Each Measure Feature: Proklaim

FEATURE

Proklaim opens 2025 with a smooth single, the first of what I hope will be a lineup of releases as reliable and powerful as last year's. If you haven’t heard of Proklaim, welcome back to the world of solid, nostalgic, and easy-flowing hip-hop. The face behind it, Birungi Alexander Kiremire, crafts each track with heart, usually starting from baseline samples that strike sonic inspiration. Frequently working with Pen Pushaz Sutios and Audio Art Namibia, Proklaim stays busy with a steady flow of singles. His work perked ears from the very beginning and continues to spark excitement with meaningful lyricism and feel-good samples, carving a spot in the hip-hop world and popping up on the radar for indie and underground hip-hop. 

Proklaims many singles make themselves known within the first 10 seconds. This is the kind of music that, for me, feels more than thinks. It's all about those musical snippets you hear, enjoy, and have fun with to make a song that hits with electric energy as well as depth: the brassy satisfaction of a horn segment, the ethereal echo of a vocal chorus, or, for LSD, a deep-timbred double bass.

Opening with that same playfulness, LSD sets us up with a relaxed jazzy backdrop and vocal samples that set the stage for the story about to be told. As far as flow goes, Proklaim’s about as good as it gets. He raps an unhindered stream that moves with such ease that when I tried to parse out the individual sentences, I got joyfully lost. With the setup from the opening vocal sample, one can hear and feel that this song is about the journey forward. It juggles the questions of faith, success, and the perseverance of pursuing one’s dream. While such weighty messages might inspire an edgier and angrier track, Proklaim’s LSD instead takes on a thoughtful and groovier tone. Bobbing to the music, I am reminded that while life rolls with bumps and difficulties, there is more than one way to face the challenges ahead.

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