Riding a wave of uncontainable momentum into 2023, East Tampa Florida rapper Taleban Dooda unleashes the music video for his latest single “Glokk Starz” today. Watch it above. It’s a climactic and melodic visual that compliments his new mixtape, Step Wit A Passion.
The track’s acoustic guitar sample snakes around a skittering beat ignited by Dooda’s inimitable high-pitched cadence. He leans into the verses with clear delivery as he observes, “It’s my second time in Cali, they think I’m Hollywood. I could never be that way I’m just too Hollyhood.” Soon after, he asserts, “I’m a Glokk Star.” In the video, he raps from inside of a packed apartment complex. Perched atop a railing, with puffs of smoke and friends surrounding him. It projects a-night-in-the-life of Dooda onscreen in all of its glory.
Meanwhile, Step Wit A Passion has just begun to heat up at streaming platforms highlighted by the likes of “If It Happen It Happen.”
The new project follows Dooda’s other 2022 project White Chalk & Yellow Tape, which is similarly cohesive from front to back. That hard-hitting collection included “It’s Me,” a series of verbal vignettes from the MC’s past over piano notes and a minimal drumbeat, and “Go” — a track that takes aim at “social beef.” His music has received praise from Pitchfork, Noisey, Hot New Hip Hop, No Jumper, and more!
Dooda levels up with Step Wit A Passion, showing off his skills and insatiable ambition.
ABOUT TALEBAN DOODA:
Taleban Dooda has the type of voice you remember. The Tampa rapper’s piercing delivery on singles like “Spin” has always caught listeners by surprise. With a knack for delirious melodies and an unshakeable bravado, he’s used that sound to become a rising star with chaotic charm, penning spirited stories that shine thanks to his uniquely high-pitched vocals. Last year, the 20-year-old released his debut album, Fallen Angel. That record, as well as a string of solemn singles that includes 2021’s “Call 100 Times,” became a safe space for the grief he has nowhere else to put. Dooda’s journey to the top of Florida rap has had its twists and turns. In high school, he tried his hand at football until he realized his voice would probably take him further than sports could. He eventually dropped out and got to work, releasing the early hit “Dreams & Reality” in 2019. Fallen Angel, which followed in 2021, was crafted as a testimony to the course his life could’ve taken without music. It is a remembrance to the lives of lost loved ones, and a promise that their stories will be inspirations as he continues on his journey. Now with new music on the horizon and a record deal with Warner, fans can expect the rapper to experiment with sounds beyond the gritty beats that have become his signature. As his first viral song foreshadowed, Dooda’s reality is finally catching up to his dreams. “I just want everybody to see I ain’t here for a little bit,” he says. “I’m here for a long time. I ain’t done yet.”
