After Reading Project 2025, Rising Dallas Rap Star Pierce Washington Channels Frustration Into Art

Rising Dallas rapper and producer Pierce Washington offers a teaser of his untitled EP with “Mama Nem.”

Released on Thursday, May 22, the single was written as an immediate response after Washington read Project 2025. The Heritage Foundation’s unpopular conservative playbook, which was tied to President Donald Trump’s second term until he disavowed it during his campaign, proposed significant cuts to areas like healthcare and federal education funding.

“I’m not a political artist. I actually stay away from it most time. But, when I read the plans for cutting costs for the basic needs of children, women and the elderly…it killed me,” Washington says in a press release. “That inspired the hook. Frustration. The same frustration with the world I saw my mom felt growing up. It’s crazy how it can repurpose itself and manifest into art a generation later.”

A blend of improv jazz and soul-infused hip-hop, Washington raps, “And mama always told you to take care of them kids / dirty mackin’ n***a hit ‘em right in his soul / Life’s good, ain’t no need to flipping my lid / Hyperventilating I was on the way home / They gon’ lace the media to poison them kids / Take away the medicine and leaving them cold / Look at what they gave us, how the fuck I’ma live? / Got me renovating, trying to make it a home / I mean, damn.”

Produced by Luke Mackenzie and Cre8, the reflective tone signifies a new era for Washington, who is dedicated to making songs that comment on current events and how he’s processing them. “Mama Nem” intricately mixes storytelling and poetic lyrics with rich vocal harmonies that aren’t often heard in his previous works.

If you’re unfamiliar with Washington, he recently explained his musical influences during an interview with The 2 Hour Lunch Break podcast. “I like to say when I started to truly respect hip-hop, it was more so in the blog era. And then when you go to the blog era, they’re just trying stuff. They’re doing stuff. If you look at [the] wild years, 2015-2017 was an insane time. If you didn’t drop during that time, you were not achieving GOAT status. Even in 2012, those were great times.”

Washington appreciates eras like the ‘90s and 2000s, when artists like De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan and the Soulquarians collective experimented and released music at a steady rate. He also cites Kendrick Lamar as an inspiration for his live performances.

“I’m an analyst, I dissect things,” he says. “I study it, I figure out what makes it great, and I put my own spin on it, so it was really being a student for a minute. I feel like I’m that way with everything. My two biggest inspirations of all time are Musiq Soulchild and D’Angelo. This is their approach to music, their approach to writing.”

Washington was awarded EP of the Year at the second annual Dallas Entertainment Awards for Remedies, his collaboration with Nashville producer Burm.

You can stream “Mama Nem” below.