Is realness in rap about your subject matter and wit on the mic? Your style and image? The people you surround yourself with? Does it stem from a Teflon social media presence, or a willingness to stay 10 toes during a RICO trial? Whether it comes down to living your raps or just being the funniest in the room, any play at realness is an extension of being true to yourself (or at least the version you present to the world). By that criteria, Baltimore rapper Deetranada is as real as it gets.
Since starting out as a teenager recording YouTube videos in secret, her spitfire flows and seamless blend of braggadocio and introspection have made her a powerful force within her city’s underground and in the minds of BET’s Hip-Hop Awards cypher scouts alike. On “Forgiveness,” the first track from her latest mixtape, NADAWORLD 2, she offers a snapshot from her ride on the industry roller coaster: “Just hit a play and they comin’ again/I was just crying ’bout making the rent/Bitches that hate prolly live in a tent.” Managing the successes and anxieties of a rap upstart and sorting out the difference between Deetranada, the budding star, and Diamond Barmer, the woman—if indeed there’s any difference at all—has always been at the core of her music. NADAWORLD 2 continues down that path with adrenaline and heart.
No matter what she’s rapping about, Deetranada’s bullish voice and thick Baltimore accent anchor her songs. She frequently bends the “o” in words like “too” and “you” to give it an “-ew” sound that propels her verses forward like a skateboarder gaining speed down a halfpipe. Notice the way she pronounces “choosing” and “juice” during the first verse of “Chosen”: Her diction is distinctive but subtle, a far cry from exaggerated Baltimore parodies and accent challenges. Her hometown is as much a part of her music as anything, down to the fact that all three of NADAWORLD 2’s guests—Ky$hia, Juan Pachino, and Benji Badazz—are locals.
The stories Deetranada brings to life are both celebratory and fraught. There’s talk of Telfar bags and hitting donuts in luxury cars but also memories of violence and gunshots exposing brains “like lo mein.” Backstabbings, betrayals, and misunderstandings color stories about her ops (“Trust Nobody”) and trying to find emotional middle ground with a partner (“Dark Tango”). But she’s no defeatist. Deetranada sounds energized by her growing success, ready to move the pieces she’s slid into place. “All them times I called you back-to-back and you ain’t pick up nigga/Please don’t hit my phone when I get richer,” she says on “Cold World.” For now, she’s more adept at straight-ahead rapping than singing—sung hooks like “Switched on Me” and “Take Money” lack the heft of the rapped hooks on “Anna Mae” or “Check In”—but each song plays out like an episode of Power that she can’t believe she had to live through.
For all of Deetranada’s gains in recent years—a spot on the Lifetime reality show The Rap Game, freestyles for BET and On the Radar Radio—she has yet to drop the hit record or receive the big cosign that would put her alongside likeminded peers like Glorilla and Rico Nasty. But she’s earned her stripes and become one of her city’s brightest prospects. “The struggle it really excites me/One year, one mil most likely,” she brags on “AF1,” with energy bold enough to make clichés land like revelations. Though she feels primed for stardom, Deetranada’s urgency is more hungry than flashy. She sounds like she could rap forever, regardless of who’s listening.
