Duwap Kaine - A Dogg’s Influence
A Dogg’s Influence is the latest offering from Savannah, Georgia-native Duwap Kaine. The mixtape is 20 songs that add up to create 42 minutes and 2 seconds of Hip hop at its best. It was released on March 7th, 2022. Duwap does a great job of telling his story and personal truth while still holding onto himself in the present, and being prepared for the future. Musically, the project utilizes a lot of soul samples and vocals, which complement Kaine’s cutting, and often harmonic bars; distorted drums and mixing are often key elements of the tape, as this effect gives the project a more grimy and rugged feeling which matches the subject matter of it very well. The vocals are also a big element here, as they are often harmonized with autotune, inflections, or octave-shifts over the beats, which makes for a very fun listening experience. Finally, the lyrics of this project play a huge role in it and are actually one of the most important components of the project. He gives us an insightful look into his lifestyle, values, how things have changed over time (for better or worse), and most importantly, how he has adapted to these changes. It also looks into his past, his relationships, and somewhat charts the timeline of how he has gotten to the point he is at.
My Girlfriend
A relentless, dynamic track with amazing 808’s, nice vocal inflections, and a sweet melody with vocal samples.
Smelly 2
A moody song with a more serious tone, going into his past, love life, and how he dislikes dishonesty.
BMW
A trippy, hype track with a wavy Ok! beat with hard drums and a futuristic melody, showcasing Duwap’s personality and values.
The Last No Autotune
A mellow, groovy track with riding drums, pitched vocal samples, and a nice melody that sounds like a flute.
Goated
A cinematic, vibey track with a beautiful melody, which covers how he overcame/overcomes his obstacles.
Promag
A wonky, dissonant track with uplifting and empowering lyrics that showcase Duwap’s individuality.
LightSkin Tatted Up Bitch
A hard, aggressive song that features him reflecting on his past again and where he is at in his career.
Deceived Me
A distorted, dreamy track with a serene melody and tight, hard drums, and lyrics that are introspective and see Kaine pushing to be the best possible version of himself.
Easter Day
A smooth, thumping song with a riding flow, more of those vocal inflections, and again, soulful vocal samples.
All Hail Kaine
A slower, reflective moment on the project with a tranquil beat, where he looks back on his past again.
Dirty Sprite
An upbeat, feel-good track with a tropical, calm beat that features Duwap flowing and being thankful.
Space Shuttle
A spacy (no pun intended), airy track with a beat that is simultaneously volatile and controlled, and clever lyrics which make many cultural references.
Put Dem Racks Out
A chill track with a variety of flows over a beat with a nice melody and consistent drums.
Self Made
A blissful, clean track with a low fidelity beat utilizing smooth drums and a laid-back melody, which reflects on his process of coming up.
Hunnids (On Me)
An explosive, experimental track with a plethora of samples and sonic elements which make for a very hypnotic and fun beat, also featuring many creative, exciting lyrics. This song also has a colorful, trippy music video which was directed by Maurtinez.
Mean
A cool track with a surreal Ok! beat, featuring Duwap flowing over it and dropping knowledge and wisdom.
GRG
A groovy, hard-hitting banger with a ton of different elements, creating a very trippy array of sounds, and an excellent track with some nice bars. This was also released as the single for the album on February 21st, 2022.
What Would You Do
A funky, high-tempo track with a unique electronically-oriented beat. The track sees him explaining his perspective to us, inviting us to try and put ourselves in his shoes, but not in a way that is complaining or begging for pity.
JJ’s Fish & Kitchen
A high-energy, yet dismal track with a disorienting melody, which features Duwap talking about his lifestyle.
Nobody 2 (Bonus Track)
A triumphant, introspective track that sees Kaine looking at his past and present and reflecting on them, and explaining how he got to where he is at.
Overall, A Dogg’s Influence is a brilliant collection of fun tracks with exciting beats, all of which feature Duwap Kaine rapping about his past, lifestyle, and place in society, and going into depth about these things, dropping some sort of knowledge or wisdom on every track, but done so in a manner that is true to himself and makes for an enjoyable listening experience.
