Love isn’t the only thing in the air this Valentine’s Day—so is Damez’s most personal and sonically daring project yet. Fresh off the GRAMMYs red carpet, the Atlanta-based rapper, singer, dancer, songwriter, and LGBTQ+ trailblazer has just dropped a surprise for fans: his seventh project and fourth full-length album, Never Satisfied. This time, he trades in hard-hitting bars for smooth, melodic vocals, delivering an R&B-Pop fusion that takes listeners on a journey through love, longing, and self-discovery in a way we’ve never heard from him before.
Dubbed “Atlanta’s Next Big Thing” by Out Magazine and hailed as “ready to take the throne” by MTV NEWS, Damez deliberately chose Valentine’s Day for the release of Never Satisfied—a fitting date for an album that unpacks the highs and lows of relationships with soul-baring honesty. Spanning 11 tracks, the project stays true to R&B’s emotional depth while seamlessly infusing elements of Pop, Hip-Hop, Soul, and even Country. Whether it’s the dreamy nostalgia of “Dreaming,” the infectious bounce of “Adore,” or the heartfelt tribute to resilience and family in “Long Way Now,” Damez ensures every side of himself—lover, dreamer, and artist—is fully explored.
“This project is for the lovers,” Damez shares. “The songs on here are very honest—it’s me in love, in lust, heartbroken, happy, and sad. It’s pop-infused R&B, but it’s still very soulful and still very Damez. R&B is literally my roots; it’s where I first discovered my passion for music as a little boy with Destiny’s Child and Usher CDs hogging my boombox. This project has been in the works for over four years now, and I’m really excited for the world to hear me in a different way.”
A Deep Dive Into Never Satisfied
From the moment the first note hits, Never Satisfied sets itself apart as Damez’s most vulnerable and expansive work to date. Each track offers a unique sonic and emotional experience, pulling listeners into a world of nostalgia, desire, and self-reflection. “Dreaming” wraps you in an ethereal haze, its soft synths and emotive delivery capturing the longing for something just out of reach. Meanwhile, “Adore” is pure ear candy, blending Damez’s signature flow with a bouncy, pop-leaning beat that makes it impossible not to move.
But the album doesn’t stop at romance—it’s also deeply personal. “Long Way Now” is a standout moment, incorporating a soulful, Country-inspired sound that pays homage to Damez’s late grandfather while reflecting on self-love and perseverance. With lyrics like “Don’t you ever dare neglect yourself” and “I swear to God I’ll never stop dreaming,” the song resonates beyond its melody, speaking to the resilience embedded within Black queer experiences.
Throughout the album, Damez oscillates between confidence and vulnerability. Tracks like “Too Much” question whether his ambition and presence might push love away, while “Locked In” captivates with its sultry, vintage aesthetic. The title track, “Never Satisfied,” drives home the album’s overarching theme—are we chasing something unattainable, or are we just standing in our own way?
Coming off the success of his 2023 LP Hell Now, Heaven Later, which tackled themes of mental health, homophobia in Hip-Hop, and resilience, Damez continues his artistic evolution. Never Satisfied marks not just a shift in sound, but a deeper dive into his identity and emotions, making it a project that is as bold as it is introspective.
GLAAD had the pleasure of sitting down with Damez to go behind the scenes of Never Satisfied, exploring the creative process and the deeply personal artistry behind this album. Check out our exclusive interview below!
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GLAAD: Never Satisfied marks your first full R&B-Pop album—what inspired this evolution? Did it feel like a natural shift, or was there a moment when you knew this was the direction you had to take?
Damez: It’s a bit of both. R&B has always proudly been my roots. It’s where I first discovered my love for music as a kid with Destiny’s Child and Usher (The first album I ever got was The Writing’s on the Wall at my 6-year-old birthday party)—while my Pops would be playing a lot of the soulful ‘70s R&B he grew up on, as well as the more modern late ‘90s stuff at the time. My mama, though not as big of a music person, I can remember loved her some Toni Braxton and Whitney. I know Karen White’s “Superwoman” by heart because of her. So rhythm and blues run through my veins. It felt like a natural progression for me as a versatile recording artist, but also there was a moment where I took a look at my discography and felt like I needed to make it reflect my musicality more accurately.
GLAAD: You’ve called this your most personal album yet, opening up about love and heartbreak in a way you haven’t before. What made you feel ready to be this vulnerable?
Damez: I feel like a lot of my earlier work was very confident and almost nonchalant about dating and love. But we as human beings are very complex species, and we have many different sides to ourselves. It’s up to us to create a life that allows us to experience and explore those sides—and I felt like “confident Damez” had his moment, consistently. This side of me, the more vulnerable and hopelessly romantic side—was practically begging to be unleashed, especially as I experienced more and more when it comes to dating in my personal life. My last relationship and the way it ended took a toll on me mentally, and it was a long and hard healing process (I touched on that on my last album, Hell Now, Heaven Later with songs like “Par for the Course” (Hip-Hop) and “Sorry Not Sorry” (R&B), respectively). But I’ve experienced more than just heartbreak. I’ve been happily in love. In lust. All of the stages. I wanted a project that finally explored all of that.
GLAAD: Your music has always blurred genre lines, and Never Satisfied weaves together R&B, Pop, Soul, and even Country. What drew you to this fusion, and how did you balance these influences while keeping the sound uniquely you?
Damez: R&B was always the main sonic nucleus for this project. It was originally titled Boys Don’t Cry and was going to be more of a heartbreak/breakup album when I first started to conceptualize it in 2021. I worked on two other albums and plenty of other records in between that time, and I experimented a lot. When it was finally time for me to circle back to this project, I’d sonically expanded a lot more than I initially set out to. I tried to incorporate these different genres in a way that never shied too far away from R&B. There’s even a couple of rap verses kinda tucked in the album, as I didn’t want to completely alienate my big rap fans. But it’s all Damez, and it’s all pulling from authentic life stories. It’s sexy, it’s sad, it’s happy, it’s pure—and it’s genuine. I think you can really hear the growth in the music.
GLAAD: The title Never Satisfied is layered—it could speak to love, ambition, or even identity. What does it mean to you personally, and does that feeling of always wanting more fuel or frustrate you?
Damez: Both! It’s a super tricky thing, and part of why I felt like it was super important to fully conceptualize. I’ve always been a really driven, hard-working person, and the constant desire for more keeps me inspired and motivated in my ambitions. But it can also be a negative thing if you don’t control it. I’m learning that you have to find the balance—between what you desire and loving what you already have; honoring and celebrating where you already are and how far you’ve come. In love, sometimes we can have unrealistic expectations, and as we get older, we realize what really matters in a partner. It’s important to remember while dating that like you, no one is perfect. I think if we show a little more grace to ourselves and others, we might get a little closer to satisfaction.
GLAAD: As an openly Black queer artist, writing about love and relationships comes with its own challenges in an industry still playing catch-up on representation. Have you ever felt pressure to tell your story in a certain way, or do you feel fully free in your artistry?
Damez: Absolutely. There were so many moments throughout the years where I can recall writing a song and feeling frustrated about having to change a lyric or two. Sometimes, I’d keep it as is—and other times, I’d go with something a bit more…universally appealing? Other times, I felt like the world just didn’t want to hear me talk about two guys in a romantic situation, so I’d instead just write about my life or something else that was going on. Which was just so dumb. These days, I find it a lot more cathartic to just be completely transparent in my writing. After all, I am a very unique individual with very unique experiences; these are my stories and my songs. And they aren’t supposed to be liked and appreciated by everyone, and I can admit it took me some years to understand that.
GLAAD: Tracks like “Too Much” and “Never Satisfied” tap into insecurity, self-doubt, and the fear of not being enough. How much of your own personal experience shaped these songs?
Damez: These songs were completely shaped by my personal experiences. I think “Too Much” might be one of the most vulnerable songs I’ve ever written, mostly because it exists on the opposite end of the confidence spectrum you’d usually hear me on. It’s almost like a plea for acceptance, sadly, but it’s honest. I consciously view myself in the eyes of the world around me, and I reluctantly feel like my growing popularity and/or my artistic expressions may intimidate some guys. It just so happened that a guy I was really into recently made me feel like I was “too much” for him, and while it sucked, at least I got a song from it! “Never Satisfied” is the title track that really ties the whole project together. It was the very last song I cut for the record and it was me being frustrated about being back at square one (again). But, it happens to the best of us.
GLAAD: You’ve never been afraid to experiment—this album proves that. But is there a genre or sound you haven’t tackled yet that you’re itching to explore?
Damez: I’ve always been a huge fan of House and Dance music. I’ve been doing a lot of studying, writing, and recording, of course—and I’m super excited for what I have planned following this R&B era! I also want to tap into some Folk and more Alternative stuff eventually.
GLAAD: You’ve been an independent artist for over a decade, building something entirely on your own terms. What’s been the biggest lesson in navigating success without the backing of a major label?
Damez: For me, I’d say the biggest lesson was just learning how to do as much as I can without having to outsource any help. It’s also super important to know when you should seek some assistance, though. Balance!
GLAAD: You’ve hinted that Never Satisfied is just the beginning. Can you give us a sneak peek of what’s next?
Damez: The last album was really mental health and healing-focused, while this one is about love. I think for the next record, I want to just make people feel good and move. 😉
Never Satisfied is streaming now wherever you get your music!