Introducing: Godly The Ruler – dog days EP

Madison-based artist Godly the Ruler releases their debut EP ‘Dog Days’ on NYC indie label Pack Records. Producer, rapper, singer and overall creative, Godwill Oke AKA Godly the Ruler has been consistently releasing music and creating visuals for the better part of 2 years now. If their lengthy Soundcloud has shown one thing it’s that this is an artist who isn’t afraid to push both sonic and visual boundaries. Their new record finds them crafting a unique sound, a blend of punk’s raw and high-energy sound with Hip-Hop’s brash yet vulnerable attitude. Learning to produce through YouTube tutorials, the project also finds hints of indie-rock and electronic-leaning elements to it. ‘Dog Days’ immediately grabs you in and takes listeners on a whirlwind.

While ‘girls free til midnight’ is the closest they get to a fully fleshed punk song, ‘dog days’ opens with a light ukulele recording before erupting into a glitchy hyper-pop leaning number. Godly’s music is easy to contextualize in the sense that the pieces of the puzzle are everywhere, in an extremely conscious commitment to world-building that bleeds into every area of their creative endeavours. And that’s what makes this record feel so alive and free rather than the rigid productions we tend to hear.

A first generation immigrant from Nigeria, many of Godly’s familial ties still reside outside of the United States, from Canada, the UK, Spain and beyond. While ‘Dog Days’ finds them exploring themes of love and lust as on tracks such as ‘girls free till midnight’, a major part of the EP focuses on representation and the search for identity in places where they stand out.  “Put my whole life on the internet” they rap on ‘My Overactive Imagination’.

Despite only officially releasing a handful of singles, Godly the Ruler is growing consistently amassing over 500k streams with over 26,000 monthly listeners on Spotify alone. Their music has been supported by the likes of Exclaim!, Tone Madison and The Bozho as well as featuring on Spotify’s ‘Gaming Lounge’, ‘Fresh Finds’ and ‘Tirade’ Editorial playlists.

Speaking on the EP, Godly described that; “this project is essentially me looking into the mirror and examining my life, accepting my faults and acknowledging my relationships with others and the world at large. The music reflects the same craziness and volatility that comes with the human experience.”

“They blend elements of rock, punk and hints of electronic to offer a unique spin on hip-hop” – Exclaim!

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