Years ago I was on Facebook and a friend posted a video with a young lady singing the words, “I love you more than life.” I asked who it was, and he responded with the name Dre Murray. I was then introduced to “Manumit.”
Dre Murray has some classics on Manumit, especially “My Lane.” I used to listen to “More Than Life” on repeat and “Head Up” was always a great source of encouragement. I had never heard a CHH artist speak to race issues like Dre briefly did on “Head Up.” Dre Murray was my dude.
Over the next couple of years, I did not really follow CHH like I had in the past. I still listened to certain artists but I did not visit any media outlets that covered the genre. I was really out of the loop. I had no clue that Dre Murray was still doing music.
It was not until Lecrae cosigned the “Hell’s Paradise II” project on Twitter that I rediscovered Dre Murray. Some may say it was an easy cosign for Lecrae because he was on the Episode II release (I believe), but we know about famous rappers being upset that their famous rapper friends did not “push” their project—so, it was a dope shoutout. Furthermore, and I could be wrong, but the CHH atmosphere didn’t seem as open to HP II like it is now. So, in a sense, that cosign was a big deal. I am not saying that Wit and Dre Murray needed the cosign. I am just saying it put me on to what they were doing and to this day HP II is my favorite album.
I was introduced to Social Club in a similar way. I had never heard of Social Club until Dre Murray cosigned them in an Instagram post. I loved hearing Marty with the semi-raspy sound on the “Losing Sleep” hook. I had that song on repeat every day for weeks. After a steady dose of “Rejects,” I went and acquired everything Social Club had released prior to that EP. I was grateful for the cosign.
Sometimes I hear artists speak of cosigns in a negative light as if receiving one is a bad thing or makes you less dope as an artist; I could be wrong though. Maybe they are saying that they are not striving for a cosign. Nevertheless, I appreciate the cosign. Like “the feature,” the cosign can open listeners up to new artists, new music, or even classic dopeness.
I have gathered from interviews that the “Same Team” mantra is more of an ideal still in the theory stages rather than a regular practice within CHH. I cannot say how true this is because I am not in it but as an enthusiast of the genre. I love it when artists cosign, show love, or whatever you want to call it, to each other. I think it’s beneficial for everyone.
Grace and peace.
