Dear-God: Lovin' It
The aggressive cut fuses hip-hop and hardcore, to adrenalizing effect.
By Kerry Doole
Dear-God - Lovin' It (Dine Alone Records): Dear-God is the project of Robert Ortiz, from Brampton, Ontario. At just 19, he's already creating a stir with a fiery sound that fuses experimental hip-hop and hardcore elements.
“Lovin It’ is his new single. In a press release, he explains that "it's a fun song about winning after years of rejection. Growing up, I never felt like I could succeed or be happy in an academic setting. I ground it out after high school busting my ass doing physically exhausting dirty jobs because I wanted to support my music career. I was greeted with a lot of rejection for a long time, but I kept going. This song should serve as an inspiration to any kid who feels stupid and worthless because of their academic/career failures. Know your worth and do something sick.”
The track features Ortiz spitting out the lyrics atop abrasive production and aggressive guitar, but there's a melodic quality to his brand of noise that'll draw you in. Previous singles Buck and The Burbs have a similar quality, and reference points include Beastie Boys and King Krule.
Buck premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show on Apple Music back in July, and in 2019 Dear-God opened for Wu-Tang Clan at Toronto’s MattyFest and joined The Dirty Nil on tour. An act to keep an eye on.
Links
PR: Jessica Santa, Listen Harder
Management: Aaron Miller & Nathan Stein
Booking: Adam Countryman & Nick Storch
(L-R): Mark O'Keefe, A&R Director, UMC; Julie Adam, President & CEO, UMC; Braden Lam; Meagan Davidson, artist management.Jesse Milns