Grammy winner fondly remembers time at Cal U.
Courtesy of Sensei Communications
Damon Taylor, aka Dame Drummer, is a singer-songwriter, Grammy Award winning producer and award-winning filmmaker.
Courtesy of Sensei Communications
Damon Taylor, a 2002 graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, received a Grammy Award in February for his production work on the Alphabet Rockers album, “The Movement.”
Courtesy of Sensei Communications
Damon Taylor, known professionally as Dame Drummer, has made a splash in the entertainment industry, receiving 30 awards for his highly acclaimed documentary, “Black Daddy: The Movie.”
Damon Taylor is an accomplished singer-songwriter, producer and filmmaker.
Now, the 2002 California University of Pennsylvania graduate can add Grammy Award winner to his list of achievements.
Taylor, professionally known as Dame Drummer, is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and lives in Oakland, Calif., but says it is his time spent as a student at Cal. U that “saved his life.”
There is joy in his voice when he talks about Cal. U, where he played basketball for Bill Brown, who died in February.
“It was a very pivotal time in my life,” Taylor said in a recent phone interview. “I was in the inner city of Cleveland and trying to make my way, but I wasn’t making the best decisions for my life. Coach Brown gave me a second chance. He had me come down there and work out, and I never looked back after Cal.”
Taylor, who majored in parks and recreation management, recalls Brown telling him that he was going to send a car to bring Taylor to the school. Thinking the university was located in the state of California, Taylor wondered why he was traveling by car instead of by air.
“He said, ‘No bud, it’s in Pennsylvania,'” Taylor said with a laugh. “I worked out for him and he offered me a full scholarship on the spot. That saved my life because it allowed me to really take my education and my opportunities seriously.”
After graduation, Taylor, 45, played professional basketball in France for a few seasons and also for the Pennsylvania Pit Bulls of the American Basketball Association.
But music always was a part of Taylor’s DNA, and that’s where he found success, as well as in the film industry.
In February, he won a Grammy Award for production on the Alphabet Rockers album, “The Movement,” for Best Children’s Album.
“It was a feeling that I’ve been longing for,” he said. “That was always a goal of mine and to finally hear your name called and take that stage, it was amazing. The best of the best were in that room, some of our most influential and legendary creatives all under one roof celebrating music. It was an amazing feeling.”
Amazing also describes the splash his recent documentary, “Black Daddy: The Movie,” is making.
Considered one of the most celebrated films of 2022, “Black Daddy” has earned 30 awards across 25 film festivals in seven countries and four continents, including five “Best Original Film Score” awards for the soundtrack.
“Black Daddy” is told from a Black father’s point of view, one Taylor believes is often overlooked amid the assumption that Black fathers are not involved in their children’s lives.
Taylor, the father of two, shares his story, as well as those of a few like-minded men who describe what it means to be a Black father in America.
“Oftentimes, we are the athletes, we are the comedic relief, or we’re just portrayed as being violent or irresponsible on the screen,” he said. “I wanted to have the opportunity to change that narrative. It’s really been a great run as far as the impact that it’s had and continues to have.”
Future plans for Dame Drummer include a documentary about his father, Timothy, a tour and more work with Alphabet Rockers. The “Black Daddy” soundtrack was released March 7 and another album will drop in the summer.
“I’ve worked really hard,” Taylor said. “Now that these things are coming and happening for me, it’s a testament of what hard work will bring you if you stay consistent with the things that bring you joy. Music and working with young people bring me joy.”
But he still holds fond memories of his time spent in California, Pa.
“I have a very close relationship with that part of the country,” he said. “I really have a good place in my heart for Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. That was a very monumental part of my life, being at Cal.”