Concert Review: Deca Is A Hip Hop Greek Chorus At Elsewhere
Similar to SonReal or Hoodie Allen, Deca plays to the positivity and rambunctiousness of Hip Hop. These rappers organize their rhymes like psychological catalogs; each track confronts and defines a social/ relationship anxiety. Yet, their presence is so light, you wonder how they ever felt challenged by an atmosphere. At least, that was the feeling when Deca entered Elsewhere and turned it into 8 Mile Road.
Deca not only can rap, but he can charm. His voice has this natural attractiveness that, when met with DJ Marvl’s mixes, felt like love and music had finally met their match. It was as if he was lyrically sand-papering the roughest textures to smooth the skins/ facades we wear in public to their realness. Yet, although his vocal charisma was unstoppable, what felt most attractive of Deca’s rap style is that he felt like a poet. You could just imagine him on street corners preaching verses from his 2107 album,The Way Through, and only catching the attention of those “awakened”. Deca is a Prince of Social Rap, and the idea that Hip Hop can be an efficient and educational marker for social behaviors like, a Psych 101 course through music. In times, where the addiction to Reality TV or as I like to call it, watching rich people do rich things I cannot afford, tracks like, “Skyward”come off like reality checkers. I swear, at one moment, I felt Jhene Aiko’s spirit come through saying, “I support this spiritual trip!” because, in many ways, that is what Deca’s concert is …. a trip.
Some artists plan and present their setlist like a journey, in which you feel you had a beginning and an end. For Deca, it is not just about giving a music performance, but a music odyssey; where the heroes, i.e. the crowd, will face tumultuous challenges from human nature, but hopefully find their way to Olympus. This dynamic could explain why he feels like a Greek Chorus for the night/ life. Through his spoken words and spewed rhymes he makes sure everyone steps forward into a new way of light/ life through the most bouncing beats of Hip Hop. Moreover, the man can even make the Christmas version of a Hip Hop night feel highly spiritual/ woke (lol!). Proposal: Next Year Deca comes out with a Christmas album called The Way Through: THE NORTH POLE (Holiday Hip Hop Edition). Just putting that out there! For More Information On Deca Click Here.
