NWG Suave Opens Up About His Viral Song 'Dani Banks,' Upcoming EP & More

NWG Suave aims to leave his troublesome past behind as he continues to carve out his own path to stardom.

The rising rapper first gained notoriety after he graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and played football for Ohio State University. He was drafted 19th overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 and joined the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021. After he was let go by the Chiefs last year, the 27-year-old decided to focus on his career in music.

“I've grown a lot, bro,” NWG Suave explains to iHeartRadio. “It's like two kids later, a couple trials later."

"I actually took a couple times to really learn, but I just had to take accountability on certain s**t," he adds. "Being an athlete, you be privileged a lot. But reality hit hard and I just had to grow up... I realized, man, I need something. I wanted to stop getting in trouble for real, really? Because music was like a release and I really do have fun doing it. I feel better as a person after making music. It's like kind of like working out. I feel like when I work out, that sense of relief and stuff you get after running two miles or lifting, I get that same feel after recording. Some of my songs be personal and people may not really know what I'm talking about on the song, but hearing myself talk through the speaker is like I get some type of closure on it and feel better.”

NWG Suave’s stage name stands for “Netway General.” It stems from his birthname, Damon Arnette, and the nickname he had growing up “Rico.” The newcomer has only dropped singles within the past two years, but his indestructible work ethic and determination has already elevated him to a place he’s never been before.

“So I actually been able to freestyle really my whole life, just in the car,” Suave says. “I've been doing that my whole life. But as far my first time actually getting in the studio and recording was after football for real.”

Following the release of his song “On The Rise,” Arnette continued to come through with plenty more singles like “Find a Way” and “Therapy.” In 2023 alone, he’s delivered enough songs for a full-length project. However, his recent joint “Dani Banks” is the one song that’s attracted plenty of attention recently.

“Dani Banks” serves as a gritty response to an OnlyFans model named Dani Banks who recently accused him of stealing from her. During her appearance on the Pillow Talk podcast, Banks claimed Arnette stole an expensive Cartier watch and other things during a party at her home in 2022. Arnette didn’t make the song with Banks in mind, but once she made the allegations he couldn’t help but name it after her.

“The video was definitely made as response to the lies she said, but the song was made weeks before. It wasn't even called ‘Dani Banks,’ you know what I'm saying? It is just when she was saying that s**t, I'm like, ‘this b***h.’ I'm like, man, all right. It was about to be the next song out anyway. I just changed the name to ‘Dani Banks’ and then got a whole new visual idea to paint the picture because it just made sense. When I made that song, I wasn't really thinking about anything. I had just got out of court and s**t, so it was really more so the first song since I got the plea deal and stuff like that in court, and I just directed it towards her.”

Police investigated Banks’ claims, however, they weren’t able to arrest anyone because the surveillance footage Banks provided didn’t actually show Arnette or his crew stealing the watch. It wasn’t the first time Arnette had a run-in with the law. He recently pleaded guilty on a misdemeanor charge for assault and drawing a deadly weapon during an incident in January 2022. He was arrested for pulling a gun on a valet attendant at the Park MGM hotel and casino in Las Vegas. After he accepted the plea deal, a judge sentenced him to 50 hours of community service, a $2,000 fine and was barred from owning any guns.

The experience left him hungry for redemption, and he plans to channel all of that energy into his upcoming project. He’s currently working on his debut EP Left For Dead. He didn’t disclose any other details about the tracklist, but he did confirm his bucket list of future collaborations. He hopes to get in the booth with the likes of Doja Cat, DaBaby, NBA YoungBoy, Playboy Carti and more.

“It's going to be an EP with five songs on it called Left for Dead,” Arnette says. “That’ just the state of mind that I was feeling. I was feeling like it was just left or dead. People forgot about me, was hoping the worst, this, that, and the third, but a Phoenix though just rises from all ashes and bulls**t. The story’s not over. I just feel like it's really the beginning right now.”

Although his career in the NFL is up in the air, Arnette is extremely confident about his future in the rap game. Check out the behind-the-scenes visuals for his "Dani Banks" video as well as the video for his previous single "Step On 'Em" below.