“Dear Mom” by Dax

Not much is currently really known about the background of Dax, a rapper from Canada who is reportedly of Nigerian descent. But judging by this song the presumption can be made that, as with shall we say many other Black males from North America, he was raised by a single mom.

A woman raising a child on her own, especially a boy, is not an easy task. This is something which a number of rappers, most notably the late Tupac Shakur, have pointed out in the past. Indeed considering that most popular rappers are in fact Black males from North America, single motherhood is somewhat of a recurring in the annals of hip-hop. 

So it can be said that this song is Dax’s own version of Tupac’s “Dear Mama“, i.e. a track whose lyrics are specifically addressed to the narrator’s mom and which harp on the challenges she faced while raising him.

Thesis Sentiment of “Dear Mom”

And of course, like “Dear Mama”, the thesis sentiment we are dealing with today is one of appreciation. That’s something which Dax reveals pretty much from the jump. In fact even from a “young” age, he was cognizant that his mom was going through it. And in addition to raising him, she also served the role of encouragement – for instance during the days when he was hustling as a paperboy “in the Canada cold”. In other words, she was the one who assured him that such hardships would not last forever.

One commonality that such single moms tend to possess is being quick with the lash. And accordingly, Dax dealt with his fair share of ‘a*s beatings’ at the hands of mama. But he’s not compelled to hold such against her considering how hard she worked, “three jobs” even, in order to support him to see him through school. 

Indeed they had their disagreements. But in hindsight, Dax is able to realize that she was right, as he intends to raise his children similarly. For example, they will also be instructed to come home before dark, not to steal, to be upright individuals and also to pray on a nightly basis.

A shoutout to all Mothers of the World

And outside of harping on his own personal recollections of childhood, Dax is cognizant of the fact that many others went through similar ordeals, as alluded to earlier.  And as such, this song is also intended to serve as a shoutout to “everybody’s… mom”. 

Mothers are usually such that they make sacrifices for us that no one else ever will. And it is that fact which this song, via the narrator’s own personal story, is meant to relay. Indeed this track is quite lengthy, and it is by and large autobiographical in nature. That is to say that at points Dax gets quite detailed in relaying what specifically his mom did for him. 

But what it all boils down to, as already put forth, is the rapper understanding that his childhood presence made her life much more difficult from an economic perspective. Yet she rose to the challenge via her own “pain and… hurt”.  And for that he is eternally grateful.

Release Date of “Dear Mom”

Dax released this track on 7 May 2021, which was just a couple of days before said year’s Mother’s Day celebration. And the song appears to be a standalone single.

Who is Dax?

As at that moment in time, Dax can be said to be an up-and-coming, primarily underground musician. His biggest hit thus far was a 2017 track entitled “Cash Me Outside” which featured Danielle Bregoli (aka Bhad Bhabie), the young lady who made that titular phrase famous. 

Dax is also known to have collaborated with the likes of O.T. Genasis and Hopsin. Additionally he has also dropped an EP, “It’s Different Now” (2018), under his own Daniel Dax Entertainment label. But for the most part he is a YouTube rapper, not a mainstream one, who is known for remixing tracks by more-popular artists, including the aforementioned Tupac Shakur (1971-1996). 

In fact his first mixtape was entitled “2Pac Reincarnation Volume 2”, not that we needed anyone to tell us that “Dear Mom” was in fact influenced by “Dear Mama” (1995).

Dax got into a short-lived beef with fellow Canadian rapper Tory Lanez in 2019. However, that tiff, in which the former seemingly took an unprovoked lyrical jab at the latter, did not develop into anything serious.

Dax, who also appears to be relatively athletic (compared to other rappers), did in fact play collegiate basketball for Newman University, an institution found in Wichita, Kansas.