Raphael Douglas
IG: @raphsradio
YouTube: Raph’s Radio
Raphael Douglas loved music ever since he was a kid, and music has always been central to his life. After graduating high school, he dedicated himself to writing and producing songs that offer listeners a different perspective about people like him. Raphael moved around a lot as a child, building foundations in one place, only to move to another. He never truly bonded with any particular community and his outsider perspective offers unique insights. Raphael’s music encourages listeners to make effective choices. Such choices, he believes, more easily made with an attentive brain.
Slow it Down communicates the importance of a sober mind. Marijuana use has become increasingly popular, especially in California. There aren't many advertisements that promote the responsible use of the substance. The song supports sobriety; it gives individuals an alternative to being under the influence.
Slow It Down, a reflection by Peter Petty, Personality
When we look in the mirror, what do we see? What do we really see in that face staring back at us? Is it our true, unencumbered self, reflecting the dignity, strength and resilience of our shared humanity? Or are we beholding a false sense of self, a disingenuous belief of who we are, and what we require to facilitate perpetuation of that misapprehended alter-ego, bolstered by the flawed opinions and pressures of a socially constructed narrative designed to sow anxiety in us that we are less than who we are?
In his work "Slow It Down," 25-year-old emerging Hip-Hop and photographic artist Raph Douglas raps "I know the person in the mirror the last one you want to check-but really, that's respect."
Mr. Douglas, who recently relocated to the Sacramento area from Florida after serving in the military in South Carolina offers this Hip-Hop meditation to Unequal Freedoms in which he explores themes of genuine respect for self, which uplift the human spirit beyond the too oft perceived necessity for recreational drug use. His piece is a commentary on his own experiences with habitual reliance on recreational mind-altering substances (especially cannabis), and the coping techniques he utilized, and currently recommends, to overcome those urges. Motivated by the urgency of a life perspective-altering anxiety attack, he observes "My submission represents the importance of a sober mind. Marijuana use has become increasingly popular among society, especially in California and there aren't many advertisements that promote responsible use of the substance. My song supports sobriety, to give individuals an alternative perspective aside from being under the influence."
His piece cautions us that when life starts to feel like it's moving too fast, and social pressures around us are mounting, just try to "Slow It Down" before you decide to unnecessarily medicate. He does not offer this as a judgement, but rather as an alternative. He acknowledges that there is a place for recreational substance use, but if it starts to become a crutch, and even a destructive element for entire communities and populations, the insidious irony of the false promise of drug-induced release from one's worries is revealed, and problems are potentially magnified.