Dre’es is pitching me a story about patterns. His ideas are flowing with vigour as he digs into the plot of his latest 13-track concept album. With a down to earth and chilled demeanor, the promising artist eagerly speaks of millennial angst, self-discovery and how inherited mind-patterns are keeping us in bondage with feeling stuck, all the while offering a glimpse inside his mind as he goes deeper into his thoughts. 

Either through his own experiences or via surroundings, Dre’es invites us to the multi-faceted universe of immobility and sluggishness in Swamp 00 as he depicts the many different stages and emotions that come with feeling trapped. He is one who finds himself stuck in the ‘swamp,’ and one that is running away from it. Incredibly enough, all of the stark portrayals thread together beautifully. It’s what makes Swamp 00 equal parts compelling and comforting. The perils of frustration and exhaustion seem to weigh on Dre’es in tracks such as “Koufax” as he solidifies his feelings into words: 

“Why does this life feel like a prison?”

While Dre’es offers a hazy sense of stagnant anxiety and wistful thinking that resonates well beyond the confines of a diary, he similarly exhibits a more positive outlook in the lofi-esque soft tune “Red Comb” and in the brassy polished and uplifting track “See Flaws.” “Attacking it all ways is pretty much what the album is about,” the humble rapper tells me as he delves into the concept of being trapped in an endless paralysis, whether it’s mindset- or environment wise.

With Swamp 00, Dre’es paints pride and agony with the same brush as he effortlessly winds between narratives and emotions through all beat changes, tempo switches and euphonious background melodies. From the slow-simmering mellow beats in “Mansion” to the slick retro type vibe in “Fox Body/Dangerous,” Dre’es has proven his cutting-edge talent of moving in different directions while maintaining an excellent flow throughout.

Regardless, as the album progresses, he wills himself into pursuing his goals through one simple premise: create your own luck. With authentic and hard-hitting rhymes, Dre’es lets us know that “depending on wishes and miracles” is nothing but weak in the closing track “Speed Speed Speed” where he untangles the mess in his mind and finds a space of hope and balance. One thing’s for sure – it will be interesting to see Dre’es uncover his full imminent visions in the days to come as he continues to battle with destiny and break free from the collective mindset that have tied humans to the swamp for eons. Lucky for us, the diligent young rapper is just getting started.

Read the Q&A below.

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WHAT IS THE MAIN CONCEPT BEHIND SWAMP 00?

I’ve had the idea, at least the name Swamp, since I was in high school in 11th grade. As time went on, I noticed, especially after high school, that a lot of people around me that I was close to were trapped within themselves or just environment wise and not really doing anything with their lives and I tied that with ‘swamp’. So that’s definitely what the concept is about. Just people being stuck within their ways and not really being able to move.

WHAT DROVE YOU TO CREATE IT? WERE YOU GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING DURING THE PROCESS OF SWAMP 00?

I went through different perspectives of that concept. Me being frustrated with friends that were stuck. Being frustrated with myself because then I felt stuck. And then songs like “See Flaws” and “Red Comb,” where it’s like, “Okay, you’re stuck, but you can do it.” It’s a more positive outlook. Attacking it all ways was pretty much what the album was about.

YOU POSTED ON YOUR INSTAGRAM THAT YOU'RE PUTTING TOGETHER A TEAM FOR THE "FOX BODY/DANGEROUS" VISUALS. CAN YOU TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT THAT IN TERMS OF WHAT WE SHOULD EXPECT? 

The [Fox Body] beat was made by my friend, the producer Elijah Jones. We were together when he made it and instantly we knew that this was gonna need a music video. We pictured nighttime. We pictured driving a lot. Have you ever seen the movie Drive? Yeah, it’s based off of the aesthetic and soundtrack of that movie. For “Dangerous,” I just pictured something weird and colourful and cool and something that I haven’t really done before. Just kind of stepping out of my comfort zone as far as visuals.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO FUSE "FOX BODY" AND "DANGEROUS" TOGETHER?

Since the concept of Swamp 00 is about staying in one place and being in your mind, “Fox Body” felt like the song where I was finally leaving. It’s like a runaway song, but a romanticized way of running away. When it was just “Fox Body,” I was like, “Alright, I’m running away but what am I running away towards?” It felt like something that needed to go somewhere else. So, “Dangerous” ended up happening, produced by Tom Kendall and I felt like it was perfect. I know “Dangerous” could be a stand-alone song on its own, but it just fit very well with “Fox Body” and it just makes sense with the concept of swamp.

BOTH "FOX BODY/DANGEROUS" AND "MANSION" END WITH THE FEELING OF DROWNING. WHAT EXACTLY DOES IT MEAN TO BE DROWNING AND HOW DO THE TRACKS RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER?

They definitely are related, and not even on purpose. “Mansion” is the breather of the album ‘cause there’s a lot going on in the album. There’s a lot of space in it. Being in your car with someone cool, but still being around the area and still being in a local mindset. The way that ties in with “Dangerous” is because it’s going with the feeling of running away but it ends up in the same way. Drowning is when you’re stuck. I feel like it comes to a point where people are so stuck that they end up drowning and they kind of lose themselves. They obviously don’t die in reality, but a part of them does. As you stand still, you sink. That was the lesson in “Fox Body/Dangerous” – even if you run away physically from where you’re from, that doesn’t change your mindset. Even if you go wherever you try to run off to, you can’t really hide from that.

DO YOU HAVE A MESSAGE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE OUT THERE, OR ANYONE REALLY, WHO FEEL LIKE THEY ARE STUCK?

For me, as a person who has always felt stuck, the best way to feel like you’re not is to just practice moving. It’s the simplest things. It’s like waking up early, making your bed and just continuing that pattern of doing things like caring for yourself and having conversations with yourself. What do you love to do? What type of people do you like to be around? What do you like to do in your spare time? What are your goals? A lot of people don’t ask themselves that question. They hang out with people they don’t like. They do things they don’t even like doing. But they don’t even realize it because they don’t really have that conversation with themselves. So, to just take a break, sit with themselves, realize what they want and what they need out of life, and just go from there. Everyone is different, so it’s difficult to go into details, but doing that changed everything for me.

WHAT ARTISTS WOULD YOU SAY HAVE INFLUENCED YOU THE MOST EITHER STYLISTICALLY OR LYRICALLY?

Without Kendrick Lamar and Tyler the Creator, I would not be doing music in the first place. They’re definitely my biggest inspirations. Just the way they move, their outlook, their ambition, and their hunger to always be better and to always grow and try new things has not stopped ever since I started looking up to them. That was back in 2011 when I found them, and all the artists around then, they’re not really around anymore. But the artists I looked up to, they are still very relevant and it seems like they’re really just getting started. And Frank Ocean as time went on. Frank Ocean’s writing and they way he just makes you feel all the way around. It’s incredible.

AT WHAT POINT IN YOUR LIFE WILL YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'VE MADE IT?

When I’ll feel that way? I don’t think there’s ever gonna be a time in my life where I’ll feel like that forever but I definitely think that there’s moments where you feel it and eventually it goes away. Like I said, the artists I look up to, they keep striving and keep going in and no artist ever feels like they made their best song. No artist ever feels like they’ve made it. But there are certain moments that I’ve always wanted and I see as goals where I know I’ll feel that way. There’s this venue called the Observatory out here. It’s not thousands in capacity, it’s only like 800, but I feel like once I’ve sold that place out, I’ll feel like I made it to a point. Once I’m in a position where I can help everyone around me and everyone’s succeeding around me, I’ll definitely have that feeling as well.

Stream Swamp 00 on Spotify now.

Kristal Dela Cruz