Milwaukee often gets pigeonholed by the general public into only being known for a certain type of very fast-paced and rambunctious style of Hip Hop music. When most people around the country think of music that comes from Milwaukee, they think of the high-octane Drill music made popular in the mid-2010s by artists like Gwapo Chapo and Chicken P and which has been continued by artists like AyooLii and Certified Trapper. Don’t get me wrong, this is a cool style of music that embodies the raw and gritty culture of the city. AyooLii and Certified Trapper are doing well for Milwaukee and helping get more eyes on the music from Milwaukee by pushing this sound into the mainstream. But if you are from here or in tune with the Hip Hop culture, you would know that Milwaukee’s Hip Hop scene extends way beyond that style of Drill music. Milwaukee is full of extremely creative artists carving their own lanes and pushing boundaries in music in so many interesting ways. One Milwaukee Hip Hop artist with a sound and style that is completely distinctive from anyone else in the city is Daark. He is a Milwaukee-based artist with a sound and style that truly sets him apart from the pack. Daark started posting music on streaming about four years ago and has been very prolific in his output ever since. Since 2019, he has released a plethora of singles and projects, building on and expanding his sound with each release and creating an ambiance and feeling to his music that is entirely his own. It seems to mix some of the elements of underground Hip Hop legend Bones and some of the harsher elements of Milwaukee Hip Hop and Drill music. Daark has been working very hard in 2023, having released 9 singles(and a couple of remixes to those singles) and an EP called Battle Damage 2. Below, I wanted to highlight two of Daark’s newest singles, ‘414 Scurvy(Solo Cut)’ with Stix and Dalenkwent and ‘Big Lizard’ with Gucco. Please let me know in the comments below how you feel about these new tracks from Daark, and also comment the names of any other up-and-coming artists I should check out.

The first track I wanted to highlight is ‘414 Scurvy(Solo Cut),’ which is a song that has been doing numbers for Daark online as of late(there is also a version of this track called ‘414 Scurvy(Posse Cut)’ which features AyooLii, kill.dawn, Superstar Sel, and Maz G that has also been performing well on streaming services, but I wanted to focus on the Solo version as it focuses on the talent of Daark in particular more). This upbeat and raucous track produced by Stix and Dalenkwent has an energy and sound perfectly encapsulates the description I gave Daark’s general sound in the introduction paragraph. This is a rapid-fire and intense Drill track with a party Trap element to it that I dig so much. The beat for ‘414 Scurvy(Solo Cut)’ fuses Milwaukee Drill music with Miami Trap music. There are elements to the drums and melody that are super harsh and remind me of some of the best music from artists like AyooLii or Chicken P, but there is a light and fun element to the pacing of the instrumental that makes me think of the kind of Southern Pop Trap made popular by Miami artists over the last several years. This song has a sound and style that makes me want to rage the night away and party when I hear it. Towards the end of the track, the instrumental becomes chopped and screwed, winding the song down in a calm manner which creates a cool juxtaposition from the rest of the track. Daark’s vocal performance on ‘414 Scurvy(Solo Cut)’ is intense and bold, matching the boisterous feeling of the instrumental. I love how his pitched-down vocals sit on this ominous instrumental, as it gives the song so much life and vigor. ‘414 Scurvy(Solo Cut)’ is a very cool Drill track with components that make it perfect for the club, but also make it feel heavy and harsh. The second song I wanted to highlight is Daark’s latest single, ‘Big Lizard,’ which was produced by Gucco. This song has an even more foreboding and menacing feeling than ‘414 Scurvy,’ which is saying something. The distorted, synth-driven melody for this song is so gritty and grating, giving the song a larger-than-life feeling. The melody for this track sounds like something that would play during an intense scene in a Saw movie, and the sound effects that surround the melody(in particular, the bell sounds) take the creepiness and magnitude of the melody over the top.  The beat for ‘Big Lizard’ feels a little less like Milwaukee Drill music than the first track. Instead of having an off-kilter drum pattern like one would expect from Milwaukee Drill, this one has more of a traditional Pop-Trap rhythm. It makes the song very danceable; I want to rage the night away at some underground Goth club when I listen to this track. The drums for this track are just as distorted as the melody, which makes ‘Big Lizard’ feel a bit Industrial. Daark’s vocal performance on ‘Big Lizard’ is even more severe and energetic than the one on ‘414 Scurvy.’ His vocals on this track take the ferocity of ‘Big Lizard’ to the next level and help the song feel so huge. ‘Big Lizard’ is another awesome track that is so distinctive from what anyone else in Milwaukee is doing right now. With these two songs and all of his other new releases, Daark is paving a new path in Milwaukee’s music scene that truly makes him stand out from his peers. I can not wait to keep following Daark and see what he does in the future, as he is onto something very unique that I am excited to hear more of.