Pologang DB is a rising lyrical prodigy from the Midwest who paints a vivid picture of his motherless childhood in “Mama Left Me,” a relentless 3+ minute outpouring of no cliches or hooks, just straight, raw rap. Don’t expect any love or respect for DB’s mother: “Mama Left Me” is a sad story of how DB’s mother fell to drugs, neglected him and his family, and overdosed when DB was 14. DB talks about all the other players in his life throughout the period, his father, brother, uncle and sister, and how they tried to hold things together while his mother continued her dissolving life. Top-level music production by Ill Will and NebulaBeatz ring memories of the emotional kinds of beats with gospelesque backup female vocals on early 2pac records but with modernized sound and instrumentation. Also, top-level video production by Hogue Cinematics, cutting between shots of DB doing his lyrical storytelling, and shots with actors playing out different stages of DB’s childhood, the other players in his life, and ending with a chilling photo of DB and his mother—”chilling” because underlying the two looking happy together in the photo, through their smiles pierces the aftermath of a story that portrays the unfortunate downfall of this woman who failed to overcome her drug addiction and grow into her responsibility as a mother.
A defining characteristic of DB’s flow is clarity: he makes his storytelling straightforward and easily accessible to connect with him. Often, a music reviewer seeks a stand-out one-liner in the song to emphasize in the review, but in the case of “Mama Left Me,” DB’s lyrical content weaves as a tapestry that pieces together more and more pieces of a jigsaw puzzle for the listener: the more it unfolds, the more you see a full picture coming together, and can step back and see this real-life movie playing out between DB, his mother, and all the major influences in his childhood. You thus can’t pull out a single line without connecting it to the entire lyrical stream. The verbal and linguistic clarity, as well as the unfolding nature of the flow, are a 180-degree inversion from today’s urban musical atmosphere that hails drug-influenced slurring and distorted meanings. I suppose that after growing up with such a crushing example of drug addiction in his mother, DB sees no reason to glorify drugs. He instead seeks clarity and directness, and to communicate his messages that way to the world. If the urban music world shifts into its next phase of hangover, then DB’s music awaits with the clarity to give listeners their energy shots as they contemplate yesterday’s mistakes and start a new day.
About Pologang DB
Up-and-coming Toledo, Ohio hip hop artist Pologang DB is one rapper impossible to ignore. One-fifth of the acclaimed rap group ‘PoloGang’, the melodic and fierce, technical bars of DB’s sound are a breath of fresh air in a declining musical landscape of cliche’ hooks, mumble rap and autotune.
