We live in a time where kids aren’t even really allowed to be kids. I miss the days when going outside to play was encouraged and we didn’t live our life through social media to be seen and liked by strangers off the internet. This is the age of technology. But all is not lost. After all, there is the viral sensation D.R.A.M. who has risen to super stardom after incidentally inspiring Drake’s “Hotline Bling” and giving us hit after hit thereafter.

Here’s every reason my 11-year-old self loves D.R.A.M.:

Cha Cha” is a classic

It’s a classic for so many reasons, but the biggest is a toss up between the fact that it’s based on a loop from Super Mario World and this video of Beyoncé doing her happy dance to it. It’s just feel good music.

He obviously loves animals

Photo: Milk
Photo: Milk

“Cash Money” sounds like every Megachurch preacher’s collection plate anthem

D.R.A.M. stands for Does. Real. Ass. Music.

Because who doesn’t love a good acronym.

He remixed Missy Elliot’s “Hot Boys”

If you know anything about Missy Elliot from the late ’90s into the 2000s you know this remix was lit.

“Broccoli” unintentionally encourages kids want to eat their vegetables

 

Kids raised in the ’90s loved Sega

“All I wanted was the fame and every game they made on Sega” — “Broccoli (feat. Lil Yachty)”

Wait, and he drops gems in his lyrics about being self-confident but also being respectful and courteous to others?

“I was five or six years old when I had told myself ‘ok, you’re special’
But I treat you like my equal never lesser” — “Broccoli (feat. Lil Yachty)”

He hangs out with life-sized dinosaurs 

Photo: Stereogum
Photo: Stereogum

Having a childlike enthusiasm about anything is the best approach to life

D.R.A.M. reminds me of my first crush with his single “Cute.” Pitchfork says it best, “D.R.A.M.’s fluttering melodies are as endearing as ever. It’s hard not to smile.” Like D.R.A.M., SZA also reminds me of how whimsical and carefree being youthful is. And this D.R.A.M. and SZA collab is magical.

D.R.A.M. on being true yourself and taking advantage of opportunity:

 

“When someone gets passed that mic and they know deep down inside that they wanna say something or sing something or produce something but they don’t do that, it’s like killing your musical life. It’s suicide. That’s one thing I definitely have learned in this music sh*t. As soon as I feel something, I act on it. I gotta stay true to my feelings, you know?

I want to inspire people to gain it if they don’t have it and to find it again if they lost it. Any form of art is political if you make it that way,” he told Pitchfork in an interview.

What’s your favorite D.R.A.M. song? Let us know in the comments below!


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