Daniel Grant: “Mom is my best friend”

Somewhere in the late nineties-early 2000s, the light night show “Milkshake” hosted by Scout Grant was broadcast. In those times it was nothing less than a televised event that captured the best bizarre moments of that time, when we will forever remember the moment when Grant sipped her own urine. And if you ask the actor, musician and her son, Daniel Grant, he will tell you that it is one of his favorite TV shows. “I’m sure that one day I’ll appear with her,” he promises.

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You were six when the show aired, did kids at school bully you?
‘I was about six when the show aired, and the fact that my mum drank her own pee made a lot of noise. The children definitely tried to bully, but I would answer them ‘go find out, maybe it’s delicious’. In any case, from the distance of the years, I think that what Mom did in ‘Milkshake’, is not far from things that many famous people do today on Instagram.’

“The fact that my mother drank her pee made a lot of noise. The children definitely tried to tease, but I would answer them – go and find out, maybe it tastes good”

And it’s banal to ask you what it’s like to be the son of Scout and Abraham Grant?
‘I’m completely undecided about it. I didn’t have other parents, I grew into it and I don’t examine it. These are my life, and they are my parents and I love them the most. And, I admit, I developed the skin of an elephant.’

And now you’re trying to get into showbiz. Does the family lineage help open doors?
“Probably so. But the connections can also destroy, because I have a magnifying glass on me. And if I don’t work hard and don’t give my all, nothing will help.’

In short, with or without urine – swallow the hat. Because 29-year-old Daniel Grant, the next promise of the hip-hop world, is not just a handsome young man with tons of personal charm. And he certainly doesn’t need his interviewer twisting in front of him with prying questions. His writing is personal and sensitive and also the conversation with him is direct, sober and without papers. You can say that this is a type that doesn’t pay attention. Well, apparently it goes through the genes after all.

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Football will no longer happen. But why a musical career?
“It was a fantasy that I didn’t see happening and I didn’t think it was possible because I don’t play. But I started writing to myself and got positive responses, I made sketches with my friend and turned to my agent, Zohar Jacobson for an opinion. From there it continued to meeting Gadi Lidor and Ben Chopin And we became a trio. I started from scratch and it wasn’t easy, but it’s the most fun and meaningful process I’ve had.”

This week Grant launched “Dolphin”, a fourth single that will be part of his debut album “I don’t need anything anymore”, in which he reveals and shares honestly about the anxieties and fears of the future. Likewise, Grant does not spare from his works the preoccupation with scandals surrounding his family lineage.

Do you talk to dolphins?
“It’s a song that talks about the transition from the stress, the mess, and the rush of Tel Aviv to the calm I had at the Dolphin Reef. There was a situation there, just like I wrote, where I saw a dolphin there and when I spoke, I felt that he was listening.’

And yet, you also write about anxieties, fears and dreams.
“My writing is personal but not very personal, it happened to me following changes in my life. But I don’t define myself as anxious. I saw it on my friends and family and I sympathize.’

If it’s a family, what kind of child were you?
“Depends on who you ask. I was a super happy and slightly disturbed child. But in a good way. I had no difficulties in studies but in high school I had difficulties with the framework. Let’s say that the parents were called to many meetings with the principal.’

“It’s funny to me to call Shuli Rand ‘stepfather’, he’s a friend. I didn’t know him as a child but I adore him. Mom, how talented and creative he is at abnormal levels”

Did you grow up at home with mom when dad was away? Did it affect you?
“Mother is my best friend and father has not been in Israel since 2006. Which means something like seventeen years. But there hasn’t been a single day since he left, that he hasn’t called several times a day and is the most involved in my life. We are the best friends in the world. And when I fly abroad, there is no way he won’t come to visit me. Even if it’s on the other side of the world.’

Did your parents’ divorce affect you in any way?
“No. It didn’t change anything in my life, because father has long since not lived in Israel. And yet, their relationship is the warmest and most loving.’

How involved is family in your career?
“Very involved and supportive. Mom and Dad are very supportive and so is my sister Romi. She is 27 years old and she is studying cinematography and she also directed my first music video and even sang the chorus in the song ‘Letter to Myself’.

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Your partner is also part of the business, isn’t she?
“Aviv Fatai has been my girlfriend for three years and she’s a crazy artist, she made all the music videos for me.”

“Dad has not been in Israel since 2006, but there hasn’t been a single day since he left that he hasn’t called several times a day and he is the most involved in my life. We are the best friends in the world”

And what about your stepfather?
“It makes me laugh to call him ‘stepfather’, Shuli (Rand, DBA), he’s a friend. I didn’t know him as a child but I adore him. Oh my, how talented and creative he is at abnormal levels. And yes, I show him materials, He speaks his mind and gives advice and mom is very happy about that, so everything is good.’

Today artists must maintain active social networks. Does it speak to you?
“I’m on edge. I didn’t grow up on it, I have 4,000 followers and I’m trying, but I’m not good at it yet. Let’s say I’m not like Noa Kirel who can jump in a day by 400,000 followers. She’s a crazy singer, it’s huge.’

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Noa Kirel is required to reveal quite a bit for these numbers. Is this something you enjoy?
“It may sound unreal, but I don’t relate to it. I just die to make music. Writing is also work. I’m not waiting for the muse.’

You are a musician and an actor, what about a model?
“It’s not in my state of mind and it makes me laugh to talk about how I look.”

So where do you see yourself in five years?
“After a few albums, he creates and plays. And Aviv also makes signs of a ring on the finger.’

Did you get the hint?
“I understood him.”