Tae Zu (born Dante Alexander Greene) is an artist out of El Paso, TX. Music has always been a deep influence in his life. He was surrounded by sounds and family singing – his grandfather on the weekends showing him Jazz, Funk and Blues, while his mother’s poems fueled his interest in hip hop, as he was introduced to artists like Slick Rick, Wu-Tang Clan, Busta Rhymes and others who followed. Tae Zu enjoyed the clever writing in lyrics, flowing with the grittiness of the music, which was the key to igniting his start.
Growing up, he quickly moved from his interests in battle rapping, to finding his way to an independent record label, and then onto releasing his own solo projects. This lead to touring and increasing his reach throughout the areas of the southwest, surrounding his home town. All the while Tae Zu continued to hone his craft and study the culture.
Feb. 19th 2021, marks the release of Tae Zu’s latest single, entitled “SINK”. It’s relaxing and overwhelming at the same time. The contrast between harsh poetic lyrics and the smooth but disturbing beat, is most evident in the track, which really shows off Tae Zu’s serious poeticism:
“Chained to my own fear, Will I ever be clear, Or will I drown in the ocean of tears, That I, see closer ends, That I, welcome with open arms, These dark thoughts, that’ll scares your devil, This level, of pain, unsettling, Crazing the brain, Testament, Stain to the pressure, I gained,” raps Tae Zu in the track’s opening lines.
His messages throughout the track, are as clear as they are cryptic, until he gets to the hook, which is explicit in its intentions: “All you’ll get is a hole in the ground, You will not tell me shit, You will not take my crown,” sings Tae Zu. It is a musical triumph, and intentionally so.
It is a chance for the artist to showcase his incredible lyricism and confidence, over a complex, but great beat. Though the track has brief duration of 1 minute and fifty four seconds, Tae Zu packs in fantastic wordplay and rhymes. Each of his enunciations is clear, carefully and precisely delivered, and for a moment his delivery drifts into the realm of mesmeric.
As he has previously demonstrated on his releases, Tae Zu actively refuses to be boxed in by commercial, label, media or industry expectations, and instead opts to chart his own course across the oversaturated world of rap music.
Tae Zu is not in this line of musical creativity to simply make commercially viable hip-pop, he understands that his career and credibility as an artist, will get far more mileage out of recording a profound, thought provoking piece like “SINK”.
The track is a truly absorbing release from an ever-developing hip-hop artist. It would seem Tae Zu has thoughtfully evaluated his music-making priorities, and the result on “SINK” is indicative of this meticulous care.
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