for your aliases RiCh LoSeR and monkeychild? Where do they sit in your world?

I think I still plan to do work under those names. RiCh LoSeR will always be my producer name. I hope to work with some guys as a producer so I think you'll see rich loser around honestly. Monkeychild, I don't really know. I think if I ever finish "TELEMARKETING / the lonely spud who grew a thousand eyes and made a thousand brothers" I would drop it under monkeychild. 

Your ethos and approach seems very pure and untainted when making music. What led you to harness that unapologetic confidence in your work, and do your own thing on your own terms?

The confidence only came with time. A lot of people come into the game loud as hell and I respect that. It's frankly a skill to make a splash on your first attempt. It shows a lot of promise. But with time, I had to learn my music was good or at least learn my music was liked. I developed that confidence really just from time doing music. 

It feels your music reminisces a time when life wasn’t so tense and crazy. What’s the first thing Dupont Pavillion would change in the world today?

Change in the world today? Brother so much. First thing I'd do is make lobbying illegal. Lobbying is just putting a suit on bribes and I don't rock with that. Second would be that we would redirect money from the military into education. Paying teachers more, better supplies, doing research on what's effective. Children are our future and should be prioritised. Also housing, food, and healthcare would be free.

What do you look for in an artist when doing a collab?

Just that I like their music. If I collab with someone just know that means I like their music, or at least some of their music. If I don't have a single track by someone saved I'm not working with them.

Have you and Evanora got any plans for more music? Independence Day was great, your styles compliment each other so well.

Yes. All Imma say is yes cause I don't wanna jinx it. I'm a little bit of a superstitious person. But yes. Marj is one of the chillest people I have ever talked to. Any compliments people have for me they should really just direct to marj.

Your IG is full of positive lessons for your fans. Can you give us one?

Sure. Don't ever forget that the world keeps going even when you're not looking. This is important to remember in two ways. One, that person you remember disliking might be chill now. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Two, you change when you're not looking. Stop sometimes and think about where you were a year ago. Is it any different?

What’s your plans for the future?

Eat bro. I’m about to get breakfast, no doubt.