Violinist Damien Escobar Pushed Past His Fear With New Album 'Gemini'

Damien Escobar is a father, son, brother, Emmy Award-winning violinist, and Gemini. These are just a few of the titles that describe him.

Escobar, formerly of the musical duo Nuttin But Stringz, has recently released his first album in four years, titled Gemini. Born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, Escobar, who just celebrated his 38th birthday, has embarked on a tour to promote the album. His performances include venues such as City Winery NYC in his hometown of New York City. The album features songs like Taboo, Deja Vu, Mercury Rising and Symphony of Romance.

"‘Gemini was something that wasn't even going to happen. As an artist, I had a lot of fear around doing another record. My first album was so successful, and many artists feel this way when it comes to creating that second body of work," Damien expressed his apprehensions regarding a return to music, despite his previous successes, including Emmy Awards and performances for notable figures like former US President Barack Obama and billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey.

"Over the years, I've just lost a lot of confidence in creating music, and I've kind of shied away from it. I started the year saying, ‘You know what? The label was ready to go, everybody was ready to go, but I'm going to take the year off and focus on what I'm doing here and in the advertising space,’" Escobar added.

The development of the Gemini album began three years ago, in 2021, but it wasn't until this past March, three months ago, that Escobar decided it was time to finally complete the album. I had to stop being a Gemini, and what I mean by that is Geminis are very wishy washy in certain respects only when it comes to keeping our word to ourselves and not to other people,” Escobar said.

“So for me, I said I had to stop being wishy washy with myself for one, and two, I needed to stop acting like I'm actually going to be here next year, meaning stop taking every day for granted. I really gotta seize the moments that I have in front of me today. That fired me up to create again, and I ended up completing a full album,” he added.

Escobar chose Taboo as the lead track from the album. Since its release, the music video for Taboo, filmed in Brooklyn, has garnered over 200,000 views on YouTube. The song explores the concept of what is considered forbidden or prohibited in the musicality of Black artists.

“The ethos of just Black people in general playing the violin is very taboo, [and] historically [it] wasn't an instrument that we lean into,” Escobar stated. “So I wanted to celebrate that even more, not only feature myself as a Black artist but feature Black women in the video as well. It's more of a spin on what was once considered taboo and prohibitive is something that's now celebrated globally and as Black people, we have the right to play this instrument and have a seat at this musical table,” Escobar exclaimed.

Following Taboo, Escobar released Deja Vu as the album’s second single, which he noted is his highest streaming song to date with over 250,000 streams a week and is doing impressive numbers on Billboard as well.

While the violin may have been considered "taboo" for Black artists, Escobar, who grew up in Jamaica, Queens—the birthplace of hip-hop icons like Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson and Nicki Minaj—recognized early on that his calling was toward the instrument, not as a lyricist.

“When I heard the violin, I was more interested in making that sing. I was the youngest of three siblings, and I had to wait for my chance in line with a third-grade violin program. So you have a six-year-old waiting to play this instrument because I just wanted to make this sh-t sing like Whitney Houston,” Escobar said.

“I can't sing, but I love listening to Whitney, and the violins had a tone that sounded so close to the voice, and I'm like, when it's my chance to take that I'll make that sing,” he added.  

Hip-hop still managed to leave its mark on Escobar, even as he pursued classical training on the violin. He became a prodigy of sorts, auditioning for admission into Juilliard at age nine, earning a scholarship, and graduating from Juilliard at the age of 13.

“When I heard DMX. I was like, 'Oh, my God, like, what is this?' I just loved the way he brought melody into his music. And it really drew me into him. That was my first kind of entrance into hip-hop music,” Escobar explained.

“The journey has been amazing from when I first started, especially coming from where I come from,” he added. As he studied, Escobar also learned important lessons about the history of Black artists playing the violin, “You got amazing Black artists, like Noel Pointer, who was a pioneer. I soon realized that there weren't many like us. And I knew it would be a road that was lonely, and that we would be kicking doors down and kicking this thing off. They usually say the person [who] went through the door is the one that takes all the hits,” he added.

Escobar is pioneering a new path outside of music in the advertising realm with his role as the first-ever Global Chief Music Officer at Havas, a French multinational public relations and advertising company with clients like Adidas Originals, the American Cancer Society, and Keurig Dr. Pepper. In this role, Escobar develops strategies to help brands enhance their storytelling through music, operating from the company’s New York City base.

“I love the music business. I love brand building, so I started a company back in 2011, where we signed talent and develop them into household names. So for me, building brands was something I was accustomed to, and obviously, I’m my best case study,” Escobar said.

"So over COVID, an opportunity presented itself for me to come in at one of Havas’ agencies, Arnold New York, where I agreed to do it for six months. It was something that I was curious about. I didn't necessarily need a job [but] I wanted to know why I wasn't able to put my music in ads for over 10 years. And I wanted to know how come people aren't calling me for this work anymore. So just my curiosity, when I got in there. I realized the opportunity, the lack of use of music, it was being overlooked, and for me, that got me really excited,” Escobar added.

Escobar explained that understanding the power of music and helping brands recognize the role it plays with consumers has made him immediately impactful in his role at Havas.

“This is something I'm so excited about because for me, it’s just like writing a song and instead of writing a song and performing it for 600, 6,000 or 30,000 people, I'm now writing a song for 60 million people at a time, right? It's never about being motivated by what I can attain or money; it's how can I help people. At the end of the day, me as an artist, me as a musician, I'm in the people business. All we have is what we have here on Earth, and helping make it a little bit better,” Escobar expressed. He acknowledged that balancing his role at Havas with an active music career can be brutal, but his passion motivates and drives him to make a difference. Recently, Escobar's work with Havas took him to Cannes, France, while he promoted Gemini.

“For me, as an artist, I don't care, I'll play in front of 10 people. I'll play in front of 10 million people; it really makes no difference, as the messaging is the same. I'll speak to one person as if I was speaking to 1 million people. I think that's really been why I'm here 21 years later—it's just that relatability with my fans, understanding that I'm not bigger than a gift, and that's what a lot of people say to me,” Escobar humbly said.

You can experience Escobar’s gift by listening to his new album, Gemini, and catching him in your city on his tour.