Over the past few weeks, I’ve become fairly familiar with the Los Angeles native (by way of Milwaukee) DC The Don. He has been making waves for quite some time at this point, and after doing a bit of research, it turns out that his first-ever song was used in the Ball family’s first-ever Big Baller Brand commercial considering DC and the 3 basketball superstars played together in high school. While I’m not overly familiar with his entire catalog of work, I’m thoroughly impressed with what I’ve heard so far, and there’s a reason he continues to blow up more and more daily.
Most recently, the homie hit me up and told me that DC had just released another hit entitled “Rag3 Kidd”, and I didn’t have a choice but to listen up. It seems as if DC keeps his circle relatively small because he teamed up with his friend and frequent collaborator Trademark to produce this hit. Throughout the production, you can hear some soothing but also Punk inspired acoustic guitar licks, powerful drums, and chattering percussion that is just a perfect foundation for DC. As he goes in for the chorus, there is an overtone of Pop-Punk influences considering there is a rebellious yet someone melancholic vibe in the notes he sings that also includes a slight touch of perseverance and hope.
Getting into his verse, the instrumental simplifies, and his lines seem to come through a bit slower and much more emphasized than before. This doesn’t last long, however, before he rotates to another cadence and incorporates some more power and conviction into his delivery, truly letting his emotions take over his words more than ever before. All in all, what I truly admire is the fact that he is able to go from catchy melodies that he sings effortlessly to rapid flows that are even more captivating in the blink of an eye.
As far as the music video, DC himself got together with 713Bran to direct this visual as a team effort, and the results are simply as fun as they get. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of crazy storyboard or intentional scenes that take place, but instead, it appears as if the camera just follows DC around for a day in the life situation as he lives his lowkey yet still interesting life. As the homemade clips rotate throughout his day, DC and his friends can be seen on a group snowboarding trip to Big Bear Mountain, where the artist and his posse hit the slopes during the day, look at some cool illuminated evergreen trees, and head to the convenience store at night before allowing the video to naturally come to a close.
2020 was an absolute breakout year for the young talent, signing to Rostrum Records as well as releasing his debut album back in August. While this label boasts names like Wiz Khalifa, Rockie Fresh, and the late great Mac Miller, it also includes artists like 24hrs, Innanet James, Taleban Dooda, and my friend My Favorite Color. Clearly, Rostrum knows how to pick them and is continuing to build up their powerhouse roster, DC is making an argument as to why he wants to be the biggest name on their team. After such a massive year last year, it might be intimidating for some up and comers, but DC The Don is in no way, shape, or form bashful, and I can’t wait to see what kind of successes 2021 is going to bring him.