Through no fault of his own, the rage brewing inside Smoke’s determined spirit had been there the better part of his childhood. His father, Ronald Farris, was sentenced to 17 years in prison before he was old enough to cross Crenshaw Boulevard by himself. Up until his pops was released early on an appeal in 1993 when Smoke was 8 years old, he seemingly fought to amuse himself and others.
“I remember telling [my father] about fights I had while [he] was in [prison],” he said. “I thought holding it down meant, ‘I ain’t taking no bulls— from nobody, and I’m scrapping.’
“I was scrapping a couple times a week and my mom didn’t really fault me for it because she’d rather that than us be pushovers. So, I would come in, do my storytelling, and Pops would kind of be like, ‘You need to chill out.’ But, of course, from where he was at, he couldn’t stop that.”
As an imprisoned preacher, either on the other end of a collect call or the other side of 2-inch-thick plexiglass, what Poppa Farris could do was offer Scriptures and sound advice. That, coupled with the intestinal fortitude and resilience of Smoke’s mother, Jackie Gouché, provided the most functional environment possible for three boys being raised in one of the most notorious inner cities in America. A talented artist in her own right, Gouché sang background vocals for Michael Jackson and Anita Baker before devoting her time and energy to transferring that musical knowledge to their three sons — (SIR) Daryl, Daniel (D Smoke) and Davion at ages 3, 4 and 5, respectively.
“Music was one of those things we had in the house,” Smoke explained. “Music just helps you process things and being exposed to all kinds of music … like old-school music. We were big Stevie Wonder fans growing up. Gospel, Fred Hammond, Kirk Franklin, all of that. We were into some of everything.”
In no uncertain terms, “we” includes extended members of the family — all musically inclined and overwhelmingly supportive.
When D Smoke was dismantling the competition on “Rhythm + Flow,” it was his brothers — SIR and Davion — who insisted he would prevail. When the three of them showed a little interest in music, their uncle and world-renowned bassist, Andrew Gouché, tore down his home studio, only to repurpose it at his sister’s home, so his nephews could hone their production skills.
Years later, Smoke would put those skills to use while simultaneously forming a label, WoodWorks, where he developed a strategy designed to land deals for his brothers and cousin, Tiffany Gouché. Smoke’s first album, Producer of the Year (2006), served as a formidable starting point, boasting obvious talent and sonic superiority.
In between projects and after earning a degree from UCLA, the WoodWorks camp continued its ascent in the music industry. While he accepted a teaching job at his alma mater, Inglewood High School, Smoke also scored an ASCAP Award for his co-writing and production exploits on Jahiem’s “Never.” Finally, after several industry lessons learned and with a viable window to find success as an artist, he bet on himself.
In structuring a movement to support his unparalleled talents, Team D Smoke developed a series called “Run The Subtitles.” Therein, he put his bilingual rhyming ability to the test for one minute, on a specific day, each week. The goal was to drop a 60-second cover for 52 weeks straight, while providing subtitles in English or Spanish, depending on which dialect he used to rhyme.
“Probably 19 weeks into it, it caught wind with the people who were producing ‘Rhythm + Flow,’ and they were like, ‘Look, we see what you’re doing. We would love to be a part of it. It’s very different [and] unique and would reflect well on the [West] Coast.’ So, that’s when we considered that opportunity, skeptically, of course. [But we] rolled the dice and decided, ‘Look, we’re gonna go out there and represent ourselves.’ ”
While his trek to stardom may come off like some sort of overnight success, D Smoke’s arrival was anything but a swift victory. It’s been more of a sun-kissed mission, born from legacy and Supa Good to the last drop.
Stay tuned.
Story by N. Ali Early
