After watching the video for “America On Fire” by David Sabastian (sometimes misspelled “David Sebastian”) I had high hopes for the rapper. It’s been a while since a new MC came out with personality and political opinion and this track reminded me of Crank Lucas‘ similarly underrated song that also didn’t make it to the public consciousness. Lets face it; the likes of Childish Gambino and Kendrick Lamar have been praised much more for saying much less but this song and this musician is strangely overlooked by the mainstream media like every other real offering from the Hip-Hop genre. The juxtaposition of political verses against the trite chorus “bounce that ass” in “America On Fire” is possibly following the concept of “sex sells” or a comment on the stereotypical hollow lyricism of mainstream rap. So is it this commentary that’s preventing this track from being played everywhere and getting millions of views or is it the line “the vaccine is the mark of the beast, nigga”? Hmm, I wonder…

After I watched this music video, I searched for more songs and I found more, all of them catchy and all of them enjoyable (with more juxtaposed irony in each and every one) but like I said, for some unknown reason, they’re all getting a tiny amount of views in comparison to all the cliched shite that’s out there. With the exception of “Bad Bitch Holiday” I liked them all, so why doesn’t everyone else? Here’s another should-be hit, “Revolutionary”…

I might as well mention that as a fashion designer, Sabastian once gave an answer to some alleged “controversy” about a homeless fashion show and homelessness in general via the art of rap, which just goes to show his range of talents and his firm convictions…

When watching David on Yo! MTV Raps recently, his freestyle was the one that stood out and yet, once again, it wasn’t spoken about (you can watch the episode on Paramount Plus if you’re interested). Looking like Guru and CeeLo had a child and usually seen in ostentatious outfits, David Sabastian is unique looking and with his impressive flow and relevant lyrics, you’re left wanting more. Ignoring his voice that’s a bit reminiscent of Kanye, lyrically and in terms of delivery, Dave is somewhere in-between Boots Riley and Talib Kweli, and this kind of old-school reminder means it’s been a while since conscious rap made it to the forefront of Hip-Hop. With a press page on Warner Records, I’m assuming Sabastian is signed, so I for one am waiting for a full-length LP (reported to be titled We Are God and one of five planned albums). Just please don’t water-down your shit like all the fake Jesuses in the music industry that have come and gone over the years. Walk above that water.

The Star Of David.

This is an unpublished caricature from 2021. I was waiting for an album before writing an article so I’ve quickly written a few paragraphs and added a Spotify playlist in order to publish it.