By Charlie Maybee
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The Germantown, Maryland-based rap group, 242, recently released their new single “Hesitate” featuring Damon Modarres, Kang, and Wokstarrdaviid. Mustering up a solid balance between pop sensibilities and driving rhythmic lyrics, this is a song that fans of Post Malone would love.
Building up into the first verse, they lay the lyrical groundwork of the chorus, “They’re saying so much shit to celebrate / But it’s getting hard for me to hesitate.” Once we enter the verse, they let loose and speak their minds while sliding through impressive stretches of rhymes that are well crafted and exquisitely executed.
If 242 were holding back fighting words before, this track reads like a slip of the tongue that allows a leak to become a flood. Through the spiraling lyrics, there’s still a sense of calm clarity that persists through the whole track. It’s clear that this is a scenario that has been run mentally many times, and now it’s time to say it for real.
The band explains that “Hesitate” touches on various real-life issues that have caused emotional turmoil for the group’s members. “The hook, sung by Damon Modarres, is about wanting someone to listen to you when you don’t think that you can hesitate to end your life anymore. The verses, sung by Kang and Wokstardaviid, discuss financial hardship, being a black male in America trying to support your family, relationship troubles, and relying on comedy and deflection to hide the trauma that comes with man of these issues.”
As the most recent in a string of new singles (“Summer Roads” and “Move Slowly” were also released this year), 242 seems to be poised for a solid takeover of the DMV pop/rap scene. This is the kind of song that’s endlessly listenable and exudes a charisma that is understated and inviting, while being hyper aware of the popular trends in music and utilizing that to their fullest advantage.
The catchy hook of “Hesitate” makes it clear that 242 are pop songwriting aficionados, and we’ll be looking forward to their next release.
“Hesitate” is available on all major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, SoundCloud, and TIDAL.
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Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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