By Kylee Crisswell, Yukon High School
Music is a versatile topic, where people can connect with different genres, introducing them to entirely new communities. Many people across the nation find something joyful about the sound of different beats pouring into their ears. Some don’t like change, but most also don’t like repetition.
An upcoming Oklahoman artist named DaProphet has found his voice in the studio, and is now working on dropping a new album called “Cardiac Torment.” Before this project, DaProphet was working on his single “J.O.Y,” which dropped in 2021.
This single takes on a mix of a couple of styles, most consistently an old-school classic rap feel. This is interesting since this style is combined with some less common and unexpected musical techniques. I consider these musical techniques as something crucial to well-developed music.
In this single, DaProphet switches up the beat but also keeps it at a faster pace than expected for a classic rap feel. This provides the artist with some originality in his work and allows him to showcase his talent well.
A good artist can be versatile, and manipulate popular genres to have artistic elements that lie outside the norm. DaProphet lies within this category of artists because of how he presents his music to the world.
Aside from the strategic technical work, DaProphet also uses references in this musical piece to help showcase his personal experiences in a relationship. For example, he mentions a relationship that involved a transition from friendship into something more. “Lil’ demon and angelic vibes,” is a phrase he uses to describe that relationship.
Throughout the piece, he centers it on the idea of wanting this relationship to last but also shows the truth. He does this by essentially saying that he is unsure of this relationship being a lasting one.
As part of the opening lines, DaProphet says “The heart wants what it wants, but my feelings are something different.” It continues, “My feelings are complicated, I wrote this one conflicted.”
Rap, although not my personal favorite, has always been a musical genre about pouring truth into the world. No two people live the same truth, and capturing a personal truth that well in a song, while also keeping emotion in it, is not easy to do for most artists. DaProphet managed to incorporate all of these technical and personal aspects into just a single song.
Conversely, after seeing what DaProphet can do with just a single song, I’m curious to see if, for his new album, he will continue to attempt to take on new styles, to expand on his artistic performance. Any artist who can grow their network in this way is an artist who has my respect.
Overall, DaProphet is a talented artist headed in the right direction, and I’m excited to see what approach is taken to his new album, “Cardiac Torment.”
