Today we’d like to introduce you to DEEP$IDE.
Hi DEEP$IDE, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m DEEP$IDE and I’m going to be the biggest music artist in the world by 2040.
I began making music when I was 14 years old in my parent’s kitchen- I used to record on IMovie because I didn’t have access to a computer or a professional studio, but I kept going until I got my first microphone at 15.
As a teenager, I pushed myself to make 1 song every day and forced myself to listen to different genres of music to learn different sounds and how to incorporate them into one beautiful mix… this became a huge reason why my sound is so versatile today.
One of my biggest inspirations as a teenager was XXXTENTACION, and I really aspired to replicate his career and impact as an artist. When I was 16, I was blessed with an opportunity to work with his mother, Cleopatra Bernard, to complete some music for his documentary, but after my song I worked on leaked online, this opportunity never came to fruition- However, I kept pushing.
At 18, after playing my first ever show in my hometown San Angelo, Texas, I joined the U.S. Navy as a Combat Photographer and that job took me to live in Baltimore then ultimately to San Diego, where I lived for the past 3 years.
While I was in Baltimore, that was the first time I ever started pursuing music seriously.
I would freelance as a photographer and videographer, mainly shooting documentaries for underground rappers, and then I would use those connections I made to get in rooms with people who I wanted to network with.
During this time my friend, Jerome Waters (Rome – Owner of HBM Studios Maryland), became a huge help to me as a mentor, letting me work long nights in his studio and teaching me the ropes of the music industry.
Together, we filmed my first set of music videos and I released my first big hit “Too Late”, and later “Make A Wish”, which generated opportunities for me to share my music with the world. Also during this time I attended the first ever YouTube Avenues event hosted by Gillie and Wallo67, from there I felt like nothing could stop me from chasing my dreams.
When I came back to San Diego, I continued my pursuit of music, performing at various shows, festivals and open mics throughout 2023-2025.
In 2024, I received my first ever feature story in UNDRGRND Magazine, a massively successful underground hip hop publication in Los Angeles, and I felt like I had made it.
Then after being deployed to Yemen later that year, I returned to San Diego and established my event promotion company, Westside Queens, in 2025.
In Daygo, Westside Queens rose to become one of the largest hip hop promotion companies in the city and we saw massive success throwing events everywhere from Chula Vista, to Oceanside and San Diego’s Gaslamp District, to Los Angeles and across Southern California.
In November of 2025, I deployed with the USS Abraham Lincoln to the Pacific Ocean, then from there I began a temporary assignment on the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., where I would ultimately serve in the Iran War for about 6 months. As a one of one combat photographer on the ship, I led all combat visual documentation operations on the ship during deployment until I returned back home to San Diego in June of 2026.
After returning home, my wife and I moved to Tokyo, Japan where I will be residing until 2029 when I complete my military service.
In Japan, I’m working on creating a Japanese Hip Hop promotion company and have established Westside Queens Japan very recently. My goal here is to contribute to the local hip hop culture, and grow the scene while creating opportunities for local and international hip hop artists to share their gifts with the world.
As an artist, my goal is to keep releasing content and create music that will unite people across borders and spread love through sound.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No it definitely has not been a smooth road, but I wouldn’t change anything about it.
There were a lot of bumps along the way I needed to grow into the man I am, and hope to become.
The first challenge I encountered was leaving home, something that at the time I really didn’t want to do and was extremely hard for me. Fortunately for me, I didn’t have any other choice.
The second big challenge I had was the death of my first music mentor, an artist name TK Crazy. Though he wasn’t very big, TK’s dream really inspired me and having him as a friend really pushed me and taught me a lot of things. When he left us, I felt as if my connection to music had been severed until I realized that I had to keep going to protect his memory and do what he had done for me for other people.
My third challenge was adapting to the culture shock I felt when I left Texas and lived in big cities for the first time. People I met didn’t just like the music, they lived it, and that forced me to see music less as an escape and more of the soundtrack to life. I had to learn that my art is going to be apart of people’s memories, and to be successful my music would always have to capture a feeling to become timeless.
When I started my business, another problem I had came from not making any money from my music. As an E1 in the military for my day job, I only made about $800 every two weeks and this was not enough to pursue my passion. So I did what anyone else would do and I grinder until I could make enough to support myself and feed my passion.
There’s a long list of problems that I could get into which comes with making money in music, egos, entitlement, etc., but one of the biggest lessons I had to learn was not to be too trusting and to not let anyone get so close to me I get blinded by my fondness for my friends.
In business, everyone is trying to take your spot, push you out or take your money. It’s war without violence and everyone is looking to get the best deal. I learned this the hard way and lost friends a long the way, but my failures brought me success through wisdom. The more I failed, the more I lost, the more I learned and the more I gained.
This being said, the one thing I regret is the time I lost being deployed and fighting in wars. I respect what the military does and I would never speak out against the uniform or those who chose to wear it, but, after earning two combat action ribbons, I’ve realized I don’t have the stomach for war. It’s gray and ugly, and I feel as if my time would have been better spent pursuing music and chasing my dreams.. this however is a two sided coin, because I don’t know if I would have made this far without the Navy.
Struggle is always perspective though, and one thing I’ve learned is to only worry about what I can control.
I can’t change anything but myself and my attitude, and so I chose to have the mentality of a winner and push myself to overcome adversity everyday. I know that despite whatever problems I’ve had or will have in the future, I will win because God is on my side and winning is what I will chose to do by any means.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a global music artist and rapper. I’m known for bringing together people through making music and crossing cultural barriers.
The only thing that sets me apart from any normal person is I never give up and because of that I’m able to stay consistent when others would quit. I try, I fail, I learn and I adapt. That’s what makes me a winner.
I’m very proud and grateful for all I have achieved this far, but I know this i just a fraction of what I will achieve in my life. In a lot of ways I feel like my music career hasnt even began yet because there’s so much more my team and I will do in the span of our lifetime.
Stand out moments have been earning over a million streams across all music streaming platforms, selling out my first shows in San Diego, but nothing compares to how it feels to be known as an artist. That’s all I wanted to be as a kid, and I hope to be remembered as the best to ever do it. That’s my goal.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The biggest thing anyone can do to support me is stream my music and share it with their friends. After that it’s buying merch, coming to a show and engaging with me and my community. We love everyone so the more the merrier.
To stream my music you can check me out on Spotify and Apple Music as “DEEP$IDE”.
If you wanna support me and stay in touch with me, add me on Instagram @deepside999.
My merch is available on https://westsidequeens.com and im also on Tik Tok as @_deepside999 and youtube as DEEP$IDE & DEEPSIDE OFFICIAL.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://westsidequeens.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deepside999
- Twitter: https://x.com/deepside999
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/deepside999
