Dallas rapper Billy White is ready to make a name for himself

Changing monikers is not an unfamiliar trend in the music industry, but a West Dallas native is literally starting from scratch and reverting to his birth-given name: Billy White. The artist, previously known as Spike Chester, has a new project entitled “It Almost Went Different.” It’s more than an album; it’s an introspective look into maturity, love and musical survival beyond algorithmic success.

Although the Spike Chester moniker has nearly been scrubbed from the internet, the former pseudonym was once a name creating buzz in the Dallas hip-hop scene. Now, he says with a new name comes new music and a new sense of purpose.

“I felt like what I was doing as Spike, I felt like it was really good, but it didn’t really speak to my larger purpose or what I was trying to do,” says White. “And not that my new purpose was like some devout spiritual type of thing. I wanted to be kind of more authentic with my approach to my music”. 

Authenticity was, above all, the reason for the name change.

“Things ain’t the same, but they still remain, like me being born and taking on my daddy[‘s] name,” he raps on track “Things Change.”

The now 30-year-old cites losing a studio as being one of the pivotal moments that led to restructuring, pursuing more depth and letting go of old versions of himself. 

Billy credits his romantic partner and manager, Amaelyah Woodley, and their relationship as being the “unsung hero” of his career.

“We created this world for our love to house it in a specific way,” he says. “And just having that kind of backbone has made the music even better because it just creates like this crazy synergy that we have.”

That synergy has been the launchpad and leading motivator for making music. 

”That relationship challenged me to be a better man,” he says. “So I had to be a better artist.”

His new album, full of high hats, woodwinds and rhythmic layers, reads like the story of White and where he plans to go down the road.

“Each song is a testimony,” he says. “Each song speaks to a different part of myself and past versions of myself. I had to let go to become who I’m stepping into.”

Due its narrative nature, White says the best way to listen to the album is in sequential order, just as he intended.

“I tried to sequence [the songs] so it feels good,” he says.

White rejects defining his career with streaming numbers, followers and viral moments. Preferring to be remembered for the sonic connections he makes.

“If I can just make somebody maybe think differently or raise the consciousness of whoever hears my shit, I feel like that’s kind of the overall measure of success because everything else kind of aligns with that,” he says.

Using the success of independent artists Curren$y and Chance the Rapper as inspiration, these days, he says he values a loyal but small following.

“I started to adopt this mantra where it’s like, ‘you have everything you need to be successful right now in this moment.’ So when it comes to my artistry, I’m not going to wait for a co-sign. I’m going to just go straight to who I’m trying to speak to.”

White’s next show is Saturday, Aug. 29 at Opening Bell Coffee. He’s excited to be part of a new Dallas music movement, carving his own lane by fusing Neo-soul and rap with jazz-inspired beats. 

“I know the type of music I make is not destined for Top 40; it’s destined for these 500-person rooms, 1,000-person rooms, where it’s intimate and the people who are there are living and dying by [the lyrics],” he says. “That’s more so what I’m after.”