Dyspheric

DG Deep

Daniel Gines’ life is a testament to the question that fellow New Yorker Nas posed in “The World is Yours” on Illmatic: “Whose world is this? / The world is yours.” Since being released from prison at age 24, Gines, who raps under the name DG Deep, has taken life into his own hands.

On his latest single “Real Deep,” he proclaims his mantra: “To teach the youth the truth that’s absolute / A birth of a nation I’m taking them back to roots / We strapped in boots I swear that’s the last excuse / Tired of going to funerals dressed in blackened suits.”

The cautionary stories in Gines’ music trace his life from Brooklyn to a Georgia prison, to working on steam boilers at industrial power plants. His lyrics are indefatigable, both in their intensity and affection, like in “One Love,” an intimate ode to his fiancée. Now in Pittsburgh, he’s turning his long-time penchant for oldschool rap into music of his own.

Gines has a discerning ear for wordplay and tight hooks that flow across lines, skills he showed off at Next Level Stanza, a recent live performance at Kelly Strayhorn Theater. On Sun., April 16, he will take his rhymes back to his hometown of Brooklyn, where he’ll perform in front of Atlantic Records as part of the Dreams 2 Reality competition event. •