Nashville-based artist Mike Floss has had a pretty big year so far. After releasing his "Dopeboy Dreaming" single back in April, he recently took the Tidal stage—which showcased a number of up-and-coming artists—at the 2015 Made in America Festival. The successful releases of For The Rebels and For The Rebels 2 put all eyes on the young artist and today, he debuts the video for "Dopeboy Dreaming" to build off of his recent hype. The track, which will be featured on his forthcoming project, Don't Blame the Youth, is about wanting the luxuries and the lifestyle but the respect that comes with it, too.
Directed by Daniel Henry, the "Dopeboy Dreaming" video is the second visual Floss worked on. "I couldn't quite figure out how to piece everything together the first time, but with this second one we worked with Daniel and his crew to make the emotion of the record shine through," he says. "It's really all about contrasting the environments and the lyrics with a relatable narrative. It's the fork in the road of really jumping into a dopeboy lifestyle or sticking with the boredom and stress of a more average life."
The track is produced by Ear Drummers' Ducko McFli, who Floss met on the Nashville scene. "Me and Ducko have pretty much always worked together," he told Complex over email. "We both came up in Nashville in the hip-hop scene playing small club shows and showcases. Even making mixtapes when we were first learning how to put records together and manipulate the Internet. We built the whole project together."
Floss took his experiences growing up in Nashville—"A lot of it for me was me just being a loner and rapping on bus rides"—and put them in full focus for the video, fantasizing about what he wanted to do when he grew up and watching the world unfold around him. "It wasn't much else you could do besides play sports and dream. I think my sound is just an organic evolution of what I was making up in my head," he says.
He's currently preparing his forthcoming mixtape, Don't Blame the Youth, a project he says is filled with "A1 production, lyrical content and genuine emotion." Check out his latest video above and catch up on more of his new music over on his Soundcloud now.
