VCU Artist to Watch: Solomon Dixon

“My mom and dad were both musicians, and my great grandfather was a prolific black artist in the 1950s.” This is what VCU Performance Arts senior, Solomon Dixon, had to say about what made him initially interested in music. Long before Dixon was writing his own music and releasing singles, he says he would only be quiet in church when he was sat by the piano with his father to calm him down. From this very young age, it was clear that music would be important in Dixon’s life.

Today Dixon describes his sound as R&B, with influences coming from Usher, Chris Brown and Eric Bellinger, but he says that he could do a lot and is still working on making his sound unique. About creating his sound, Dixon says, “I really started when I got to VCU and met an artistic collective who were all working on creative projects. About three summers ago I started long boarding all the way across campus to go create beats with a friend in his apartment.” Dixon can see himself working on any side of the music creation process. From songwriting to performing to production, Dixon loves it all and really enjoys collaborating with other artists. He especially enjoys helping other artists create a vision for their own music. If you would like to collaborate with Dixon, you can find him on Instagram and Twitter, or email him at ideazboomin@gmail.com.

Right now, Dixon does not have any set dates for new releases, but he says he has a lot of music in the works, and in the meantime you can find his first single, “GLOW,” on all major streaming platforms. At the moment, the creation process is the most important thing to Dixon. “Creating is such a magical thing,” he says. Dixon even remembers the first songs he wrote in a middle school poetry class, laughing and calling them “very deep, like cupid’s heart is bleeding middle school heartbreak kind of stuff.” While Dixon has been maturing his sound, he says: “Music is a feeling, an emotion in every note. I want my music to help people who have gone through similar things.”

While creating is the most important thing to Dixon right now, he enjoys performing live as well. His favorite performance was when he flew to Houston with his friend C. Spikes Production, to play Return of the Real R&B Houston. Dixon said it was his first time playing his own music and that it was a wonderful experience. C. Spikes Productions has also worked with Dixon on many projects, including his single “GLOW” and a yet to be released song titled “Let Me Get You Right (Ride My Wave)” which Dixon is excited about and “waiting for that right moment” to release.  

As far as his future in music goes, Dixon says that he hopes to be well established musically by the age of 25, and that three artists he would love to open for are Eric Bellinger, H.E.R. and Ella Mai. About his reasoning for wanting to open for H.E.R. Dixon said, “She’s amazing. She’s making music that’s so honest and wholesome. I’d love to be associated with her in anyway.” After talking about who he would like to open for, Dixon shared his five most recently listened to artists. He confidently named his top three as Ty Dolla $ign, Travis Scott and H.E.R., but he hesitated and laughed as he named his fourth, “Drake. I didn’t want to say it, but I can’t lie.” He then finished off his list with Masego, another artist who got his start in Virginia.

Before he left, Dixon shared one last story when asked about his go-to karaoke song. “That’s a funny story actually. While I was in Florida this summer, I went to CityWalk’s Rising Star, a karaoke bar at Universal Studios that has a live band and backup singers. I wanted to sing something sappy and sad, but my friends signed me up for Shaggy’s ‘It Wasn’t Me.’” He laughed as he continued, “It was a great time, so I guess that would be my go-to from now on.”

We can all expect big things from Solomon Dixon, so keep your eyes and ears open for new music from him!

Single artwork provided by Solomon Dixon. Other photos by author Garnette Ransone.

• entertainment
• LOCAL ARTIST
• music
• R&B