{"id":884937,"date":"2026-06-22T13:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T13:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/884937\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T13:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T13:36:16","slug":"i-beat-a-lot-of-the-odds-how-this-grammy-nominated-jacksonville-producer-is-forging-his-own-path-to-stardom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/884937\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I beat a lot of the odds\u2019: How this Grammy-nominated Jacksonville producer is forging his own path to stardom"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 Darien Bankhead, a producer, artist and DJ known professionally as Boyband<\/a>, almost quit music before a chance session helped him break through \u2014 and helped reshape how he thinks about Jacksonville and his craft.<\/p>\n

Press the play button to watch the full interview with Bankhead.<\/b><\/p>\n

Bankhead, a native of the Northside, credited his mother for introducing him to music and marching band for teaching him discipline and the basics of arranging.<\/p>\n

Darien Bankhead (left white) in band at Highlands Middle School. (Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

He learned trumpet in sixth grade, started making beats in his teens and sold his first beat at 16 for $300 \u2014 an early sign that music could become more than a hobby.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 16. I didn\u2019t have a job. I was still in school,\u201d Bankhead said of his first sale. \u201cI was just like, \u2018Oh, you can actually make some money off of this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

A mix of self-teaching, local friends and mentorship helped him advance. Taz Taylor, another producer from Jacksonville who started a producer collective called Internet Money, mentored Bankhead and taught him tricks of the trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you didn\u2019t know anyone doing it, you were kind of on your own,\u201d Bankhead said, describing how resource-sharing among Jacksonville producers helped him learn FL Studio and other tools.<\/p>\n

Darien Bankhead in the studio. (Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

He left college after two years and saved money working locally, then moved to Los Angeles to chase bigger opportunities. <\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I needed to go to a bigger city and then the opportunity came up to move to L.A. and I was like, you know what, I\u2019m gonna do it, I\u2019ve got some money saved, and then I\u2019m gonna just go see what happens,\u201d Bankhead said.<\/p>\n

He said the move accelerated his technical skills \u2014 recording, engineering and understanding the music business \u2014 and put him in contact with artists and producers who helped elevate his work.<\/p>\n

His credits include work with Young Thug, Gunna and the late Juice WRLD. He also contributed to Lil Nas X\u2019s 2019 project \u201c7,\u201d which earned him a Grammy nomination and a Billboard plaque.<\/p>\n

Bankhead said he nearly walked away from music a year before that session, frustrated by slow progress in Los Angeles. A friend, Andre \u201cBizness Boi\u201d Robertson, invited him to the Lil Nas X session that led to the collaboration.<\/p>\n

Bizness Boi, Darien Bankhead, Lil Nas X (Left to right) (Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

The recognition, he said, \u201cput a lot of things in perspective\u201d and reinforced that he had overcome many obstacles that affect young people on Jacksonville\u2019s Northside.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of bleak,\u201d he said. \u201cI have a lot of peers of mine that passed away over the years from things like gang violence, drugs, stuff like that. In the moment, I kind of felt like, wow I really did beat a lot of the odds, you know what I mean and…it carries a heavy weight with me, in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a melting pot\u2019: Jacksonville\u2019s sound sets itself apart<\/p>\n

Staying true to himself has been central to his approach. Bankhead blends funk, alternative pop, rock and hip-hop, a style he attributes to Jacksonville\u2019s diverse music scene \u2014 from Southern rap to a robust rock and punk community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter who you are, Black or Asian, Mexican or whatever, you\u2019re just part of the culture but I feel like what a lot of people don\u2019t know is that Jax has an insane rock and punk scene,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While other cities like Atlanta or L.A., which have a distinctive sound from artists who are from there, he said that Jacksonville is unique in the sense that it\u2019s a mixed bag.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could get a trap artist, an alternative artist, an R&B artist,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a melting pot…There\u2019s so much exchange of culture here that\u2019s slept on.\u201d<\/p>\n

He referenced Jahaan Sweet, also from Jacksonville<\/a>, who has worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyonc\u00e9, Drake, Jon Baptiste and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s what sets the city apart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bankhead records and performs under the name Boyband \u2014 and sometimes uses the longer handle Alone in a Boyband \u2014 a moniker he said reflects his multirole identity as creator, engineer and photographer. <\/p>\n

During the pandemic, he taught himself bass and uses it now to sketch songs before bringing in collaborators.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t start a song without my bass,\u201d he said. \u201cI can pretty much map out the entire song on an instrument and then bring the homies in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Darien Bankhead (Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

He also spoke of the pressure that comes after a high-profile success. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe music industry is very \u2018what have you done lately?\u2019\u201d he said, describing bouts of imposter syndrome and the challenge of following up a major placement. Still, he says accolades pushed him to keep working.<\/p>\n

Bankhead\u2019s advice to aspiring musicians: be willing to fail, cultivate your work and trust your instincts. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you love it, don\u2019t quit,\u201d he said. \u201cYou got to be okay with putting something out and not doing good. You got to be realistic about yourself, but also trust yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what mark he hopes to leave, Bankhead said he wants to inspire others to be authentic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want more people to just be themselves,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ll get to where you want to go quicker if you do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also welcomed recent local efforts to recognize Jacksonville\u2019s musical history, including a new Riverfront Music Garden with a walk of fame. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good that people get their flowers,\u201d he said. \u201cEspecially those who made something of themselves coming from Jacksonville.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind the board I am…<\/p>\n

\u201cBehind the board, I am the wild card,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I get pulled in line for projects, it\u2019s usually never for what I want to do for the project; it\u2019s always like, \u2018I need something different, I need the weird stuff…\u201d<\/p>\n

But he said he still wants to make a song that becomes a hit on the radio<\/p>\n

\u201cI literally just want on because it just adds to the lore,\u201d Bankhead said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Darien Bankhead, a producer, artist and DJ known professionally as Boyband, almost quit music before…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":884938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,33213,8314,171,3188,723,20635,7310,94778,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,80369],"class_list":["post-884937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-america","tag-black-music-month","tag-duval-county","tag-entertainment","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-gunna","tag-jacksonville","tag-lil-nas-x","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-young-thug"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116794031383508322","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}