Wes Walker and Dyl are the masterminds behind “Jordan Belfort,” Spotify’s “#1 College Song” from 2015. Many college students are guilty of having this song on his or her playlist, which is truly something special when considering that Walker and Dyl are college students themselves. Walker attends Temple University and Dyl goes to Tulane University, and while being students, they were still able to produce a popular hit like “Jordan Belfort.” The song has received over 30 million hits on SoundCloud and YouTube, and on the iTunes pop chart, the song peaked at #29. This success is what ultimately led them to landing a deal with major label Atlantic Records. After talking with Walker and Dyl, I learned some pretty cool things about their careers, their successful song and what inspires them to do what they do.
The two have been best friends since middle school, and after they both got into the music scene from DJ-ing, they decided to collaborate together on this catchy tune. The two are always stimulated and inspired from being surrounded by so much music, which is what led them to start recording stuff on their own. Walker said, “I slowly gained a liking to all and everything hip-hop culture, and all my friends would freestyle together and that is when I started producing instrumentals and actually recording raps.” What originally started out as mindless fun has turned into a career for both Walker and Dyl, which is something that still amazes them and makes them proud to be making music. When asked how they feel about having the most popular song in the U.S. amongst college students, Walker said, “I kind of still don’t believe it. Almost every college kid in America has heard my goofy voice. Something really special indeed.”
The original inspiration for the song derived from the poplar movie Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. After Dyl watched the film, he was filled with ideas for a song all about the Jordan Belfort lifestyle. When the two musicians came together, they produced this single with an awesome beat—and it all began as a simple idea. Regarding what it is about Jordan Belfort’s lifestyle they admire, Walker said, “I mean, that is kind of a funny question because the song and video is almost sarcastic, in the sense that obviously we’re not that rich, but it’s fun to live that reckless, money overloaded ‘Jordan Belfort’ lifestyle.”
At this point, so many college students in America have grown to love this jam (and relate to it), making it an inescapable tune at a variety of universities. Walker was mostly in charge of production for the song and Dyl was the one who did the writing and lyrics. Their skill sets are perfectly balanced, making all aspects of the song come out flawlessly.
As artists themselves, Walker and Dyl find a lot of inspiration in other artists and musicians that they look up to. Dyl said he’s into a lot of popular rappers such as Drake, Future, Bryson Tiller and Kevin Gates. Walker said that he loves genres such as hip-rop/rap, EDM, funk, blues and disco, and his favorite artists are MadeinTokyo, Danny Brown, Mac Miller and the entire A$AP mob. Walker also said, “I listen to some really weird tech house and deep house, as well as a lot of oldies. My mom is a huge music person, and I’ve provided entertainment for tons of different corporate events so I have a good feel for simply good music.”
Walker and Dyl are not stopping with “Jordan Belfort,” however. The two recently released a single with Young Scrap, and plan to release many more exciting songs and beats. As separate artists, they also intend to release solo content, which is something that their fans are highly anxious to hear. Walker said, “I think most people are assuming we are some sort of one-hit wonder. Just keep your ears open you’ll be hearing us for years.” The anticipation for their new releases is growing, and the bar has been set high after their successful “Jordan Belfort” release.
PHOTO COURTESY of thenumberfest.com
