Still of Damedot in "Baguettes."
Shot by @Xerox Visuals.
The FADER’s “Songs You Need” are the tracks we can’t stop playing. Check back every day for new music and follow along on our Spotify playlist.
When asked to describe what Detroit’s music sounded like in an interview, Damedot couldn’t put a finger on it. He called it “the soundtrack to the Detroit life.” “We don’t make a mood, we don’t make you feel like something. We tell you exactly what it is,” he said. “I’m not tryna be poetic about it.” He’s a veteran of Detroit’s rap ecosystem, having been an original member of Team East Side, and today he’s still a prominent player in the city’s ever-growing scene. Listening to his music, you’ll hear an unpredictable blend of mafioso raps, free game, throwback samples, and flexes absurd enough to make you pause the track to make sure you caught what he said, like “All these diamonds covering my body like some lotion.” There’s a Damedot song for every mood imaginable.
That’s why the best way to listen to Damedot’s sprawling, feature film-length albums is to throw it on shuffle and let it all wash over you. On “Baguettes,” his voice barely rises above a whisper while he raps about spaghetti-red car interiors and stealing girls from dudes. Combined with the creeping piano and dramatic rising strings, he sounds like a cocky mob boss dishing out orders to his underlings. “You wanna entertain niggas like Cedric/If you already ready, you ain’t gotta stay ready,” he disapprovingly raps.