Doug Crawford enlists Jelly Roll and Justin Cohen to help him Keep Chasing his musical dreams with his latest single and video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Blending rap and country music is a feat attempted by many, conquered by few. But when Kelowna’s Crawford and country music sensation Jelly Roll teamed up on Keep Chasing, they understood the assignment. The title of the three-minute track perfectly embodies the journey of the hit.
“Everyone has a dream when they’re a kid,” Crawford reflects. “It just doesn’t always happen when you want it to. But if you stick at it long enough, things will start to fall into place. Over 20-plus years in the making, I put my first album at age 20. Being now 40 years old is a long time in the making to get to this point. Main thing I’ve learned is nothing worth it comes easy cause if it came easy, everyone would be doing it.
“I had literally given up on music as most of my income came from touring,” Crawford says. “When the pandemic changed that, I had to look for new sources of income, which led me to the opportunities I’ve been given to work with Jelly Roll.”
The opening of Keep Chasing introduces Crawford’s world as a solemn guitar lick kicks off the tune about chasing dreams throughout all life’s hardships. Jelly Roll’s baritone vocals catapult listeners into the landscape of dreaming: A lonely yet rewarding world full of solo trips and many, many naysayers.
“Sometimes, I feel like giving up, sometimes I feel like it’s not enough, but sometimes I feel like giving up,” Cohen sings, gracing the track. Cohen, Crawford, and Jelly each attribute contrasting vocal ranges, yet agree on one thing, the concept of chasing dreams.
Crawford lends his unmatched talent near the end of the song, contributing a gritty and honest verse about what it truly costs to dream. Along with the haters, the failures, and the redos, one thing rings true in the ideology of dreaming, keep chasing them.
“Ayahuasca in the jungle, fighting my demons, surprised I’m still here. Guess that must be a reason,” Crawford relays. “Use hate as fuel saying I won’t make it through, but Imma keep chasing til my dreams come true,” Crawford closes out the verse with this powerful lyric, as Cohen’s crooning backing vocals support.
The epic denouement of the inspiring track features Jelly Roll’s emphasis on the importance of following dreams: “They say I’m just a dreamer, well I tell them all that’s cool. I keep chasing til my dreams come true ’cause that’s what dreamers do.”
Watch the video for Keep Chasing above, check out more from Doug Crawford below, and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
