D'Mile Ernest III is one of the most sought-after producers, after producing Grammy- and Oscar-winning songs for R&B singer H.E.R. and Silk Sonic's hit "Leave the Door Open." But before he produced Lucky Daye's Painted album back in 2019, he says he almost gave up on the music industry.
"I was just at a time in my life where I was like, OK, I'm doing all of this work, and a lot of great stuff is happening, of course, but I still didn't feel like I was finding...that thing that I needed," D'Mile tells ABC Audio.
He says "dealing with the politics of things" in the music industry and "dealing with your name not being as big" contributed to that feeling. But Diddy changed his mind, reaching out to him after he mentioned wanting to quit music.
"He immediately hit me while he was at his house getting a massage from somebody," D'Mile laughs. "He was like, 'Yo, you can't quit. We need you.' And you know, saying all this great stuff. I almost teared up and everything."
Shortly after that, D'Mile got the opportunity to produce Lucky Daye's debut album, Painted. With that project, he decided to make what he wanted and not care about what anybody thought. The album went on to receive four Grammy nominations in 2020.
"I think that kind of surged a whole new thing in my career," D'Mile says. "And that led to [H.E.R.] and well I'll fast forward to now to Silk Sonic with Bruno [Mars] and Anderson .Paak."