By Jaci Jedrych
D.C.-based artist Sa-Roc didn’t make a sound for the first 14 months of her life. She certainly has found her voice in her 2020 album “The Sharecropper’s Daughter,” which discusses her childhood, life, obstacles, and resilience. Over the past months, she has begun to release videos for the deluxe album, most recently to “Dusty Roads.”
Sa-Roc grew up in Southeast D.C. amid the crack epidemic, when poverty ran rampant throughout the community and marked inequities were on broad display. This shaped her upbringing, and brings a sense of compassion to her lyrics.
“The Sharecropper’s Daughter,” named to honor her father who worked as a tobacco sharecropper, delves into the generational trauma that comes with her Black American identity. It is a raw, honest look into her life and the experiences that come along with being Black in America – the tragedies and the triumphs.
Her newest video is a lyric video to “Dusty Roads.” The design of the video is visually appealing, but what sets it apart are the annotations. Throughout the video, in addition to the lyrics on the screen, there are added notes explaining the meaning and background. This adds a personal touch, and brings more nuance and context to the track.
Fans of the music of Outkast, Apollo Brown, or the lyricism of Kendrick Lamar should check out Sa-Roc’s music. Her powerful lyrics coupled with intriguing backing makes her songs compelling, and her newest lyric video offers a creative take on a classic concept.
This track has been added to our Alchemical Weekly YouTube Playlist.
Jaci Jedrych is a World Politics student at The Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She loves going to concerts and exploring different genres, and has a passion for arts and news writing.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
