ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Haute Rod
Haute Rod is a high class lyricist that elevates the Hip Hop game. Writing and performing music is a passion he discovered early in his lifetime while combatting tough times in Baltimore, Maryland. He’s a storyteller, but unlike most rap artists, he steers away from glorifying the life he once lived and instead makes it become more of his testimony to life’s trials. Friends have deemed him a great person to have around and even though Rod had never been seriously into religion, it always seemed as if a higher power was with him. His close friend-Chase, recalled a time when they were younger, “The block was shot up with bullets flying in Rod’s direction. When gunfire ceased Rod was still sitting on the front porch uninjured.”
In his music, he revisits painful parts of his past for fans to make sense of his life today. Listeners are carried on a lyrical journey told through heavy metaphors and rhymes influenced by notable storytellers in Hip Hop. Rod connected with the narratives of Jay Z, DMX, Camron and J-Cole while living out his own. His music proves that Hip Hop is more than just drugs, misogyny and the street life, but a voice of the community and a positive outlet for expression. Ultimately, it was a combination of life events that inspired this positive and introspective sound. The birth of his son influenced him to stay motivated along with the encouragement of his mother who pushed him along the way. She never stopped pursuing her goals and Rod noticed her determination at an early age. When old enough he himself began to mirror her grind. Without his mother’s reassurance, Rod may have succumbed to his previous circumstances as Baltimore makes that almost too easy to do.
“My mother is my hero and I want my music and story to reflect that,” he stressed. Each track on “The Complication” uncovers a moment in his lifetime that will resonate with his fan base. The album features talented artists, such as Sheila D, Freebandz Test, Kyle Henley, Philthy Boy Urg, Tim Chase and Greenspan with production credits owed to Toan Tracks. Haute Rod has already defied all odds against him and will stop at nothing to attain it all. “I’m going to drop this album, if it’s the last thing I do.”
IG: hauterodgetitent
FB: Hauterod
Youtube: Hauterod