The Roundup: Draze Drops the Seahawks Anthem We've Been Waiting For
From the Editor
What's up, South End?
A lot happened this week in local and national news, but this weekend, even if just for tonight, I'm pushing all that aside.
As a lifelong Seahawks fan, our divisional round playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers will be my main focus.
All together now: "SEA … HAWKS!"
To help everyone get in the spirit of game day, I recently tapped in with local hip-hop artist Draze. He's a self-proclaimed football fanatic who says he hasn't missed a Seahawks game in decades, and that includes a stretch of time when he was living abroad and watching from Zimbabwe.
Two weeks ago, after watching the Seahawks defeat the 49ers in the final game of the regular season, a huge win that earned the Hawks the No. 1 seed in our conference and a first-round playoff bye, Draze felt inspired. So he did what he does best: stepped in the booth and made music.
Draze's new song is not only a banger, it's also the Seahawks anthem we've all been waiting for. You can listen to "The Dark Side," produced by legendary Seattle artist Vitamin D, through the link below.
I spoke with Draze leading up to game day about his inspiration in making a Seahawks anthem, how he landed on just the right sound to match the team, and his prediction on the outcome of the game.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
MD: Where did you get this inspiration to make a theme song? And why now?
Draze: I wanted to do something that felt like the unofficial street anthem, you know what I mean? Something that really captures how the town is rocking with these young boys. They don't always get to feel our energy. And so, I knew I wanted to do something after that San Francisco 49ers game, but I typically do not do theme songs. And after that game, I was like, "Yo, man, I rock with these boys for real."
So I was like, who do I call? And without a doubt, it was easy, I hit Vitamin D. The funny part is, I hit Vita, and we got on the phone, and I just explained what I wanted the vibe to be. I know Vita is a football fan. We talk about the Seahawks all the time. And he's like, "I got you, I'm gonna send it to you tonight." 30 minutes later, the beat drops into my phone. It took him 30 minutes. That brother got the assignment.
MD: 30 minutes? That's fast! Was he already working on it?
Draze: When I hit him, he said, "I'm already on that wave." Vita goes in waves. And he was like, "I'm already making some beats in that pocket." He already had the sounds and everything queued up. He was like, "Say less." He sent it and I wrote to it that day, knocked it out, hit my daughter, she's a dope artist in her own right. I hit her because I needed somebody to flip the chorus. Then I gotta shout out one other town legend on it. Her name is Francci [Richard], who is one of the dopest writers out of the town. She's the one doing the "welcome to the dark side." So, everybody is from the CD. This is the Central District and this is our gift to you.
MD: What has the reception of the song been so far? This is not pop. This is a hip-hop Seahawks anthem. I love it, but definitely didn't expect it.
Draze: When it comes to music, the people always decide. And I got so many people being like, "Yo, this is a banger!" And I think what they're gravitating towards is the street element. This feels like the West Coast. This feels like Vitamin D and the Central District and Draze and the sounds we grew up on. And so had I tried to create a lil tune for the team's song that wouldn't have worked. I wanted to create something that the players can listen to in the locker room. And you know what, this team ain't pop and neither is this record, right? This team is real. This ain't cheesy, this ain't pop, and and it's making people look at the team, because the music feels like this team — it's dark.
MD: Ok, now you gotta give me a prediction. How do you think the game will go?
Draze: We bout to get in that ***! I got us to beat them. I'm a football junkie, so from an analytical standpoint, I just think we're better than them, in terms of holistically, offense, defense, and special teams. We have the whole package.
"The Dark Side" is now streaming on all platforms.
The Roundup Rundown
There was a lot of chatter during Mayor Katie Wilson's campaign about the cost of child care. When then-candidate Wilson let it slip that she was getting financial support from her parents to assist with child care costs, a social media firestorm ensued.
Emerald contributing columnist Gennette Cordova followed up with Mayor Wilson and a prominent daycare provider in the South End to discuss child care costs and how the city plans to address affordability.
Nearly a dozen youth, ages 24 and under, gathered in Othello this week for a mayoral listening session.
Emerald contributor Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero reports that this is one of three listening sessions planned by Mayor Wilson's team. The goal is to have all three before the mayor's first 100 days in office.
Participants were asked questions about education, safety, affordability, workforce development, and civic engagement.
For the full details on what South End youth offered to Seattle's new mayor, read Jacquelyn's full report here.
The Seattle Affected Persons Program (APP) was a work group intended to provide financial and mental health services to the families of people killed by the Seattle Police Department (SPD). The program was spearheaded by Castill Hightower, a local activist whose brother was killed by SPD.
In a guest op-ed for the Emerald, Castill discusses the rise and fall of the APP and her hopes that the new electeds in City Hall will offer adequate support for victims of police brutality.
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Mike Davis is the newsletter editor and Voices editor at the South Seattle Emerald. Born and raised in Seattle's South End, Mike is a longtime journalist who's covered everything from arts and culture to sports to politics.
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