![]() ![]() There wasn’t a wholistic picture of the pain and loss associated with gang life. While I was growing up there was a very one-dimensional narrative circulating through popular west coast rap. Do you feel like those types of messages weren’t being presented to your generation while you were growing up in Inglewood? On the album you talk about gang banging over turf that you don’t own. That’s what War and Wonders is about at its core. It represents all the beauty and struggle that all converge to help us liberate each other. After seeing this piece, I commissioned a hood version of it for the album. That album cover was inspired by a piece that an artist named Aaron Williams did where slaves were holding each other up to help free their comrade. Why did you decide on the cover and what does it mean to you? The ‘War & Wonders’ album cover is very detailed and unique. All in all, These times present their challenges but we keep putting one foot in front of the other and counting our blessings. As far as the streets are concerned, Over here in LA, for us natives, we’ve always associated hot weather with a spike in gang violence so even the streets are mellowing out. Things are cooling down now that summer is officially over but we won’t see any snow, so we’re kind of spoiled in that regard. We spoke to D Smoke about gang life in Los Angeles, the vulnerability in hip-hop, the Clippers moving to Inglewood, and more.ĭ Smoke, congrats on the new album, and thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Smoke gained global notoriety in 2019 as champion and undisputed breakout star of Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow. Two-time GRAMMY-nominated artist, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, D Smoke, releases his unapologetic sophomore offering War & Wonders. ![]()
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