Andre “Bonfire Dre” Gianfrocco shows work ethic, drive while hoping to make it big
Andre “Bonfire Dre” Gianfrocco always loved music, but he never thought it could be his life’s calling. Now, two albums and more than 20,000 Spotify streams later, he’s well on his way to making it big.
Dre, a sophomore marketing major at the University of Rhode Island, finds time to balance being a student, producer and rapper. Dre has released two full-length albums to date “Pyromaniac” (2020) and “Dremar” (2021).
“Initially, I started off as like a rapper, like I just fell in love with like music and hip hop in specific,” Dre said. “ And, you know, I just kind of thought to myself, all these famous people are doing something that I feel like I could totally do myself.”
He has been making music for about five years, but it wasn’t always clear that music was his path in life.
“I mean, I think I knew I wanted to at some point, but I just didn’t think I had the means or like the audience to do it,” Dre said. “And then around like the three-year mark was like, I’m gonna really grind at this.”
Dre said he draws on a lot of hip-hop artists for inspiration, especially Kanye West, Travis Scott, Juice Wrld and Speaker Knockerz.
“I’m versatile, super versatile because I can really make a song that can make you turn up, or I can make a song that you like, feel on an emotional level,” Dre said. “It really depends on what I’m feeling when I’m in the mood for making and it’s different audiences for both. So I can really just tap into whatever sound I want.”
According to Dre, exposure has been the biggest challenge in his music career. He initially posted snippets of tracks on social media apps such as Instagram and Snapchat to grow his fanbase. After social media posts started to gain attention, local fans from Dre’s hometown of East Greenwich, RI helped him get to the next level where he could perform live.
“People from my town supported me at first and that was really dope to see,” Dre said. “But after that, I got into like playlisting or got into like TikTok and just like all that stuff [and] I did a couple shows. Yeah, I tried a lot of different stuff to get my stuff out there and some of it worked.”
Dre also spoke on some other challenges he has faced during his music career so far.
“Being a white guy in hip hop is definitely a chip on my shoulder,” Dre said. “But that’s not like that’s stopping me. I mean, like look at Jack Harlow. But overall, I would say the biggest challenges I have are probably just getting fans.”
Jesse Ligouri, a junior at Endicott College, a friend and collaborator of Dre, said that Dre’s work ethic is clear to anyone.
“He delivers every time,” Ligouri said. “He worked hard on everything, he makes sure that it’s good, whatever he’s putting out there, even if it’s not for him.”
Because of his work ethic, Liguori believes Dre can take it to the next level.
“I just can’t wait to see where he goes in the music industry in the future. But he’s gonna be there.” Ligouri said. “I’m dropping an album maybe next month and he’s on it like three times. The kid has worked so hard and continues to work hard every day. That’s what he does and he’s gotten so good at it. And he’s been grateful enough to teach me everything he knows and continues to teach me, and I’m so thankful for that, you know. He’s one of my greatest influences when it comes to making music.”
Dre’s music can be found on all streaming services and more information can be found on his Instagram @bonfiredre_.