Jessi Pereira
Arlington’s Own CalenRaps Calls Out The Massive Fakery With So-Called Independent Artists In His Latest Punchy Freestyle.
Welcome to Song of the Day, where we hip you to all the new local releases you should be caring about. By highlighting one new North Texas-sprung tune every week day, our hope is that you’ll find something new to love about the rich and abundant DFW music scene five days a week.
CalenRaps – “Can’t See Me Freestyle”
RIYL: People who make a great point.
What Else You Should Know: Arlington’s CalenRaps is showing the world his talents and drive with this latest freestyle.
This latest freestyle also serves as the inaugural track for the #MondayMedicine series, an ambitious commitment to release a new song every Monday for the remainder of 2021. This impressive attempt also includes an accompanying music video, meaning CalenRaps is slated for a very busy year.
The truly independent artist staunchly calls out artists who claim to be independent but aren’t actually getting anything out of the mud. Many times, so-called independent artists are actually managed by major labels and receive monetary support. That doesn’t sound very independent to us!
Good on CalenRaps for finally calling the fakery out and with impressive wordplay to boot. “My whole thang independent, bitch I’m King independent/ They gon’ make me get a chain and put my name in da pendant” packs a pretty powerful punch.
But CalenRaps is not new to the scene. The independent artist has been making his mark since 2016, when his #TenToeschallenge went viral, pulling in over 40 million views. We’d like to think CalenRaps’ trajectory is set to head on a continuous upward swing. Over the last five years, CalenRap’s single “Think About Me” has exploded on Spotify gaining 4 million streams. With his new #MondayMedicine series, there’s no telling where this independent artist is headed next.