Inspired by his own life story

LOCAL artiste Dillon Mohamed, known by his stage name Raphael Eurus, is all set to officially release his new ‘Fly’ single on August 25. The much-anticipated track has been inspired by his own life story in which he found the strength to overcome mountainous challenges that impacted his mental health.
Speaking with the Buzz this week, Dillon reflected on the episodes of depression that he has had to endure over the years as a result of societal pressures. “The pressures of society and fitting in, and not being accepted the way you are and being very different from everyone else,” Dillon expressed.
He shared that “Being born into a society that pressures you to change yourself is a very painful experience and freeing yourself from that experience is what the song is about.”

It is his hope that other young people who are similarly struggling with their mental health may be able to take courage and comfort from his experience which is ever-present in his new song. “This song is to bring awareness to those kinds of situations and for the rest of society to understand the damages societal pressures do to people who are different from the majority,” he explained. Dillion performed the song for the first time at an Art Therapy’s Mental Health Awareness month celebration, in front of an audience that was both welcoming and inspired by the lyrics. He wants to do a video for the song, but will have to put this project on hold for now due to unaccommodating circumstances. However, young musician does have another new song that has been completed and will be ready for released in September, just in time for the country’s Amerindian Heritage Month celebrations.

Dillon especially loves singing his songs in multiple languages. “I love how it impacts people when you sing in their own language; you get to reach them,” he said.
The 28-year-old had expressed his love for music and the arts in a previous interview where he said that singing makes his feel better on his bad days. “It’s my escape from the harsh realities of life. Sometimes I experience horrible days and a bit of depression and I just get on my keyboard and start playing and singing and everything just feels better,” he related. With the main music influence being his mom who was also a musician, Dillon got new motivation when he started to sing in church, and when he started attending Queen’s College, and was doing ‘music’ as a subject. “During that time in school, I not only learned the theory, but took some time outside of the class during breaks to learn to play instruments. I took it upon myself to start learning to play the piano and guitar on my own,” Dillon told the Buzz.
At just 17 years old, he became the music director in the church and later, the worship director; he remained as the latter for 12 years.

Today, Dillon writes, plays and records music with the CFanatik music studio in Sophia. “My genres are pretty diverse. I love cultural, ethnic music, especially being mixed race. I love to do cultural blends of music, soul, R&B, alternative, rock and classical music.” In his music career so far, Dillon has performed several times at the National Music Festival, and at many art events. He released his first music video “One” last February. He has had his share of negativity to deal with in the industry, where he was told unkind things about his music career, but he’s never allowed it to keep him down. “It did hurt but I felt even more driven to chase my passion.”
The journey has not been easy. Dillion said that he also struggled on account of the finances and being able to gather the other resources needed to get things done. However, because of his love for creating music, he’s able to continue. Dillion related that the lack of effective copyright legislation in Guyana is one of the major challenges that he has had to face. He is hopeful that a day would come when he can finally be adequately compensated for his talent.