D.R.A.M (born Shelley Marshaun Massenburg-Smith) is a Virginia-based military brat, currently rising in the American hip-hop scene. His stage name is an acronym for Does. Real. Ass. Music., which in itself is meant to be a reflection of the ‘non-rappity rap’ tendencies he tries to convey with his tracks. His debut single ‘Cha Cha’ gained recognition for implementing the nostalgic sounds of Mario Bros. in combination with an overload of claps, horns, congas, etc., that elevates from chill to amped in a matter of moments. Some ironic attention was drawn to the track, when it was suspected by D.R.A.M. fans that Drake plagiarised some elements of it in ‘Hotline Bling’, released the same year.
D.R.A.M.’s genuine big break came, when he collaborated with Lil Yachty in 2016 to produce ‘Broccoli’, one of the iconic hits of the summer, peaking at No. 5 in the Billboard Hot 100. Since then, D.R.A.M. is continuing to build up his repertoire of collabs, with a recent feature on Chance the Rapper’s album Coloring Book, and a bizarre cameo on the legendary Neil Young’s latest album Earth.
Overall though, D.R.A.M. self-declares his mission as an artist is to keep his music on the fun-loving side, in contrast to a lot of current hip-hop that is based on struggling. Whether he possesses the ability to create ‘real-ass music’ is besides the point in this era of heading outside the boundaries of rap. As long as he continues to create feel-good atmospheres with his music, we’re sure he’s bound to keep a steady following of exploratory fans under his belt, as we welcome him for the second time through Libertine’s doors this evening.
