Election day can’t come soon enough. Listening to the news carry on and on about each presidential candidates’ potential unfit capacity to lead the country create a feeling as if we’re dragging out what will be the beginning of a potentially long and exhausting four years. One may not be able to keep his hands to himself and other may not know how handle sensitive information. Along the way, a divide has grown between supporters of both sides that can make checking Facebook an ugly after reading nasty comments from people once considered to be friends.
Somewhere in the middle is where many of the rest of us exist. It’s where Tim Gent can be found, too.
The rising Tennessee talent recently released his new song “Lady America,” where he can be heard pondering what a lot of people stuck in the middle have been thinking to themselves for some time now as we look towards our future. The days ahead carry a certain uneasiness mixed with uncertainty as we consider a future in the hands of our next elected leader whoever it may be. It’s also a place where our current POTUS is leaving behind his signature law with a huge price hike attached.
While so many artists are currently focused on party and bullshit records, there are those who understand that once people wake up from last night’s festivities, certain realities will still exist. It’s Gent’s sobering lyrics that put things in perspective for many a common man.
“And we’re trying to get by
Whether it’s 9 to 5
corner-hugging with the green and white
From the early morning till you see the night
And ya baby wake up with an appetite
And you making payments on your ninety-nine
And you taking summer classes online
And you making it happen, I know about, I know about it”
It’s not conscious rap so much as it’s just rap with a conscious. He’s giving a voice to those stuck in a cycle of work-home-sleep-repeat because that’s typically all they can afford. A few end up drowning themselves in the bottle, pills or whatever their drug of choice in order to cope. Gent rhymes “Just do ya job and you don’t make no fuss, yeah / And while you at, get f*cked up, what the f*ck is that?” That may not be considered living, but it’s a living reality to many who are stuck in the middle.
“The song is really just my observation of what’s going on around me,” Gent said to HotNewHipHop. “So much confusion and turmoil is going on and the verses address what I see people are dealing with.”
He continued, “The hook is where the hope comes, though: the triumph.” The gold star for that goes to Gent, Drisana Despain and Yung Crave as all three play a combined role in lifting up the song. It’s the hook plus the methodical beauty of Free P’s production that have played on repeat in the back of my mind every time more news comes on to tell me what land mine the candidates stepped on each day. I’ve heard play with every new finding on police brutality. I hear it a lot because there’s a lot of bad in the world that good people are trying to navigate their way through.
“Lady America” is the lead single from Gent’s upcoming project, The Love Campaign, the follow-up to his Rumor Has It EP. He doesn’t say it but he’s optimistic about about the song having success. And if it doesn’t do that, there’s a chance that it may help listeners remain positive. “I just want people enjoy this record during what seems to be a dark time,” he said, “and I hope it brightens up the days for them.”
Listen “Lady America” below and purchase at the digital retailer of your choice right here.
