Dude With No Name Presents ​’​Channel 5​’​ (Visual)

When listening to Tajh Spikes, the ambiance of his music strongly supports his mission statement: a cat from Baton Rouge who wants to bring alternative forms of hip-hop to the forefront. His alias alone, Dude with No Name,signifies that his focus weighs more heavily on his art than his persona. Impressively enough for a newcomer, DWNN is ambitious in his arrival, with several teaser trailers leading up to the release of his project, Channel 5 (The Movie) — surely setting lofty goals yet creating legit buzz around the release. In a testament to how left Dude likes to keep himself on the mainstream spectrum, the full clip for Channel 5, features him flowing over scenes from the anime classic Cowboy Bebop. And the nod to Japanese illustration isn’t a one-and-done either, as this motif reoccurs in the emcee’s artwork and occasional philosophical lyrical musings, echoing the monologues of Spike Spiegel himself.

In what quiet possibly could be the only typically southern theme for the Louisiana native is the brief chopped & screwed intro on “Fees.” The A.D.D. Beats produced song is a tessellation of a track, offering methodic pacing between the verses and sample accelerants, all leading up toward the heightened crescendo of a satisfyingly turnt chorus.

The thing about trend setters and creative minds is that they usually present a dynamic where the public questions production than later fawn over it. Consider Kanye’s 808’s and Heartbreak,Wu-Tang’s preoccupation with all things Kung Fu or even Pharrell’s choice of headwear. The biggest musical innovations of our time come from those who embrace going against the grain and for Dude with No Name he seems adamant about avoiding the status quo.

Check out the visual below and feel free to give us your thoughts.