By DeMicia Inman

A 25-year-old rapper representing West Dayton, Daylone (born Dalin Byrd) is laying out his experience of pain and triumph through hip-hop. Inspired by artists like Kevin Gates and Young Thug, Daylone uses his authentic street story to profess a tainted love with the city.

His latest project, “Lingo Tunes,” is a call to action. He hopes his listeners take his tag “who’s that guy” as inspiration to learn more after experiencing a song.

Daylone evolved from Dalin Byrd with assistance and encouragement from his high school friends. Since then, he’s worked to hone a sound that not only captures his reality but extends to his peers and beyond. Right now, the overlooked artist is working to boost his visibility while creating unity within the Dayton music scene and increasing the city’s position in Ohio-bred hip-hop.

“Once we get that down, we can be the Columbus, the Cleveland, the Cincinnati,” he said. “Getting Dayton on the map is definitely a goal, and it’s going to happen for sure.”

Daylone wants to expand his sound beyond the Buckeye State by using regional recognition to help fuel his rise.

“It ain’t nothing like the city love. The more I grow, the more Im’a do for the city. We all gon’ grow together,” he said.

Much of Daylone’s catalogue directly reflects feelings of grinding to elevate and pushing past any circumstance that hinders progress. “Don’t lose your pride, I know you been broke for a while. But you gotta stay down, everything gon’ come around,” he raps on the featured track “Pride.”

“I want them [fans] to take away the creativity in expressing the feelings and the pain,” Daylone said.

Among the tracks which explore his pain, Daylone doesn’t forget to give fans a diverse listening experience. Woven through lyrics about grief, struggle and coping, he raps about the good times, enjoying nights with friends and the self-determination needed to create the Daylone way. Of course, the tracklist wouldn’t be complete without a reference to his exclusive “drip.” On “Own Lane,” he rapidly reminds listeners – “N***a I stayed in my own lane, got a couple thousand in my Balmain. I run it up like a ball-game, got a Cuban link, it’s a dog chain.”

What’s in Daylone’s future? For him, it all banks on consistency. He plans to build his artistic empire through steadfast hard work and determination.

“2020, I just want to drop more videos, push ‘Lingo Tunes,’ be consistent through the whole year and get my name bigger than Dayton and bigger than Ohio, period,” he said.

By pledging allegiance to his art, he yearns to take things to the next level. If a big-break is on his path in the future, he has his sights set on working with artists like Lil Durk, Summer Walker or Yo Gotti. Until then, Daylone continues to aspire for the community, becoming a voice of West Dayton with no diversion.

Follow him on Instagram @Daylone_ to keep up with his work.

DeMicia Inman is a music, entertainment and trending news journalist. She currently writes daily music news posts and feature stories, covers events and creates digital content for Def Pen. DeMicia's work can also be seen on Paper Magazine, MTV News, Hello Giggles and more.