Title: “Dynasty”
Artist: Orion
Release Date: June 26, 2021
Length: 4:56
Format: CD Single, Digital Download, 7” Single, Weekly Airplay
Recorded: February 2021 – Studio60, West Hollywood, California, USA
Genre(s): Rap, Hip-Hop, Trap
Label: Tric-Jam Records
Written: February 2021
Writer(s): Brayton Carter, Jadyn Ghalen, Jamal Ghalen
Producer(s): Orion, DeAndre Patton
Previous Single: “Remedy” (feat. Alexis Brooke) (March 13, 2021) [#02]
“Dynasty” is the sixth single from American rap and hip-hop group ‘Orion’ on almost their one year anniversary since signing to Tric-Jam Records back in June 2020, marking one of the most productive rookie years for any music act within the music industry as they ramp up the build towards their highly-anticipated debut album which is due out later in the summer of 2021. The anticipation for their debut album continues as the group have created a buzz around themselves with all five singles breaking into the top five of the singles chart, two of which becoming number one singles and with three FCA Awards to their name they’re very much an act that has generated a lot of hype for themselves in their debut year, something which is likely to continue with the release of the latest single prior to their albums release in the form of “Dynasty” and the recent confirmation that the record has been recorded and is currently in the post-production aspect before it’s release expected in the coming months.
With the group already releasing two singles that have featured collaborations with other mainstream artists in Aubrey Mikkel on “Playin’” and Alexis Brooke on “Remedy”, they have moved away once more to a standalone group effort, although have once more enlisted the RnB vocal talents of Marina Balan during the songs intro and hooks, the group have had Marina Balan lay down singing vocals when it’s been required as the trio don’t consider themselves singers in the traditional sense. So much so that many fans of the trio consider Marina to be the unofficial fourth member of the group. Rapper ‘Circuit’ recently discussed their reliance on the vocal talents of Marina and what she brings to the work,
“Marina’s a fuckin’ kindred spirit to all of us, she’s an entire vibe on her own so for her to come in without an ego and lay down these caramel smooth vocals when we need with little credit is a testament to her whole fuckin’ vibe. She can hang for sure, she’s been around the studio even when we ain’t needing her on a track, she’s one of us for sure. Always there to hit one up and vibe out on whatever we’re doing in that moment.”So far in the groups genesis, Marina has uncredited vocal performances on the first two singles from the group “Fuck Me Over” and “Make America Breathe Again” and with the release of “Dynasty” we have the third effort from ‘Orion’ that she’s been involved in, with a handful more appearances expected on the full-length debut album. In a recent Instagram live, she had the following to say about working with the guys from ‘Orion’
“I mean.... I am the unofficial member aren’t I? *laughs* but in all honesty, it’s a title I hold dear to my heart because these boys are so damn dope and talented. Whenever we get into the studio it’s nothing but good vibes from the start and we create magic together. It’s not one of those things where we get in the studio and it feels forced and like...record and call it a day. It’s more about us vibing out, creating ideas and bouncing off of each other and I think we have a chemistry that just can’t be questioned. I’ve loved working with the boys, and always look forward to working with them so it’s no different with Dynasty. It’s nothing but love over here, my boys!”The track was written and recorded in February 2021 at Studio60 Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California by Bellows, Boa and Circuit and like previous singles was produced by the group alongside DeAndre Patton. It’s likely that this could be the final single to be released in anticipation for their debut album which is expected to drop in later summer 2021. It will be released as a CD Single, Digital Download, 7” Single and made available to Weekly Airplay on June 26, 2021 and all streaming platforms through Tric-Jam Records.
Song DescriptionThe song begins with melodic piano intro using primarily minor chords, which give an immediate sombre mood to the song for its intro sang in a beautiful slow and melodic style by ‘Marina Balan’ which later serves as the bridge between verses,
“Let me know where you’re at, let me know what I can do/You know I’mma be right there for you/Let me know when it hurts and it gets a little much/You know I’mma take the load for you.” which immediately gives you the general tone of the song, combination of the emotive piano keys and beautiful sung vocal delivery before the piano intro drops out for a couple of seconds of silence before a strong rhythmic beat comes in and the piano then returns but falls into the background slightly as rapper ‘Circuit’ delivers his opening verse to the rap trio’s latest effort, opening up with
“You know I’ve always been the one to keep all this shit bottled/Take on other people’s problems like I know it’s my only fucking option/Oldest of the pack, you know how that goes/You worry more about the shit in their head than all the fucking shit going on all up in yours.” which shows the emotional weight that he’s carried as he’s taken on a role of authority from an early age while fighting and maintaining his own battles throughout his young life in the background.
He goes on to rap about his own path down into his version of darkness, being a promising athlete at one stage of his life before getting injured and becoming addicted to the pills that numbed the pain for him, all of this rapped aggressively over that powerful rhythmic beat with the emotive piano backdrop, he fires out lines like
“Recovery was supposed to take just a little over a month/But I’ve been throwing those pills back ever since just to feel numb/And the stress and anxiety that comes with your childish fears has always terrified me/That’s when I started mixing the pills with the beer.” and
“All the while knowing you’ve got to keep a brave face/Cause your kid brothers look up to you/Like you fucking own the place/And man, they still look for answers in this blank face
And my eyes just glaze over/Cause I’m so fucking high again.” which serves to show the personal side of the tracks lyrics and the autobiographical nature of the song as ‘Circuit’ raps about his own life in very specific details.
The beat then drops out and it’s just that melodic piano progression and Marina’s beautiful sung vocal once more as it provides the bridge to the next verse in the song and gives a lot of weight to the song on its own terms due to its contrasting heartfelt and affirming lyrical content in its fifteen second run.
In the exact same style as the intro to the opening verse, the piano ends abruptly and the beat thunders in with the piano then returning into the background, an obvious musical metaphor for the shifting lyrical and thematic tone as ‘Boa’ arrives to deliver his own verse and his own personal recollections from a period of time in his young life as he opens up the second verse with immediate gut-wrenching line delivered in his slightly rougher smoky tone
“I saw a motherfucker get gunned down/Right in front of my eyes/While I was just a kid shooting hoops with his friends/I’ve witnessed the death of loved ones/On a regular cycle of pain and heartache since I can fucking remember/All I know is churches and hearses/Got those hymns learnt like they’ve got multi-platinum verses.” which shows the abrupt nature of life, knowing not to get too attached to something from a young age because everything you’ve come to know can be taken away so swiftly and so abruptly.
He goes on to rap about the understanding that this specific moment gave him to know that everything is fragile and constantly be aware because you never know what’s around the corner before taking his own verse into very real universal territory as he closes out his verse with the extremely relevant topical content in his words
”And justice seems like a privilege that’s been taken away/And it makes me wonder/How a man can kill and flee the scene of the crime/Because to them, it’s just another/And to us/It’s a human life.” which gives even more obvious weight to the song in question. Rinse and repeat as we’re given the songs bridge once more before the final verse of the song.
As with the previous two bridge to verse builds, the piano drops out briefly for one final time as the beat comes in heavy once again with the piano again finding it’s place comfortably as the backdrop as ‘Bellow’s’ verse arrives, changing the narrative with his personal take on a moment of clarity in his life,
“I made a point to educate myself, because I’ve seen so many ordinary people that have fallen/But I still get looked down on in the same way/Because of how I talk and how I dress and how I choose to show-off the results of my own success/I have my vices like any other man, I like to blaze, I like the rocks and I like eating pussy as much as I fucking can/That don’t define me, I refuse to remove those chains if they’re the ones that bind me/But I know I’m more than the stereotypical face they like to see.” as he takes the lyrical content in a slightly different narrative direction, addressing the fact that he considers himself a person of depth, well-educated but has suffered judgement in a stereotypical manner because of surface level assumptions.
Essentially making the statement that any serious discussions or relevant topics that he feels the need to speak out on in a room full of what could be considered important people would be widely ignored because of who he is. He emphasised the base point of his verse by indicating that although he may be judged to be something he very much is not, at his core he’s someone that beliefs in and is searching for something very human like the rest of us,
“And we know we were raised right/Because the first thing on our mind is to give our family a better life/And I know I feel love and heartbreak in the same way/Ain’t got time for the playboy life that some of those boys like to play/But I get it, it just ain’t for me/I wanna fuck with the one that was made for me/I wanna build something incredible that we can call a legacy/Or something even better yet/Something we can call a fucking dynasty.” before the song is played out by it’s bridge delivered once more by Marina as the music fades.
“Dynasty”“Let me know where you’re at, let me know what I can do
You know I’mma be right there for you
Let me know when it hurts and it gets a little much
You know I’mma take the load for you{Circuit}
You know I’ve always been the one to keep all this shit bottled
Take on other people’s problems like I know it’s my only fucking option
Oldest of the pack, you know how that goes
You worry more about the shit in their head than all the fucking shit going on all up in yours
And it started with Percocet to numb the physical pain
Broke my collar bone at a blow-out high school basketball game
Recovery was supposed to take just a little over a month
But I’ve been throwing those pills back ever since just to feel numb
And the stress and anxiety that comes with your childish fears has always terrified me
That’s when I started mixing the pills with the beer
One to numb the pain
The other to feel the fucking high again
All the while knowing you’ve got to keep a brave face
Cause your kid brothers look up to you
Like you fucking own the place
And man, they still look for answers in this blank face
And my eyes just glaze over
Cause I’m so fucking high again
Wish I could save em’ from their own pain
But I can’t even
Save my fucking self these days
Let me know where you’re at, let me know what I can do
You know I’mma be right there for you
Let me know when it hurts and it gets a little much
You know I’mma take the load for you{Boa}
I saw a motherfucker get gunned down
Right in front of my eyes
While I was just a kid shooting hoops with his friends
I’ve witnessed the death of loved ones
On a regular cycle of pain and heartache since I can fucking remember
All I know is churches and hearses
Got those hymns learnt like they’ve got multi-platinum verses
And all I’ve known is to keep my wits about me
Cause you don’t know what’s coming
And I promised that I would make it out alive
But I sometimes wonder
If it’s worth making it out when so many others have been lost along the way
And justice seems like a privilege that’s been taken away
And it makes me wonder
How a man can kill and flee the scene of the crime
Because to them, it’s just another
And to us
It’s a human life
Let me know where you’re at, let me know what I can do
You know I’mma be right there for you
Let me know when it hurts and it gets a little much
You know I’mma take the load for you{Bellows}
I made a point to educate myself, because I’ve seen so many ordinary people that have fallen
But I still get looked down on in the same way
Because of how I talk and how I dress and how I choose to show-off the results of my own success
I have my vices like any other man, I like to blaze, I like the rocks and I like eating pussy as much as I fucking can
That don’t define me, I refuse to remove those chains if they’re the ones that bind me
But I know I’m more than the stereotypical face they like to see
Raised by my Aunt but will forever hold my mother in my heart till the day that I die
Permanently flanked by my cousins but they know they’re more like my brothers deep down inside
And we know we were raised right
Because the first thing on our mind is to give our family a better life
And I know I feel love and heartbreak in the same way
Ain’t got time for the playboy life that some of those boys like to play
But I get it, it just ain’t for me
I wanna fuck with the one that was made for me
I wanna build something incredible that we can call a legacy
Or something even better yet
Something we can call a fucking dynasty
That’s the aim for me
Let me know where you’re at, let me know what I can do
You know I’mma be right there for you
Let me know when it hurts and it gets a little much
You know I’mma take the load for you”
Credits & Personnel;CREDITSProduced by Orion and DeAndre Patton
Engineered by DeAndre Patton
Mixed by Orion and DeAndre Patton
Recorded at Studio 60 Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California, USA
PERSONNELBrayton “Bellows” Carter – vocals, piano, lyrics, composition, production, mixing
Jadyn “Boa” Ghalen – vocals, lyrics, composition, production, mixing
Jamel “Circuit” Ghalen – vocals, lyrics, drum machine, composition, production, mixing, programming
Marina Balan – vocals
DeAndre Patton – production, engineering
