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#IndieSpotlight: Dusah Spade Takes Us On A Trip To The Flipside

“I’ll rock the mic—and ether the beat myself, no features.”
–Dusah Spade

I consider true “street-rap” to have a fine line between real life and fantasy; the line in the sand is [generally] easy to smell. Acts like NWA–for example–were so vivid, and so over the top, that you’d have to be a little nieve not to question its authenticity. On the flipside acts like Beanie Siegle and Shyne were bout that life. ATL based rapper Dusah Spade is a rapper that flew across my desk this week, and his music has a very comfortable amount of realness to it, with a 90s sense of aggressiveness that a lot of these youngsters don’t seem to grasp. His mixtape, The Flipside, is a collection of original joints spliced into a series of dubs that have a ton of character.

With a cadence that almost resembles Cassidy (with a little more bass to it)–listen to his Sho’Nuff Freestyle as an example. Dusah traverses a gambit of topical content, like “No Problems,” where he calls out fake rappers to staying true to himself on “Neva Change.” This project–one a whole– has a deceivingly New York vibe to it, especially on the record “Flipside,” with its recognizable drum pattern, set off with his bar for bar punchline flow. As a package, this mixtape sounds like it’s from 2003-2005 (in a good way); primarily, it’s that he doesn’t overuse the contemporary trap vibe that dominates most of the stuff that inundates my inbox on the daily. In fact, he only does so on the record “Cake,” which is a big record. Probably top 5 on the project.

Some of the highlights for me include the last record, “Holiday,” with a sample that resembles Yeezy’s “New Slaves.” He also has some hype ‘freestyles’ worth mentioning, such as “Open Letter.” Some may not remember the beat as one of the lost records from Foxy Brown’s ill-fated Ill Na Na 2; he drops bars like, “senseless, what we do for the cheddar, come on son, yo we gotta do better,” a commentary on the wicked times we’re living in. He also does a contrastingly low-profile version of the Young M.A. hit, OOOUUU, “I been there and done that–I’m from a place where niggas don’t come back.”

Coming up in a struggling household of drugs, alcohol, and other deep family issues, Hip-Hop has always been his escape; his record is a healthy balance of cautionary jewels, ‘I’m here you’re not’ isms and hip-hop-ish that heads who are fans of the East Coast mixtape scene will–and should–welcome with open arms. He’s unique if you consider he’s in a city that is currently championed by acts like Gucci and Future. Dusah Spade has some tracks, for sure. Worth a spin. Check the mixtape, and if you’re feeling it, mash the share button.

Riley About Author

Riley here — father, artist, videographer, professional writer and SERIOUS hip-hop head. I'm a member of the Universal Zulu Nation, and I think everything is better on vinyl. Add me on Twitter! @specialdesigns