Hip-Hop

Proclaim finds clarity in the chaos with soulful single “Start Again”

With “Start Again,” Proclaim opens a window to the emotional whiplash that so often goes unsaid featuring LaRussell. In this tender and disarmingly honest song, he conveys the quiet pain that can happen after we’ve apparently “checked all the boxes” in life, and yet something still feels off. What you do when you climb to the top of the “happiness mountain” and discover you’re no happier than when you started. That’s the essence of “Star Again,” a soul-searching song inspired by Proclaim’s mid-life reckoning, where the fulfillment that was promised never quite arrived. It’s a reality that all too many people can relate to, yet few talk about it out loud.

“Star Again” straddles the line between vulnerability and resolve. The production is purposeful and feels grounded, instead allowing the emotional weight of the lyrics to stand at the fore. Proclaim’s singing exudes an urgency that’s not overwrought or disconnected but never sells a line short. You can almost feel the tension here, the confusion of wanting more, the ache of disconnection, and the courage necessary to hit reset. It goes a bit further than the crushing experience of personal crisis it also embodies the struggle of presence when we live in a world of never-ending distraction. Cellphones, media, and the noise of modern life drag us away from ourselves and from one another.

There’s an undercurrent of hope that runs through the song, a feeling that, while going back to the start is scary, it’s also freeing. This is about returning to yourself and realigning with what counts. “Start Again” is for anyone who’s looked around at the life they’ve built and surprised themselves by thinking, “Is this it?” It’s a song for anyone who’s brave enough to say they don’t have all the answers but stubborn enough to just keep looking anyway. In a busy, fast-moving world, “Start Again” is a potent reminder that you are never too old to find your way.

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Peedy WhoDank delivers truth in gritty new anthem “Don’t Get Involved”

Gritty, emotionally searing, and cut from lived experience, “Don’t Get Involved” by Peedy WhoDank does not try to attract you with fluff or flash. Instead, it lands with a punch of real-life emotion, addressing themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the quiet strength required to hold fast to your values when the world around you feels like it’s constantly collapsing.

The production is raw and stripped down as a moody, almost threatful beat that is the canvas for Peedy’s lyrical storytelling. But it is the substance of those lyrics that truly sticks. This is more of a personal testimony. Peedy raps with the urgency of someone who’s been there, done that, made all the mistakes, and won all the victories he raps about, and all of that authenticity seeps through every single verse.

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Smartzee rises strong with new single “Back Down”

Smartzee’s latest single, “Back Down,” is a chest-thumping statement of survival wrapped in powerful emotion and a cutting perspective. “Back Down” grabs you with energy that might have been, you are left with the feeling, forged in fire. The production is aggressive from the get-go, leaving no doubt that this is not a song that will tiptoe around emotions.

Smartzee is a throwback to the mentality of a part beaten-down kid from the hard-knock existence of growing up in a challenging backdrop, part sharp-suited financier fighting his way through the business labyrinth. His comparisons between his life and an athlete looking down the barrel of the final buzzer are startling, beautiful, and achingly true.

There’s a bracing, upfrontness about the way Smartzee recounts his story. This is about survival. His lyrics reach into the fragile but relentless inner monologue that compels us to keep going when everything else tells us to stop. The voice in your head gets up, dusts itself off, and challenges life to take another swing. And that voice reminds one so much of Smartzee on this track. The delivery is raw, spare, and powerful, and it never falls into melodrama. Every bar feels lived-in, and every metaphor is earned. This is a confident, chest-out statement of intent to keep climbing, however steep the mountain.

“Back Down” is one of those songs you put on when you have a big decision to make, are having a tough day, or are going on a long night of chasing dreams. It’s a personal confession and a universal anthem for anyone who’s ever felt underestimated. On “Back Down,” Smartzee encourages us to lace up, buckle up, and walk down that same path with him.