D Smoke is a hip hop artist who is finally getting the widespread recognition he deserves. 35-year-old Daniel Anthony Farris, popularly known as D Smoke, was working as a Spanish and music theory teacher at Inglewood High School in California when his career really began to take off. His brother, SiR, had been receiving widespread recognition for the previous several years, but D Smoke did not really appear in a mainstream sense until 2019, when he was a contestant on the Netflix TV show Rhythm & Flow.
At the end of the three-week series, Farris was determined the winner, releasing his debut EP Inglewood High a few months later. The EP was critically-acclaimed and showed how versatile and melodic D Smoke was as an artist, and people began to get excited for his first studio album. He released Black Habits in February 2020, which was met with immediate praise. At this year’s Grammy Awards, D Smoke is nominated for Best Rap Album for “Black Habits” and Best New Artist alongside Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, and Noah Cyrus.
A deluxe version of the Grammy-nominated album Black Habits has been highly anticipated, and it is finally out as of February 5th. The album ends with the track “Dreams,” which is a melodic look into how we make our way through the world as people. Fellow California native E-40 is featured on the track, who is a prolific artist that has released 28 studio albums throughout his musical career. He was one of the founding members of rap group The Click, and has spent the last few decades making a name for himself alongside iconic rappers like 2Pac, Lil Jon, and Snoop Dogg. In the song, D Smoke and E-40 talk about the idea of luck and knowing the perfect time to take a chance in life. The entire deluxe album deserves your full attention, especially ahead of the Grammy Awards, but “Dreams” is certainly a special track.
Quotable Lyrics
Some people wish upon a star for the life they want
Some stars burn out
Some cars need oil
And some of us don’t need people pulling us, telling us how to do things