Torey D'Shaun Archives - Five Twenty Co., LLC

Welcome to the September 2023 edition of DINO NUGGETS, FiveTwenty’s music discovery show! This time around Darius, Daniel, and Alexander are joined by special guest Joseph Muniz to talk about fresh releases from the month of July, international Christian rap, the “Church Clap,” concert bathrooms, and more. Plus, is indie tribe the new Reach Records?

Listen on the FiveTwenty Collective Substack now! Plus you can paste api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1246501/s/62118.rss into your favorite podcast app to get new episodes automatically in your podcast feed.

Connect with Alexander, Daniel, Darius, and Joseph on Instagram, and follow the DINO NUGGETS playlist on Apple Music or Spotify.

Background music: Hymns in High-Fidelity by Brother Joe and sxxnt.

Tracklist:

O’bros – Going My Way (feat. Lecrae)

Jeremiah Bligen – I Will Not Stop (feat. Cutright)

Don Ready & Christopher Syncere – 10pm W Josh Hritz

Indie Tribe – STILL HOLY

Grits – Ooh Aah (My Life Be Like) [feat. tobyMac]

Lecrae – I’m Turnt

Lecrae – Confe$$ions

Mura Masa & Daniela Lalita – Love

Connor Price, Nic D, & GRAHAM – HOV (Remix)

Switchfoot & Relient K – Ammunition (Relient K Version)

Paper Watch – Gideon

This past weekend, I had the immense pleasure of being able to attend (alongside my DINO NUGGETS co-hosts) the third iteration of indie tribe’s SMOKE! Festival. And let me tell you: I can’t recommend it enough. It was a movie.

“Started makin’ movies, now we don’t know how to act.”

The first night of festivities featured a range of talented acts, many of which I hadn’t seen live before. A standout was Jon Keith’s performance. EREMOS is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the year, and hearing songs from it live was an incredible experience. The combination of synth-heavy tracks with incredibly vulnerable lyrics and striking but minimalistic visuals made Jon Keith’s set one of the most memorable of Friday night. Plus, the whole rest of indie tribe rushed the stage during “CHOSE,” sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“If you only take two things away tonight… You don’t have to be lonely alone. And God loves you more than you could ever know.” -Jon Keith

The first night of festivities finished out with an electrifying performance by Seattle-based alternative rock band Kings Kaleidoscope. It’s clear that they’ve honed their craft over years of shows. One indicator of this was how brilliantly the band utilized colors and lighting as part of their set (fitting for a band with “kaleidoscope” in their name). Finishing Friday night off by playing through all three parts of “The Rush,” Kings Kaleidoscope left this writer overwhelmed with emotion.

After the show was the VIP afterparty, starting off with the customary SMOKE! Cypher. DJ Mykael V facilitated the scene over two beats while emcee after emcee blew the audience’s mind. Did I mention this took place in a skate park? Truly an amazing scene to witness. Each artist melted the mic, but even amongst these giants Aable’s verse was something special.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Scott Sengbush (@bigswisschh)

As if the cypher wasn’t enough, we were also treated to Pass the Aux, where artists played unreleased music. 350 played a song he did in collaboration with Torey D’Shaun that he said will never be released due to uncleared samples. Mogli the Iceburg knocked our socks off with an unfinished track from his hyperrock project. DJ Mykael V played a track featuring John Givez that he said was from a 2018 album called Pinocchio Story that will never see the light of day. Torey D’Shaun had to get Jon Keith to help him turn off his iPhone notifications that kept interrupting his song, and nobigdyl. spilled some details on his next album.

Day one easily would have been worth the price of admission, but Saturday brought even more great music! The day kicked off with a Block Party outside the venue featuring vintage clothes, coffee by Cxffeeblack, a live DJ, and more. Alexander, Daniel, and I elected to use part of our time at the Block Party to record a live bonus episode of DINO NUGGETS.

While the Block Party continued outside, fans crowded into Rocketown’s indoor skate park, where the festival organizers had built a stage. I personally only caught Mogli the Iceburg’s set, and I’m glad I did. Experiencing Mogli’s unique brand of indie rock while packed into a skate park with hundreds of other enthusiasts was quite the experience. (Check out the 5th photo below)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by harrison (@harrisonmaxwell)

After getting some lunch, we forged ahead into the main lineup of music for the day. Battz kicked things off, but his was no forgettable opener. I knew that I expected Battz’ music to be some of my favorite, stylistically, but I didn’t anticipate just how much he would be able to animate the crowd, especially once Aaron Dews joined the stage. (Definitely hoping to see a lot more collaboration between those two in the future.)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Aaron (@aaron.dews)

Derek Minor’s stage presence was impressively commanding–I loved that his band included live trumpet and electric guitar. The RMG rapper played a few songs off of his upcoming album, alongside several throwbacks.

I got to hear The New Respects for the third time, and they were incredible as always. The flow of their setlist stood out to me as especially well-put-together. They, too, played an unreleased song, and I’m always impressed by their drummer Darius’ ability to play and sing at the same time.

WHATUPRG also had an exceptionally well-organized set. Last time I saw RG perform was on the Unashamed Forever tour, where he put on an amazing show, but Saturday’s show was next level.

Probably the solo set I was most excited for was nobigdyl.’s, and it paid off. The bassline in “Lighter Fluid” felt like it would punch me through the floor, and dyl.’s decision to use an AI-generated clip of Obama’s voice as the transition from “President” to “PARABOLIC!” was brilliant.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DYLLIE THE KID (@nobigdyl)

This was personally my first time at SMOKE!, but when indie tribe finally took the stage the energy was as high as I would’ve guessed. Anybody who doesn’t think God is doing big things through the tribe hasn’t been to SMOKE!. “This is shocking to people, but we always knew this culture was here,” nobigdyl. said in between songs, to which the crowd responded by chanting “JESUS. JESUS. JESUS. JESUS.”

“Say I won’t come all the way to Nashville to support one of the dopest music festivals.” -Lecrae

After performing several of the top songs from last year’s Church Clothes 4, Lecrae’s set honestly felt more like a blessing over the event with songs sprinkled in. The two-time Grammy winner exhorted artists to be faithful to what God calls them to and charged fans with supporting the movement indie tribe is at the helm of.

“You don’t get no extra rewards in heaven for selling the most albums. You don’t get no extra rewards in heaven for winning Grammys. You don’t get no extra rewards in heaven for selling out shows. All those things are fine, there’s nothing wrong with them, but the motivation is the difference. … So just be faithful to what God put in front of you, y’all. … It don’t mean don’t be a good steward; it don’t mean don’t work hard. But it just means, at the end of the day, life on earth is just preparation for the next life.”

Lecrae may have been the last artist listed on the schedule, but indie tribe had a surprise in store. The mysterious “Still Holy Premiere” listed on the Saturday schedule turned out to be the debut of a new song called “Still Holy,” and, much more notably, the addition of a new official member to the indie tribe: Torey D’Shaun!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by FiveTwenty Collective (@fivetwenty_co)

Obviously there’s a lot more that happened at SMOKE! Festival 2023; these are just a few highlights that stand out to me as I reflect a few days later. One thing I haven’t mentioned is the incredible sense of community I felt as I interacted with artists, content creators, and fans alike. One aspect of the festival that I didn’t consider beforehand that I enjoyed immensely was getting to meet in person many musicians, writers, and graphic designers who I’ve known for years, but only online. By the time the weekend was over, I was wiped, but SMOKE! Festival 2023 was a highlight of the summer (and even the year) for me. You can bet that it will take a lot to keep me from being there again next year.

Hello everyone! Thank you for tuning into the 21st installment of The DIVE Series*. Firstly, I apologize for not posting on the 20th of last month. Moving forward, I will do my best to be more on top of these installments. Today, I will DIVE into Torey D’Shaun’s 2022 single CATFISH, featuring nobigdyl.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” ‭‭- Romans 12:1-2

About the Track

Torey D’Shaun‘s single CATFISH featuring nobigdyl. has over 971,000 streams on Spotify, making it the 5th most popular track by Torey D’Shaun. The track was released on April 29th, 2022, and was produced by the music production duo WEARETHEGOOD made up of Wes Writer and Quinten Coblentz.

Interpretation of the Track (Part 1)

The following is the Intro of the single:

“It’s been Boopie, y’hurr me?”

If you’re unaware of what this means, allow me to break it down. Boopie is an endearing slang term primarily used to describe a female significant other. Synonyms of this word include “shawty,” “honey,” and “baby.” “Y’hur me” is a short slang phrase meaning “You heard me.” This is essentially another way of saying “you feel me” after a sentence to emphasize what you’re saying. Now, the widely-known slang meaning of “Boopie” itself actually has little meaning in the Intro of this track. As seen in Rapzilla’s July 2018 Q&A with Torey D’Shaun, his mother called him “Boopie” as a child. I think the woman on this track is trying to emphasize that he’s been “Boopie” since he was young. Torey begins the meat of the track with the Chrous and Post-Chorus, respectively:

“Jesus’ peace in my heart, you can’t snatch this (Nah). Holy Spirit in my soul (Common cold?), you can’t catch this. Old me, is that you? I need glasses (Huh). I done looked up in the mirror, almost ended up gettin’ catfished.” “Who is that? (Who is that? I don’t look like where I’ve been). Who is that? (It’s been way different since God been my friend). Who is that? I don’t know, but I’m attracted. Who is—who is—who is—catfished.”

In the Chorus, he speaks about the peace of Jesus being in his heart. This directly correlates with John 14:25-27, which states,

“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

In these verses, Jesus informs his Disciples how the Father will send the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ Disciples no doubt received much comfort due to Jesus saying this. Whether they knew it or not, they could (as well as Christians can today) fully trust the Spirit and have peace in Jesus because they can fully rely on the Spirit to lead, guide, and teach them. Jesus says that the Father will send the Holy Spirit in His name. Given this, the disciples could fully trust the Spirit as we can rely on the Spirit to lead, guide, and teach us in every situation.

Interpretation of the Track (Part 2)

Torey then hits us with Verse 1 of the track:

I woke up with a mission. Solve the case ’cause the old me missin’. When I praise different, uh (Sheesh). Breakin’ through the ceilin’, uh (Okay). Devil make a killin’ (Yes, sir). I’ma make a livin’ (No way). For wakin’ up the children (Okay). Why they on that with me? (Okay). Oh, they mad ’cause now I’m groovin’. Keep it funky with me. Is my mirror lying to me? Almost faded away, but it weren’t Kobe. Time don’t stop when you wit’ your Rollies. I was in the state when You had to show me, yeah. Ankle monitor, holdin’ my day one. He was a heavy stepper wit’ a metal leg. We was extra, yoked up heavily. I was the deviled egg, tryna cook up whatever. The devil said, headed for the Feds. In the (Dead of night). Don’t look like what I’m supposed to (I don’t). Come close (I don’t), catfish, it send me social (Okay). In this, in this, in this, in this.

Torey “woke up” with a mission to share the love and grace of Jesus with people through the Gospel when he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He mentions how different his old self was before the Holy Spirit transformed him into a new person. He continues in this verse about how one of his goals is to make a living by waking up the children. In other words, Torey wants to work heartily unto the Lord by spreading the Gospel to people in a loving way, thus “waking them up” spiritually with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. One line in this verse I personally found quite interesting was, “Time don’t stop when you wit’ your Rollies.” I believe he’s conveying that Rolex watches (or Rollies) might be nice, but they don’t have any value in an eternal and spiritual sense. If you have another idea of what Torey is attempting to convey in this line, please comment below and let me know! I also found it interesting how he raps about being a “deviled egg,” explaining that he was doing what Satan preferred him to do before Jesus saved him. As a potential metaphor, he said he was headed for the Feds, meaning he was sinning habitually. This first verse is essentially about Torey’s perspective on his old self and how his old self is unrecognizable to him now. This difference was caused by his accepting Jesus as his Lord and Savior and being transformed by the Holy Spirit. The Chorus and Post-Chorus run a second time before nobigdyl.’s verse…

Interpretation of the Track (Part 3)

nobigdyl. finally comes in Verse 2:

If God don’t like ugly, how you explain me and my buddies, huh? Did so much dirt right after church, my slacks muddy, huh (Wow). She was lookin’ real lovely, never mind that it’s Bible study (Whew). I was huntin’, lookin’ for Boo like Mike and Sully, then I heard suddenly (Yeah, okay, ayy, ayy). God say “Stop, what is you doin’?. Like look what I taught, wearin’ that crucifix” (“What is you doin’?”). “Made you My image and what did you do with it?” (“What did you do?”). “Used it to cheat when I asked you to steward it” (Still the truth). “You went and Judas’d this, so now I’m mercy. I’m gonna move and I’m comin’ like Ludacris” (“You fool”). “You act a fool with the words in your mouth. And I still didn’t roll out, now let’s get to the root of it” (Yeah). Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is that? “That’s the new you” (Who’s that?). “Sword of the Spirit, I’ll put it right through you” (Ooh). Holy water stream, hop in it like Hulu (Okay, alright). Now you Mushu, holy fire through the Bluetooth title (Whew). YouTube idol, SuWu, child of God (Whew, whew, whew). Defiled, redeemed, eternity in my smile. In this, in this, in this, in this.

nobigdyl. brilliantly begins his verse by emphasizing that God loves us despite us being sinners (explained in this verse as being spiritually ugly). I like how he mentioned a problem every Christian has dealt with: Going to church on Sunday and sinning habitually during the week. nobigdyl. continues the verse by rapping about how he struggled with trying to find a significant other too quickly, and he ended up cheating. He references Genesis 1:26-28:

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth’.”

In this passage of Scripture, God creates humans, making them in His image. Since we were made in his image, we were made to be stewards of the Earth and our bodies (temples). Being told to be fruitful and multiply by God had stewardship implications that consist of doing so in a way that honors and glorifies God (such as not participating in sexual immorality like cheating on your significant other with another person). So according to this verse, God told nobigdyl., “[You were] made in My image and used it to cheat when I asked you to steward it.” nobigdyl. ends the verse by rapping about how God saving him changed him spiritually beyond belief and how the Sword of the Spirit (God’s Word/The Bible) allowed his eyes to be opened to Jesus’ grace and love. Now, just like Torey D’Shaun and other Jesus-believing folks, nobigdyl. is unrecognizable spiritually when compared to when he was not saved.

DIVE Conclusion

CATFISH by nobigdyl. and Torey D’Shaun, produced by music production duo WEARETHEGOOD, is a track with nearly 1 million streams on Spotify. It is important to remember the Bible passage of the day of this installment and the themed Bible verse of this single we talked about today:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” ‭‭- Romans 12:1-2

This CHH (Christian Hip Hop) single is about being transformed spiritually by the Holy Spirit as a result of accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. The song’s general theme conveys that many spiritually mature Christians in their relationship with Jesus feel like they can’t recognize their old selves before being saved or earlier on in their faith walk with God.

Thank You for Reading DIVE!

Thank you for reading this far into the article! I hope you all enjoyed this installment of The DIVE Series* on FiveTwenty Collective. Again, my apologies for not posting on the last scheduled day for The DIVE Series*, but be sure to tune in for the next installment dropping on the 5th of next month (September 2023)!

About The DIVE Series*

In this series, I DIVE into the precise and potential meanings of Christian Hip Hop singles, albums, and EPs. In Special Edition installments of the series, I interview the artist(s) involved for the whole meaning of their art. Thanks for checking out today’s edition of FiveTwenty Collective’s DIVE series! I drop a new installment of this series on the 5th and 20th of every month (except on Sundays). God Bless, DJ Expander — **Listen to the full CATFISH single at the end of the article!** — Want more content from The DIVE Series? Check out the previous article now!

--
Purchase* CATFISH and support Torey D'Shaun!

*As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Listen to more music from Torey D'Shaun here

Hello, and welcome to today’s edition of The DIVE Series*. My name is DJ Expander. This installment is the sixth I have done so far. I must say that I am enjoying being a part of the FiveTwenty Collective writing team!

Earlier this month, I reviewed SLEEPIN! by nobigdyl. Nearing the end of the third month of The DIVE Series’ run, I will study Closer by Reach Records artist Hulvey.

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” ‭‭- Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬‬‬

About the Single

Dropped on October 14th, 2022, the track Closer features Torey D’Shaun. Production is by Joel McNeill, Carvello, and Ace Harris. The song’s overall theme is Gospel-centric.

Interpretation of the Single

Closer has a lot of Biblical meat, so I will attempt to cover it all concisely.

Let’s dive right into this track. The intro of the track beautifully starts the song off with:

“I wanna get closer to Your heart. I wanna get closer to Your heart. Close, closer to Your heart.”

The song’s intro indicates that the track is about the want and need for followers of Jesus to be closer to God through a relationship with Jesus.

Hulvey starts off the first verse by saying,

“Uh, I’m tryna be a disciple, that’s showing my rivals Your love over givin’ ’em hatred/I’m tryna be a disciple, that’s living revival, my life is a whole conversation/I’m tryna be a disciple, that follow Your will whenever the trend is Jada/I’m tryna be a disciple, that put on Your armor whenever I know I can’t take ’em.”

Hulvey indicates that his ultimate goals are to:

Be a disciple (follower) of Jesus that shows people (including his rivals) the same love Jesus showed him
Act in a way that shows he is renewed through Jesus
Follow the Will of God even when the culture is unholy
Use the Armor of God whenever he knows he’s experiencing spiritual warfare (See Ephesians 6:10-20)

He mentions that the Body of Christ needs to stand together. Missionary work is dangerous since Christians all over the world are subject to persecution for their faith in God.

He continues,

“Yeshua, He walked on the Earth, He was on His own turf and His own people left Him hanging/What if we seen Him in-person without no rehearsing, man, tell me would we even claim Him?”

Hulvey is making his audience wonder if they would have denied Jesus the same way the Jewish people denied Jesus when He was on Earth. He says Jesus was on His turf (Israel), and his people (the Jewish people) left Him hanging. He’s referring to the majority of the Jewish people, most especially the Jewish authorities that denied Jesus and utterly rejected Him as their Messiah.

He finishes off the 1st verse by saying,

“I know I’m the one that need Him/Man, I found my freedom when I found out they hit and beat ’em/And He hung on the cross, that’s how they chose to seat Him/You don’t need a seat at the table when you got a seat in the Kingdom/I can’t help but be humble whenever I think of the day that I’ll see Him.”

These four bars were a great way to end the opening verse of this track.

Hulvey admits that he, like everyone else, needs Jesus. He also acknowledged his freedom when He learned about the love that Jesus showed us through the sheer amount of suffering that Jesus endured, to save those who believe in Him from being in Hell for eternity. This suffering includes His dying on the cross, which is how the Jews chose to kill Jesus. The Romans carried out the crucifixion because the Jewish authorities insisted. He finalizes this verse by talking about how humble he is just thinking about the moment he meets Jesus when he passes away and goes to Heaven.

The second verse is briefer but still has a good amount of Biblical meat.

Hulvey mentions he used to be dark, which in this case, means he used to be spiritually dark without his belief in Jesus and the Holy Spirit inside of him. He continues to sing to God, asking Him to open his heart and telling God that he has faith as a child of God. He said he’d rather have Jesus than fame here on Earth. Jesus is more than worldly fame or riches will ever be because we can’t take those things with us when we die. He also asks God to open the door to Jesus for the rich and poor throughout the world.

He continues the second verse,

“Top-down, He done paid my sentence, huh/I’m a drink this juice in sin remembrance, huh/Yeah, I’m from the Wick where it get wicked, huh/I guess that’s the reason that He sent Him, huh.”

Hulvey indicates to his audience here that Jesus paid his sentence, to Hell, before he accepted Jesus into His heart. He also says he’ll drink juice (grape juice typically used in communion) to remember Jesus and what He did to wash away our sins. Hulvey mentions that he’s from the “Wick.” Here, he pays homage to his hometown of Brunswick, Georgia.

As of the writing of this article, he has created two songs about his hometown (the “Wick”) called “This Pain We Feel” released in May 2020, and “Back In The Wick” released in January 2021. He then goes on to say the “Wick” can get wicked and that the wickedness of man is the reason God sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.

Torey D’Shaun ends the track with a beautiful refrain where he praises God about how He’s always been close and there for him even in the darkest times.

Conclusion

Closer is a track by Hulvey featuring Torey D’Shaun and produced by Joel McNeill, Carvello, and Ace Harris. At the time of this writing, this track had over 64 thousand streams on Spotify, while it dropped less than a week ago. Hulvey and Torey D’Shaun have done good work conveying the primary two purposes of this song:

To sing praises unto God for what He has lovingly done for us and to convey the artists’ faith in Jesus, and Biblical knowledge so that the audience may consume this content to help improve their spiritual health by becoming closer to God.

As mentioned in the verse of the day, Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬‬‬, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

Putting on the whole Armor of God is extremely important for Hulvey and Torey D’Shaun. This includes staying rooted in God’s Word and the way, truth, and the life that is Jesus Christ.

In the same way, it is important for these Christian Hip Hop artists to aim to be closer to God, it is equally important for us as followers of Jesus to want a closer relationship with Jesus as we follow Him.

About The DIVE Series*

In this series, I DIVE into the clear and potential meanings of Christian Hip Hop singles, albums, and EPs.

In Special Edition installments of the series, I interview the artist(s) involved to get an exact idea of the true meaning of their art.

Thanks for checking out today’s edition of FiveTwenty Collective’s DIVE series! I drop a new installment of this series on the 5th and 20th of every month (except on Sundays).

God Bless,

DJ Expander

—

**See the full Closer audio at the end of the article!**

—

Want more content from The DIVE Series? Check out my previous article now!

Tag: Torey D’Shaun

Tracklist:

About the Track

Interpretation of the Track (Part 1)

Interpretation of the Track (Part 2)

Interpretation of the Track (Part 3)

DIVE Conclusion

Thank You for Reading DIVE!

About The DIVE Series*

About the Single

Interpretation of the Single

He continues,

He continues the second verse,

Conclusion

About The DIVE Series*

Quick Links

Tracklist:

Related Posts

Related Posts

About the Track

Interpretation of the Track (Part 1)

Interpretation of the Track (Part 2)

Interpretation of the Track (Part 3)

DIVE Conclusion

Thank You for Reading DIVE!

About The DIVE Series*

Related Posts

About the Single

Interpretation of the Single

He continues,

He continues the second verse,

Conclusion

About The DIVE Series*

Related Posts

Quick Links