South Florida has been one of the busiest hubs in the world when it comes to the creation of Rap music, and as of recently, Taleban Dooda has been the guy that everyone has had their eyes on. He has a similar gritty attitude to many of his counterparts, but his sound is completely different than anyone else you’d hear out of the Tampa area which is going to go a long way when helping to differentiate himself from all the other incredible talents in the area.
In order to get 2021 started off on the highest of notes, Dooda teamed up with fellow Tampa spitter T9ine and an extremely talented producer who goes by Gasky in order to bring his latest single “Chosen” to life. Gasky breathes life into this touching street anthem through emotive piano keys, some soothing synths or strings of some sort, and an unbelievably bouncy drumline that is completely invigorating. The duo divides up the hook with T9ine taking the first half and Dooda handling the second, and although they both have completely different sounding voices, they both share fairly similar stories, so their words just roll off their tongues in the most genuinely inspiring ways.
When Dooda continues on for the first verse, his higher-pitched, smooth vocals shine through and captivate you for the duration of this part, and this is when you realize how truly individualistic he is when compared to anyone else coming out of the South Florida region. Although I wasn’t totally familiar with T9ine heading into this record, he truly took my breath away in the second verse. Just the way he effortlessly moved through his part of the song and demonstrated a plethora of different cadences and sounds left me somewhat speechless, and I know he’s an artist I need to keep on my radar moving forward.
As for the Jacob Hale-directed music video, Dooda and T9ine meet up on Hillsborough Avenue which is a street in East Tampa, Dooda’s home city. At first, high-quality shots are shown of the two rappers and their homies chilling in a backyard smoking blunts, and just enjoying what seems to be a beautiful day. After a few more clean and clear clips, the camera changes to more of a homemade aesthetic as it follows the posse into a story to purchase a Tom Brady Buccaneers jersey, which he wears throughout this visual in order to represent his hometown even further.
My favorite part of the music video by far was when the lyrics mention how their careers started as a dream, and the visual cuts to previous older homemade clips of the two artists. During this part, they’re shown in home studios, chilling in cars, and going live on Instagram, but every single clip used makes it obvious that this was during the times they were still grinding to make a name for themselves much earlier in their careers before they realized what level they’d eventually grow to be at now.
I always love hearing about the progression of promising talents from the early stages of their music to where they eventually get to, but actually seeing it in the music video definitely gave me goosebumps and brought a smile to my face. What was even more meaningful was the fact that even in the shots that were recorded in the present day, the two rappers were smiling and enjoying life which made it obvious that they remember the tough times and appreciate the moment even more than you could imagine. It just seems like these two artists deserve the recognition they’re receiving more than some other musicians do, and I’m happy to see that they’re not taking it for granted in the slightest. Taleban Dooda is gearing up for his biggest year yet in 2021, and “Chosen” is just the start, so make sure you tune in and check out the latest single as soon as you possibly can.