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Marco Dupa Credit: David Lawrence<\/p>\nMarco Dupa Credit: David Lawrence<\/p>\n
Like it or not, these are times of war. Around us, between us, within us, conflict rages everywhere. From the political arena to the battlefields to the social sphere, blood has been drawn and no one has the luxury of neutrality anymore. Orlando indie rapper Marco Dupa is no exception, with a new mini album he says is \u201cthe most overtly political I\u2019ve ever been.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis hasn\u2019t been my lane per se,\u201d he says. \u201cBut things happen and you get inspired and you follow that.\u201d And go there he did, opening full-step with a Malcolm X sample on the new seven-track False Idols record. Even though Dupa doesn\u2019t go all Public Enemy from there on out, he nonetheless comes with some new force and snap, beginning with the big-kicking boom bap of following track \u201cPay Up!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But even when the vibe settles back into his usual soulful groove, Dupa\u2019s lyrics drop with sharp intent, hitting timely targets like abuses of power from government (\u201cThey Locked Up the Ice Cream Man,\u201d \u201cNo Kings\u201d) to law enforcement (\u201cD.A.M.N.\u201d).\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched Ben from Ben & Jerry\u2019s get arrested for protesting the Middle East conflict, and I thought the optics were so ridiculous I wrote \u2018They Locked the Ice Cream Man Up,\u2019\u201d says Dupa. \u201cThat was gonna be a one-off, and then the No Kings protest happened and I wrote about that. And then it just evolved into a full-length. It felt disingenuous to write about anything else at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even with the new political thrust, False Idols still weaves Marco Dupa\u2019s signature canvas by threading the needle between organic indie rap and conscious rap. This time out, though, his chill soul happens to pack a sharp, awakened edge that makes this record not just a document of the embattled times but a declaration of side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
False Idols now streams everywhere minus the notable exception of Spotify. \u201cI\u2019m no longer uploading any music there,\u201d Dupa says. \u201cA lot of reasons behind this but the ICE ads and their acceptance and promotion of AI-generated music were kinda the straws that broke the camel\u2019s back.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can catch Marco Dupa live next at Will\u2019s Pub alongside an excellent local lineup that includes Skeletizer, Blunder Club and Girth Brooks. (7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, $10-$15)<\/p>\n
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