Colorado emo rapper Joshua Dean West’s rough childhood has shaped his body of work, including his latest autobiographical single, “Old Self.”
“I know it sounds weird, but I’m so thankful for the lessons I learned early on,” says the 21-year-old West. “If it wasn’t for living in shelters, being homeless every here and there, just finding my way through all kinds of crazy stuff, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
On the melancholy “Old Self,” West paints a stark image backed with grim lyrics, a melodic piano accompaniment and beats: “I’m still struggling with my old self / .…Childhood was torment / I keep declining, the Devil keeps calling.” Juxtaposing hope and darkness, the song reveals that he sleeps with one eye open, “‘cause the past left scars that are way too deep,” and though he sees light at the end of the tunnel, the closer he gets, the more he keeps running.
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