JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Darien Bankhead, a producer, artist and DJ known professionally as Boyband, almost quit music before a chance session helped him break through — and helped reshape how he thinks about Jacksonville and his craft.

Press the play button to watch the full interview with Bankhead.

Bankhead, a native of the Northside, credited his mother for introducing him to music and marching band for teaching him discipline and the basics of arranging.

He learned trumpet in sixth grade, started making beats in his teens and sold his first beat at 16 for $300 — an early sign that music could become more than a hobby.

“I was 16. I didn’t have a job. I was still in school,” Bankhead said of his first sale. “I was just like, ‘Oh, you can actually make some money off of this.’”

A mix of self-teaching, local friends and mentorship helped him advance. Taz Taylor, another producer from Jacksonville who started a producer collective called Internet Money, mentored Bankhead and taught him tricks of the trade.

“If you didn’t know anyone doing it, you were kind of on your own,” Bankhead said, describing how resource-sharing among Jacksonville producers helped him learn FL Studio and other tools.

He left college after two years and saved money working locally, then moved to Los Angeles to chase bigger opportunities.

“I knew I needed to go to a bigger city and then the opportunity came up to move to L.A. and I was like, you know what, I’m gonna do it, I’ve got some money saved, and then I’m gonna just go see what happens,” Bankhead said.

He said the move accelerated his technical skills — recording, engineering and understanding the music business — and put him in contact with artists and producers who helped elevate his work.

His credits include work with Young Thug, Gunna and the late Juice WRLD. He also contributed to Lil Nas X’s 2019 project “7,” which earned him a Grammy nomination and a Billboard plaque.

Bankhead said he nearly walked away from music a year before that session, frustrated by slow progress in Los Angeles. A friend, Andre “Bizness Boi” Robertson, invited him to the Lil Nas X session that led to the collaboration.

The recognition, he said, “put a lot of things in perspective” and reinforced that he had overcome many obstacles that affect young people on Jacksonville’s Northside.

“It’s kind of bleak,” he said. “I have a lot of peers of mine that passed away over the years from things like gang violence, drugs, stuff like that. In the moment, I kind of felt like, wow I really did beat a lot of the odds, you know what I mean and...it carries a heavy weight with me, in that regard.”

‘It’s a melting pot’: Jacksonville’s sound sets itself apart

Staying true to himself has been central to his approach. Bankhead blends funk, alternative pop, rock and hip-hop, a style he attributes to Jacksonville’s diverse music scene — from Southern rap to a robust rock and punk community.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, Black or Asian, Mexican or whatever, you’re just part of the culture but I feel like what a lot of people don’t know is that Jax has an insane rock and punk scene,” he said.

While other cities like Atlanta or L.A., which have a distinctive sound from artists who are from there, he said that Jacksonville is unique in the sense that it’s a mixed bag.

“You could get a trap artist, an alternative artist, an R&B artist,” he said. “It’s a melting pot...There’s so much exchange of culture here that’s slept on.”

He referenced Jahaan Sweet, also from Jacksonville, who has worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Drake, Jon Baptiste and more.

“I think that’s what sets the city apart,” he said.

Bankhead records and performs under the name Boyband — and sometimes uses the longer handle Alone in a Boyband — a moniker he said reflects his multirole identity as creator, engineer and photographer.

During the pandemic, he taught himself bass and uses it now to sketch songs before bringing in collaborators.

“I can’t start a song without my bass,” he said. “I can pretty much map out the entire song on an instrument and then bring the homies in.”

He also spoke of the pressure that comes after a high-profile success.

“The music industry is very ‘what have you done lately?’” he said, describing bouts of imposter syndrome and the challenge of following up a major placement. Still, he says accolades pushed him to keep working.

Bankhead’s advice to aspiring musicians: be willing to fail, cultivate your work and trust your instincts.

“If you love it, don’t quit,” he said. “You got to be okay with putting something out and not doing good. You got to be realistic about yourself, but also trust yourself.”

Asked what mark he hopes to leave, Bankhead said he wants to inspire others to be authentic.

“I want more people to just be themselves,” he said. “You’ll get to where you want to go quicker if you do that.”

He also welcomed recent local efforts to recognize Jacksonville’s musical history, including a new Riverfront Music Garden with a walk of fame.

“It’s good that people get their flowers,” he said. “Especially those who made something of themselves coming from Jacksonville.”

Behind the board I am...

“Behind the board, I am the wild card,” he said. “When I get pulled in line for projects, it’s usually never for what I want to do for the project; it’s always like, ‘I need something different, I need the weird stuff...”

But he said he still wants to make a song that becomes a hit on the radio

“I literally just want on because it just adds to the lore,” Bankhead said.