The days of record companies creating artists are largely a thing of the past. We increasingly see, instead, a new kind of music artist, indie to their core, and self-created. Technology and the Internet are the great democratizers responsible for this paradigm shift. Aspiring musical artists can create studio quality recordings in the privacy of their own homes, collaborate with other musicians on the other side of the world via file transfers, and free themselves from being beholden to bean counters and other suits who look to hijack or otherwise dilute their vision.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Dawggonedavis/
Kansas City’s Rebecca “DawgGone” Davis is one of those self-created artists. An onetime IT guru who faced down health troubles at life’s midway point, she broke away from the trajectory she’d followed for decades before and set out to fashion a second life for herself as a songwriter and hip hop performer. She’s racked up an impressive and still growing discography of singles and EPs over the last 5+ years and her latest songs are among the best yet.
The first two recent singles this review covers find Davis working with Chago G. Williams, her collaborator on a popular Davis staple entitled “Raybans in the Rain”. “Can’t Rap My Head Around This”, however, is a physical and invigorating blast of sneering rage and befuddlement from the tandem as Williams opens up about his disbelief over the murder of a young child and Davis looks back with wild-eyed grief over the promise lost when Led Zeppelin’s powerhouse drummer John Bonham died following misadventures with alcohol.
“Again, No More” is another duet with Williams, but this one amps up the musicality rather than just bulldozing listeners with raw-boned emotion. The guitar and drum tandem accompanying both artists’ respective parts is one of the unquestionable highlights of these four singles, particularly the guitar. It’s an one hundred eighty degree turn in regards to the subject matter as the lyrics turn in a much more overtly personal direction with both focusing on a relationship that went bad and the inevitable fallout from its failure.
BANDCAMP: https://dawggonedavis.bandcamp.com/
“Appreciation” is a final collaboration with Williams that veers into rock territory. Blazing electric guitar accompanies him and Davis throughout this nearly four-minute escapade and some of the lead playing is especially scintillating. Davis goes it alone, however, for the final single, “Here Comes Santa Dawg”. Set to the tune of the venerable “Here Comes Santa Claus”, it finds Davis delivering her vocals in a direct fashion and celebrating the virtues of Christmas in a thoroughly idiosyncratic yet relatable way.
These four singles don’t attempt to redefine their chosen forms, but they show that DawgGone Davis continues blazing her own trail and owes nothing to anyone. She evidences total commitment to making each of these four tracks work at their maximum potential and leaves you wanting more. She’s one of a kind and anyone who has experienced DawgGone Davis would tell you that they wouldn’t have it any other way. Seek it out today and you won’t be disappointed.
Garth Thomas