DCook is a 26 year old rapper based out of Calgary, AB in Canada, who is under the independent UGO Records label. Growing up in Houston has given him a southern style to his voice. A rapper inspired to be a socially conscious voice in the genre, DCook takes a lot of cues from his influences Kendrick Lamar and J.Cole.
He has recently released the track “Donald West”. In the current situation, commercial hip hop is the bulk of what the masses are exposed to. The mantra of get money, pimp hoes, shake that ass, is what is served up daily by today’s radio rap elite.
It’s rare that a hip-hop artist is today able to achieve mainstream success, be respected by the heads, relate to the youth and create meaningful music filled with content that challenges the listener’s thoughts, questions their actions and pushes them toward a better alternative.
DCook has done exactly that in just over 3 minute on “Donald West”. I might add that DCook shows traces of Tupac’s ability to spin tales and manufacture emotions, and Biggie’s larger than life confidence, as well as the sublime and technical lyricism of Eminem.
DCook spits relentlessly, packing dense rhymes and lyricism and firing them with a combative steady flow that is never forced or overly aggressive. On “Donald West”, DCook has refined the art of teaching listeners a lesson without them even realizing they were in the class, or even had a teacher.
He tackles classism, and just about any other ‘ism’ that is detrimental to a healthy, well balanced society. The track is brilliant in its paradoxes, in its emotion, in his depiction of modern-day life and the arrogance that surrounds us.
“Donald West” is a blatant disregard of hip-hop’s formula for success is its thesis: don’t be a number; be somebody, make a difference, is what DCook is ultimately trying to say to us. Don’t listen to the crab, the richer, or the more seemingly powerful are throwing at us.
If you’re seriously losing faith in the future of hip hop, at least on a mainstream level, great art is always around, but sometimes you have to look harder. DCook has a wise soul, and it shines through in an honest and brilliant way on this track.
This album is confident and bold, confronting the eccentricities of the likes of Donald Trump and Kanye West. Your average rapper would not even dare to attempt making music like this. “Donald West” shines lyrically and production wise with its piano-driven, soulful nature that will undoubtedly separate itself from the rest of the pack.
OFFICIAL LINK: SOUNDCLOUD – INSTAGRAM – UGO RECORDS
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