Three days after saying that his Separated At Birthmixtape was banned by his label, Dee-1 says that the project will not be released to the public. The New Orleans rapper explained the situation on wax via the track “Can’t Ban Tha Hopeman.”
“To the fans, I’m sorry, the mixtape ain’t dropping / Farewell and dearly departed / Come hang with me when you see me, I’ll play it for you / Yeah, we can listen over coffee and beignets for truth / Yeah, I can tell you about the industry and how things go and which bloggers are crooked / Trust me I know / I can’t wait ’til I can have a sitdown with Lil Wayne / And have a heart to heart talk about changing the game / This is bigger than music, it’s bigger than Rap / Reporting live from the bottom of the map,” he raps in the nearly four-minute track.
The mixtape was a collection of songs recorded using Lil Wayne beats. Dee-1 said that he was going to share his story growing up in New Orleans and being influenced by the Young Money rapper, but having different values.
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“New Orleans more than killers, we’ve been misrepresented / The propaganda ain’t accurate, I’ve grown to resent it / I’m trying to change the narrative and be an example but can I live?” he says on the song.
He confirms that he is not releasing the mixtape due to legal threats towards his label, RCA Inspiration. He says that even though the project is not coming out, he still has the same burden to share a positive message.
“Nobody told me that this ride would be smooth / But I ain’t tryna get nobody sued / If they was making legal threats, we ain’t gotta release it / If they making death threats, well my security Jesus / This mixtape was gonna change the world and give hope to the hopeless ’cause in our culture, Goliath’s defeating David, that’s backwards / I’m here to change it, cover your ears, I’m armed and dangerous,” he raps.
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Dee-1 Raps About A Student He Mentored On “Can’t Ban Tha Hopeman”
Dee-1 acknowledges that his mission is bigger than music. He details a friend and former student of his who called him right after he got off the phone with his label telling him the project was banned. The young man had been living homeless and Dee-1 was acting as a mentor to him.
“Right as I’m on the phone finding out my mixtape banned, I get another incoming call from my lil man / My former student I taught, yeah I just gave him three g’s / ‘Cause he was homeless, sleeping under bridges and trees / Sold dope the past few years then his love dried up / Gave him The Purpose Driven Life book, prayed for him and such / Now he’s enrolling in college ’bout to start a new life / Outside the music industry, there’s bigger battles I fight,” he says.
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The song concludes with a call to read the Bible verse Ephesians 6:12.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,” the verse says.
“It explains this perfectly / That’s why I’m here to make the devil mad purposely,” he raps about the verse.
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Dee-1 also says that he is working on more music.
“I got some new stuff coming / You all know I ain’t gonna stop, man like I’m on a mission,” he says.
Listen to “Can’t Ban Tha Hopeman” below:
For additional Dee-1 coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
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