If there was ever a time to cautiously tiptoe around the plight of of society at large, well, now would not be it. This is something Hopeless Records’ latest recruit De’Wayne believes, given that the American singer/rapper has used his debut outing on the label to arc up at the current state of affairs with ‘National Anthem’.
The brand new single from De’Wayne, ‘National Anthem’ marks his first official release as part of the alternative tastemaker. Not afraid to make waves, De’Wayne used this as an opportunity to look his countrymen dead in the eye and have an uncomfortable but important conversation.
“National Anthem” represents the America I have always experienced.” De’Wayne explains. “I wrote this song in 2019 and performed it out all over the country on tour last year. I watched beautiful, mixed crowds made up of so many different types of people rage to this in unity. I had planned on releasing this at a future date, but I’m taking the most recent (and recurring) events as a sign that the world needs this right fucking now.”
“This is the new National Anthem / They tell you don’t move and just put your hands up” tells the song’s hook as its creator absolutely unleashes on the systemic racism and oppression that has got us to where we are today.
“Understanding what could happen to me or any one of my family members at any time…most days, even waking up feels like a protest. What makes things a tiny bit better is knowing that I am not alone in this struggle.“
“Every day, so many of us fight to live our own lives. We fight to live free from judgment, we fight to breathe, we fight stereotypes and we fight a whole bunch of shit that we didn’t choose to deal with, but still we fight. We are the CIRCLE and we are done with the bullshit.”
Those familiar with De’Wayne will know all too well the dude refuses to sit still long enough for any genre label to stick. Part rock, part industrial, part rap, De’Wayne embodies the rising attitude that staying in your lane, sonically speaking, is well out of date.
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