deM atlaS put out a project last year where he rapped and sang over MF DOOM beats — a practice that may seem tired in hip-hop but something the Minnesota native was able to breath life and originality into.
His newest release, “In the Mud,” draws comparisons to Eminem’s “Stan.” While he’s writing it completely from the first-person, the dark and melodic tones are mixed with themes of depression, alcoholism (deM says he isn’t an alcoholic, it’s just easy to write about) and trying to find aim in his work.
“In the Mud” centers around a time in my life where I felt complacent and in a daze not knowing exactly where I should be spending my time. Too often, I found myself waking up late, hungover and laying next to a woman I barely knew knowing that I had other shit to do,” he detailed on Bandcamp. “This kept happening, and like any habit or addiction that’s nurtured, it became comfortable. So, the song is basically about that; playing in the mud, drinking the mud, living in the mud & being strangely content with it.
My friend introduced me to Dirty Art Club’s work, and the beat Hemlock spoke to me the most. The song wrote itself in about an hour, and perfectly encapsulated what I was going through at that time.”
The video broaches the song’s “stuck in the mud” mantra as storylines — all lined with alcohol, sex and loneliness — weave between one another. Watch the Samiera Abou-Nasr-directed visual below.
