Meet ScurtDae, who got his nickname from his love of drifting his old 1988 Toyota Supra Turbo around his high school parking lot in Ramona, San Diego County. Despite doubting his musical abilities, he persevered and spent a decade teaching himself everything he could about creating and promoting music. His hard work paid off, as he now enjoys 650,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and almost 2 million monthly streams there alone. His popular track "Back to Life" has over 50 million streams on all platforms and has been featured in thousands of videos on TikTok and Instagram, including some regarding the Russian and Ukraine wars. ScurtDae's music offers hope and explores deep subjects like mental health and turning difficult times into learning experiences.
ScurtDae makes music with a gritty, muscular tenor. Harkening back to when pop music had an edge, the sound he develops has a realness to it, one unflinchingly honest and unforgiving.
“Tate” feels like a psychotic experience, one where ScurtDae longs to escape from the unhealthy attitudes of society to get back to what it means to be alive. Everything within the atmosphere has a definitive cutting quality, from the defiant lyricism to the unhinged bass that weaves its way through the entire duration. Pitch-black, the song’s music video, cleverly embodies this contemplative mode, as it is completely blanketed in the darkness of the night. Lyrics are chosen with the utmost care, for he explores the concept of masculinity.
Grooves reign supreme as ScurtDae’s spirit recalls that of Public Image Limited’s most surreal concoctions. Unlike that outfit, however, ScurtDae offers a much more grounded message, one of trying to overcome fear and overcome what’s been transmitted to people for several years – to be afraid. Within the song, the battle between fear and fearlessness takes hold of the listener, as the journey has a highly personal effect. It seems that there is this sense of trying to run away, to find oneself, and the darkened sheen of the melody of the riff proves that it is something that society tries to hide and warn against.
With a snarling sort of sound, ScurtDae defies everything and everyone on the wild trip that is “Tate.”
Check out his latest release, "Tate," on all platforms and the official music video on his YouTube channel, which asserts the importance of regaining lost masculinity in today's confusing and social media-filled world. Follow ScurtDae's journey.