2020 was a good year for THAT DUDE DAX, a.k.a. rising hip hop artist and freestyle phenom Drew Axelrod. The Houston musician dropped a steady flow of singles last year, but none of them took off quite like his debut track “Gone,” a laid-back party anthem that finds Axelrod finishing this drink in my cup and tripping as I exit the club as he heads home with a girl he just met.
Videos by American Songwriter
THAT DUDE DAX is sharing a new music video for “Gone.” Featured below, it’s his first official music video to date. “The vision for this video was really put together by Live2 and their team,” Axelrod tells American Songwriter over email. “It tells the story of hook ups on drunk nights and how that cycle plays out, time and time again. It’s like hooking up for the hell of it even though there’s no real connection with the person you’re going home with at the end of the night. It’s really a cool twist of the song…
“This was my first music video experience and it was definitely eye-opening,” he continues. “You don’t really understand how much work goes into it all until you’re a part of one. It took 10-12 hours to film the video for a song that is under three minutes long. So many people worked hard to make it happen and I’m grateful for the Live2 team and everyone else who had a hand in this project. I’ve never really been one to like having cameras on me, which is something I’m having to get over. I’m self-conscious in a lot of ways and just being on camera makes me uncomfortable. It was a great experience though.”
Axelrod started writing “Gone” behind the wheel. “I wrote this song because it gave me a chance to look back on the fun times I’ve had these past several years,” he recalls. “I was driving around listening to instrumentals and freestyling and was thinking about all the fun times I had in college. My college experiences were really the influence for this song. It was just a fun way to reflect on everything and to tell my story.”
The Montgomery, Texas native initially recorded the song in his room, then brought it to Houston’s Barron Studios “for a more professional sound,” he says. “I actually lost my voice the day before my scheduled studio time and almost cancelled because of how bad it was.”
For Axelrod, the song brings him right back to blurry nights out. “I went to school at Texas A&M University, so Northgate (the bar district) is where I spent most of my time when it came to nightlife, but I also took several trips to 6th Street in Austin, Texas, and now I currently live in downtown Houston,” he shares. “The title ‘Gone,’” he adds, “has a double meaning—‘gone’ as in drunk or faded and also ‘gone’ as in ‘I’m leaving the bar with a girl.’ I really just wanted to make something people could relate and vibe to… I wanted it to be fun, authentic, and something that told listeners more about where I come from.”
Axelrod is especially proud of the song’s lyrics. “I really like the wordplay I used in the verses,” he says. “That’s what makes writing songs fun to me. I feel like that’s where I can really be creative with it. Some examples: Walk through this bitch and it’s feeling like Haiti in 2010 back when that shit was shaking. This compared the feeling of being drunk to the devastating earthquakes in Haiti. I wasn’t trying to make light of a disaster like that, but I felt like it was such a descriptive comparison that people would be able to visualize what it was like for me in the clubs. Got a sack of the green like it’s Watt on the play versus Philly on 3rd down. This one flew over most people’s heads I think, but it’s probably my favorite use of wordplay in the song. In this line I’m using JJ Watt (Houston Texans Defensive player) getting a sack against the Philadelphia Eagles (whose colors are green) to describe [smoking] weed at the house once we got home from the bars.”
“Gone” came together the same way that most THAT DUDE DAX tracks come together. “I come up with most of my songs when I’m by myself driving,” says Axelrod. “I spend a lot of time behind the wheel for work, so I’ll throw on an instrumental and freestyle about whatever is on my mind at the time. I keep notes in my phone and will add to it whenever I come up with a catchy hook or bars that I don’t want to forget. Once I have a pretty good idea of the song, I’ll work on it and clean it up at my house before taking it to the studio.”
The Houston artist is just as likely to cite country musicians and hip hop artists as influences. “I listen to so many genres and have really come to appreciate the different styles and sounds out there,” he explains. “I actually listen to a lot of country music and really enjoy attending country concerts—Koe Wetzel, Parker McCollum, Riley Green, Luke Combs, Colter Wall, and Tyler Childers are who I have been listening to in the country scene lately.”
In terms of his rap influences, Axelrod draws inspiration from Eminem, Mac Miller, A Boogie, Montana of 300, Joyner Lucas, J Cole, Lil Wayne, Slim Thug, Drake, Hopsin, Post Malone, SAINt JHN, Russ, Skizzy Mars, Kota the Friend, and WESTSIDE BOOGIE.
Asked what else fans can expect in 2021, Axelrod promises more THAT DUDE DAX music and visuals soon. “Besides this music video, I have multiple songs ready to go, but am planning on taking a more strategic approach to my releases this year,” he says. “I want to put more positivity into the world and want to focus more on my lyrics/messages. I never really expected to have people paying attention to the music I was making, but now that I do, I want to give them something more than just party music. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be putting some of that out there, but I have more to offer.
“I’m working on a few different small projects—some visuals, growing my social media presence, and really finding my sound with music,” Axelrod adds. “Be on the lookout for a new single called ‘Good Good Day’ (probably late March/Early April) and then another single called ‘Real Shit Pt. II’ after that.”
In the meantime, check out THAT DUDE DAX’s new “Gone” visual below.
