I WRITE MUSIC TO HELP ME WITH MY ANXITIES

Official SoundCloud channel of New Zealand born singer/songwriter Darnell Wilson.

In December 2015 New Zealand born singer/songwriter Darnell Wilson released the first instalment of his ‘Cover/Remix’ series on SoundCloud and YouTube. With this performance being his first release under his previous alias ‘Darnell’ he quickly gained momentum online tallying up over 200k+ views as an unknown artist before releasing his debut single ‘All Night Long’, featuring New Zealand boy band Titanium’s ‘Shaquille’, in early 2016. 

In mid 2016 Darnell’s feature assisted song ‘Summer Love’ with German producer DJ T.M. and American artist Young Sixx peaked at #3 on the German Billboard Charts for three consecutive weeks. Darnell set off on a thread of collaborations with German producer M.Dot aka ‘DeeJay Maze’. 

In May 2017 the second instalment of Darnell’s ‘Cover/Remix’ series featured an acoustic rendition of ‘Forever’ by Chris Brown with longtime collaborator ‘Takz’. After making it onto Aotearoa’s Most Talented the song tally’d up over 100k+ online in the first week proving Darnell to be a vocal powerhouse within the New Zealand music industry. 

In July of 2017, Darnell became part of New Zealand Hip-Hop history by being the only singer to win the viral #8BallChallenge which swept the nation on social media and went on to become the ‘Elevate (Super Remix)’ by Ice Man. Consisting of a range of both up and coming and already established artists, Darnell gained praise for his international sound and made him the standout performer, putting himself forward as the artist who “got next”. 

In December of 2017 Darnell released a collaboration EP with Dominick titled ‘The Crossover’ and in early 2018 
released a collaboration single with underground phenom artist Swade Wallace called ‘Give It To Me’ which found success across New Zealand Urban radio stations. 

In May of 2018, Darnell released a collaboration single titled ‘Never Meant To Last’ with New Zealand producer Tattooed Mulligan and artist Dominick which found success on Spotify. In late 2018 Darnell released the third and fourth instalments of his ‘Cover/Remix’ series including ’To My Bed’, by Chris Brown, and ’Trip’, by Ella Mai, which featured 2015 New Zealand X-Factor winner Beau Monga. 

In 2019 Darnell linked up with Richie Cattell and they embarked on the ‘Light It Up Tour’ selling out shows across the tour. After the success of the tour they released their collaboration single ‘Stay On My Body’, featuring Beau Monga. ‘Stay On My Body’ found success on Spotify and New Zealand radio. The ‘Light It Up Tour’ ended in Auckland opening for R&B Superstar Jacquees and Darnell signing with local Management and Touring company, Rik Starr Entertainment. Darnell’s performance earned him attention from popular promotion & blog company ‘Hit Up Ange’ stating he has an “incredible voice” and they “can’t wait to see what the future holds for him.” 

In 2021, after a two year hiatus, Darnell released ‘CRUISIN’ TOGETHER.’ charting on the Official NZ Top 40 at number 14. The success of the single was then followed up with a three track remix album from various international producers which was released in February of 2022. In March 2022, Darnell released his remix track ‘WATER’ featuring Richie Cattell which was followed up by Darnell’s collaborative single, with Richie Cattell, titled ‘Runaway’ which was released in May 2022.

Darnell now has his eyes set on the release of his debut project set to release in late October 2022.

Darnell has had the opportunity to perform alongside major international acts such as G- Eazy & Jhene Aiko (2016), Sean Kingston (2016), Bow Wow (2018), Jacquees (2019), R.City (2019) and more. 

All Business, Bookings and Feature Enquiries: rik@rikstarr.com

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