Each Measure Feature: Proklaim

FEATURE

I’ve come to interpret déjà vu–that uncanny feeling of having previously traversed your present circumstances–as some spiritual life force tapping me on the shoulder and saying Hey! Pay attention, this is important. Almost as if a higher power is giving me a do over and graciously sparing me a failed first attempt. Treat this moment like you’ve been here before; learn from the mistakes you never had to make. I believe seeing Proklaim’s newest single, titled, DE JAVU, through this lens helps us understand the intent behind his inspired new song.

In February, I wrote about another Proklaim song, Bitter Sweet, in which the the Namibian rapper asserts his intention to be a guide for those in need of direction. In DE JAVU, he makes good on his intention, succinctly offering listeners a litany of insights, foretelling roadblocks for his audience to navigate around. Afterall, déjà vu–a french phrase–means already seen. It’s as if the rapper is telling others, I’ve seen these pitfalls before, heed my warning and don’t fall prey to their entrapments.

“Quit trying to blame another soul for what you know is yours to handle,” he raps in Verse One. It’s a gentle–yet firm–challenge to his peers to take ownership of the circumstances evolving around them. “I’m emphasizing what I’ve come to recognize for what it is,” he continues. Proklaim alludes here to his desire to see others learn from his mistakes.

In Verse One, Proklaim warns against a feeling of entitlement to riches without a willingness to work hard. In Verse Two, Proklaim builds on this, rapping “Many never understand until it really was too late”–again, nodding to the song’s title: take heed now before having to learn from your mistakes. Here, Proklaim issues a charge that is a little hard to precisely make out–yet the charge’s meaning rings loud and clear none the less. He delivers the approximate line: “Never underestimate the handle with its providence.” In the context of Verse One’s challenge to take ownership of one’s circumstances, this line is staggering. Endowed with sage wisdom he’s claiming that not only are we duty-bound to take ownership of our circumstances, but we need not be afraid of this responsibility, for the same life force that taps us on the shoulder to say, Hey! Listen up! is providentially making “timely preparations for future eventualities”.

Verse Two continues with blistering speed and showcases Proklaim’s superior dexterity and grasp of hip-hop’s foundational components. Listening to Proklaim is a treat–in a time when many of hip-hop’s greats are lamenting the degradation of the genre’s greatest strengths, we get an artist operating with superior integrity–an adherence to the genre’s stylistic values that mirrors the integrity of his character. “I’ve got a love for hip-hop and what it can be,” he raps, expressing faith in hip-hop’s potential for cultural transformation. “I’m taking notes from only those who wear the crown,” he raps, nodding to the greats that share his passion for the community.

At the end of Verse Two, Proklaim shows his hand, making clear that what he values more than anything is follow-through, one doing what they say they will do–integrity. He cites Jesus Christ as the pinnacle demonstrator of this integrity, rapping, “Glory to the one who got up like he said he would,”–here casting Christ’s resurrection as a display of integrity to the highest degree–“As he set the bar above the norm.”

What we see in Proklaim is not normal. In him we see an artist who is striving for excellence–not only in his craft but in his character. He isn’t clout-chasing; he’s striving for true transcendence, to rise above humanity’s greatest limitations, and to bring as many individuals with him as possible.

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