One of two albums by me and my producer son, Marion "MadHappy" Henry.

So Far follows the arc of an artist from childhood to fatherhood and beyond with a combination of musical styles as diverse as the colors of life. This is grown man rap. My penchant for penmanship and emotional delivery matched with MadHappy's eclectic musical production take you through the lows and highs of a turbulent journey to self actualization.

Every song was written and performed by Doc Deuce, produced by Marion "MadHappy" Henry, and mixed by Sean Riggins.

So Far

Additional vocals by Gabreauna Nash

In film, a montage condenses progress and multiple actions over time into a single sequence. The actions and progress that get shown are usually directly responsible for moving the story forward. This song is for your montage moments. When you're doing the things it takes to reach your goals, play #MontageMusic.

#MontageMusic

The album takes a turn at this song which sounds nothing like any of the rest of  them. I think it's fitting though because it's in line with the arc and going beyond what's been done.

Beyond Belief

This one was a crowd favorite back when I would perform it. Even without a recording of it back then, people would be singing along to the hook. I'd love to do a remix with Gary Clark Jr.

Pursuit

I recorded a version of this nearly a decade ago and it can still be found on my Soundcloud profile. This version is more meaningful to me because it was actually produced by my son who I've raised as a single dad for 13 years. As hard as it's been, I'm so very grateful.

Thankful

This is the closest thing to a street song on the album but I still wouldn't really call it that. While the 2nd verse is about surviving the streets, the 1st is about money and the 3rd is about mindset (which has actually changed a bit since this was written.) It's the only song on the album with any curse words and they're not even in the street verse. My son composed a pretty nice piano part for the 3rd verse, though.

Survive

I think my son did a great job of making this music sound and feel like it's considering two sides of a story. My verses were actually written independently of each other but were close enough in subject matter to combine for this song.

This song includes a thoughtfully rhymed verse over a cinematic buildup to Muhammad Ali commentary and a transition to a new beat and verse. It's about coming to terms with using pain to move my story forward instead of letting it hold me back.

Pain

I've been a fan of rock music since the early 1990s and this is the closest thing to a rock song I've ever recorded. It's also in a 3/4 time signature which gives it even more of an off kilter vibe.

WISH

This is a super chill song. To me, the beat sounds like something out of film noir. Even with the moody musical aesthetic and somewhat heavy subject matter, my flow is still rhythmically explorative. It turns out, an excess of lonely time allowed me to focus on honing my craft.

Lonely

On an album with songs that I've written over the last two decades, this one is actually the most recent. The musical composition includes references to religious and spiritual sounds because the lyrics are something like a prayer but, to whom, I'm not sure. It could be to a concept of God, or perhaps even to my audience.

I & I

Hello, fellow human. I’m your friendly neighborhood Doc Deuce: a lyricist from the golden era of Hip Hop that valued lyrical skill and stylistic originality. Bone Thugs inspired me to rap with speed and melody. Busta Rhymes showed me it was okay to be weird. Eminem schooled me on complex rhymes while Gift of Gab was my professor of patterns. Put it all together and I get compared to Tech N9ne.

“I was born and raised in Texas, that's my home state.” The first line of my song “Thankful” states it plainly. By age 19, I was a college dropout and teenage dad. Since age 26, I’ve been a single parent; prioritizing raising my son over pursuing a music career. When my son was 19, he graduated from college with a Bachelor's degree focused in music production. So, not only did we both do a hell of a job, now we can make music together. He’s basically at the same age Metro Boomin got going and I’m pretty much J. Cole's age. Like I say in our song “D2xMH,” “If it's not too soon, it's not too late.”

We released two albums at the same time because I was approaching age 40 with 20 years of songs collecting dust. I wanted to get my music out there before I become dust myself.

Moving forward, there are still a few things left for me to say, artists to work with, and ideas to explore. However, for the most part, I’m here for others. I want to help my son reach his goals and contribute both of our skillsets to other storytellers of all types. I want more people to understand that Hip Hop lyricism is one of the most clever and useful forms of writing that has ever existed. I want to see my son's name in the credits of movies, video games, and VR experiences. I want you - yes, YOU - to reach your creative potential. And I want my music to be the soundtrack to your success.