D Smoke @ The Fillmore Silver Spring — 2/7/22

D Smoke performs at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Feb. 7, 2022. (Photo by Will Colbert)

“Boxing’s got styles like music got style…some styles are slick and creative…and others aren’t,” Miles Davis wrote in his autobiography — “Miles.” Like the iconic trumpeter, D Smoke is a student of music and boxing. During a recent show at The Fillmore Silver Spring, the Inglewood, California, rapper stepped onto the stage with the enthusiasm of a welterweight contender. 

D Smoke opened the Feb. 7 show with “No Commas.” The thudding bassline pounded eardrums as boxing gloves do flesh. “We can take a loss, we gon’ get it right back,” rapped Smoke. The song was befitting a ring walk from an emcee with a straight-ahead rhyme style  — no feints.