Over the course of his career, e-dubble released four albums; Straight Outta St. Mary's (2006), Hip-Hop is Good (2009), Reset EP (2012) and Two Tone Rebel (2016).
[h2]Early life[/h2]
Wallace grew up outside of Philadelphia, the youngest child of a principal and a schoolteacher. In the 1990s, Wallace and his friends fell under the spell of hip-hop cast by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre; his music would later be known for its common celebrations of this love of hip-hop. He played center on the Wissahickon High basketball team, but dreamed of being a rapper. In an interview with the Baltimore magazine, Wallace cited Eminem's breakout success in the late 90's as a major inspiration to him, saying "Eminem showed that a white rapper could have a career. It was about skills, whether or not you could do it."
[h2]Background[/h2]
After graduating from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a degree in political science, e-dubble moved to Baltimore to live with his friends and collaborators. Together they formed the hip-hop band Young English, and played their first show in July 2008. The group went on to purchase a renovated warehouse, dubbed “The Hampden Mansion,” where e-dubble would later go on to write, record, and produce his debut album Hip-Hop is Good. He went on to produce his Freestyle Friday series, a weekly series of free songs.
[h2]Career[/h2]
In 2009, e-dubble released his debut album, "Hip Hop is Good". The next year, in August 2010, e-dubble created his YouTube channel. He quickly began releasing freestyles on every Friday creating the series "Freestyle Fridays", in which he sampled other songs (such as Tighten Up and MMMBop) and rapped over the instrumentals. He also occasionally collaborated with his band, Young English, to make the tracks. The series ran throughout 2010 and a final track was released in 2012. The series was noted for its effective use of samples, lyrics and e-dubble's spoken word outros, in which he communicated with fans. He followed this up in 2012 with his next album, "Reset EP". He released his final album in 2016 with "Two Tone Rebel". His most popular songs include "Be a King", "Let Me Oh" and "What it Do".
[h2]Death[/h2]
On 21 January 2017, 23 days before his death, e-dubble posted a photo on his Instagram of a swollen hand, with the caption "I don't recommend throwing up half of your body's blood. Or having your hand swell up like Martin Short in 'Pure Luck' or needing 10 blood transfusions. But I'm gonna be aight. Thanks for the love". One of his business partners, Danny, later tweeted on 27 January: "Keep our friend e-dubble in your thoughts! He is at the Hahnemann Hospital fighting a serious infection", suggesting the infection was not getting better. As e-dubble became unusually inactive on the internet, rumors began to circulate that he had died, and were eventually confirmed on Twitter by many of his close associates as well as eventually the Black Paisley Records website. E-Dubble passed away on February 13, 2017.
Reset
e-dubble Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the bell tolled and the chunker sang, and we dumped the pig in the ocean...
Cuz we-
LIVE LIFE, do it til' we dead
Runnin' out of lives so we hit the Reset like...
Dark thoughts, Grey Skies...
Hit a little button everything will be alright like...
We be moving just to level up, never impressed
With the past win column or the days we got em'
What you done for me lately is the phrase they follow
But hey- reminisce- ignorance is never bliss
Neither's leaning on achievement's we ain't' seen in a minute
So go- pat backs, high fives, dap daps
Find a balance with your ego cuz' that needle gon' scratch
Cuz' hey- every party stops, even if the party rocked
Leaving Hans Solo on the quest for the bodyrock
- no biggie but I'm fiendin' for the private stock
Red and black lumberjack blunts getting fired up
Til' we tired out, liquor store dried out
- we thought we hit a homerun but we lined out
We chalk it up to the glitches in the system
I be hitting reset just to freshen up the pixels
Batteries included, exclusions don't apply
So we power up the movement like a mushroom from the sky
- get a life, wish it were that easy
Disbelief is just a symptom so suspend it like Luigi
- and hey keep your shirt on you'll get some better service then
Unless you're lawless or you're lucy with a better set
- we in the future with the truth to help us settle bets
Hindsight's nothing with a black swan temperment
Two tone living in the valley of the grayscale
Absolutes refuted from illusions in the payscale
We playing catch-up with a bottle full of dayquil
And that don't cut the mustard for the people tryna pay bills
- I'll find a clear head somewhere in this vortex
- I know there's something going on up in that forehead
- that chicken coop is stupid crowded with the force fed
- angry bird button pushing rush in for endorphins
In "Reset," e-dubble muses on the cycle of life and the human desire to constantly improve and level up. The opening lines refer to the tolling of a bell and the singing of a "chunker" (a machine used to dispose of waste on ships), which would typically signal the end of something. However, e-dubble sees these as opportunities for a fresh beginning, as evidenced by the line "hit the Reset."
The song then explores the idea of "resetting" in various contexts - from video games and achievements to life itself. e-dubble describes how society places a great emphasis on current accomplishments and high scores, but suggests that it's important to look beyond these to find balance and avoid getting lost in one's ego. The line "what you done for me lately is the phrase they follow" highlights this mentality.
Despite the darkness and uncertainty of life (symbolized by "dark thoughts, grey skies"), e-dubble remains hopeful that hitting "a little button" can make everything "alright." The song ends with a series of rapid-fire lyrics, capturing the frenzied rush to attain happiness and success. Ultimately, "Reset" encourages listeners to embrace change and take control of their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
When the bell tolls and the chunker sings you would probably think that it's over...
When things seem to be coming to an end and everything is falling apart...
But the bell tolled and the chunker sang, and we dumped the pig in the ocean...
But instead of giving up, we persevered and found a way to succeed...
Cuz we-
LIVE LIFE, do it til' we dead
Runnin' out of lives so we hit the Reset like...
Because we live our lives to the fullest, making the most of the time we have and hitting the reset button when we need a fresh start...
Dark thoughts, Grey Skies...
Hit a little button everything will be alright like...
Even when life gets tough and we feel down, we can always find a way to reset and start over anew...
With the games that we play and the buttons that we press
We be moving just to level up, never impressed
With the past win column or the days we got em'
What you done for me lately is the phrase they follow...
We are constantly striving to improve ourselves and our lives, focusing on progress rather than past achievements...
But hey- reminisce- ignorance is never bliss
Neither's leaning on achievement's we ain't' seen in a minute
So go- pat backs, high fives, dap daps
Find a balance with your ego cuz' that needle gon' scratch...
While it's important to remember our past accomplishments and learn from them, we can't rely on them forever. We need to find balance between self-confidence and humility, as too much of either can lead to problems...
Cuz' hey- every party stops, even if the party rocked
Leaving Hans Solo on the quest for the bodyrock
- no biggie but I'm fiendin' for the private stock
Red and black lumberjack blunts getting fired up
Til' we tired out, liquor store dried out
- we thought we hit a homerun but we lined out
We chalk it up to the glitches in the system
I be hitting reset just to freshen up the pixels
Even when things are going well, they eventually come to an end. We must enjoy the good times while they last and move on when they are over, taking everything we learned with us. Sometimes, things just don't work out, but that doesn't mean we should give up. We can always hit the reset button and start again...
Batteries included, exclusions don't apply
So we power up the movement like a mushroom from the sky
- get a life, wish it were that easy
Disbelief is just a symptom so suspend it like Luigi
- and hey keep your shirt on you'll get some better service then
Unless you're lawless or you're lucy with a better set
- we in the future with the truth to help us settle bets
Hindsight's nothing with a black swan temperment
We have everything we need to succeed, and we should power ourselves up like a mushroom. While it may be difficult to believe in ourselves or our abilities, we should try to suspend our disbelief and keep moving forward. In the end, the truth will always win out, even if it takes a little while to get there...
Two tone living in the valley of the grayscale
Absolutes refuted from illusions in the payscale
We playing catch-up with a bottle full of dayquil
And that don't cut the mustard for the people tryna pay bills
- I'll find a clear head somewhere in this vortex
- I know there's something going on up in that forehead
- that chicken coop is stupid crowded with the force fed
- angry bird button pushing rush in for endorphins
Life can feel like a never-ending struggle, where everything is just shades of gray. We are often limited by our own illusions and beliefs, struggling to keep up with the demands of everyday life. It can be overwhelming and frustrating, but we must keep pushing forward and finding our way through the chaos...
Contributed by Adrian W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@NoCopyrightSounds
2013 is going to a amazing year for you man!
@juststartingoff
He's forever gone.
@funny-freshchips1684
@Just Starting Off Bruh, that comment was from over 7 years ago
@Buck_Boy
Holy shit
@lordfarquar9215
@Just Starting Off plus ye was alive in 2013 smh
@revanabdullayev3444
I'm surprised this was NCS though, truly someone with a great taste.
@giordanoruggeri4492
It's amazing how e-dubble continues to surprise me with songs that I overlooked in the past. You are greatly missed.
@jesus-sv6io
Couldn’t agree more man, all the best brother
@jimmyneutronboypenis6970
Please hit the reset for us, e dub. We want you back man
@halaven9520
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Penis I know he was so young to like what 34 35? or am I high?