Name: Tianna Esperanza Offers A Cheeky Ode To “Deadbeat Daddy”
Uploaded: 2023-06-19T11:10:00-07:00
Channel: Steven Ward
Description: "Deadbeat Daddy" takes a slightly sardonic route in its unveiling of the ways in which fatherly figures possess the privilege of being able to shirk all responsibility.

Tianna Esperanza has shared a new single and music video with the release of “Deadbeat Daddy,” a timely dedication just in time for Father’s Day for all the less-than-ideal patriarchs. It also comes on the heels of her seminal debut album Terror, which immersed listeners in her songwriting’s visceral and galvanizing poetics as it flourishes against a backdrop of constantly shifting genres. Delivered via her dulcet vocal leaps, every song is a reminder of the versatility with which her voice captures everything from brutalizing trauma to lofty strength.

Esperanza’s latest single is no different, though “Deadbeat Daddy” takes a slightly sardonic route in its unveiling of the ways in which fatherly figures possess the privilege of being able to shirk all responsibility. “For the moms, grandparents, older siblings, and friends who became more for us,” Esperanza said of who the song was dedicated to. “For the deadbeat dads missing out. For those who know the struggle and command strength!”

Against a rhythmic pooling of jazz-suffused instrumentals, she offers up a laundry list of all the ways daddy has come up short in offering emotional and financial support to his kids. As a twinkling piano and jaunty guitar rollick in the background — eventually joined by a riveting saxophone solo that meanders through — Esperanza gives voices to the particular frustration that comes with having to reckon with a parent who is apathetic to all around them.

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“Deadbeat Daddy” also comes with a music video that accentuates the vintage-flecked nature of Esperanza’s music. One opens with her sitting on a chair illuminated by a single lamp as two men in suits fawn over her, revealing her as the blazing image of a woman undeterred by the lack of a meaningful father figure. Instead of suffering her own daddy’s shortcomings to bring her down, she does the opposite. Lighting a cigarette to wander about the lamplight’s glow, she chastises him for being a deadbeat, underscoring that she is far from damaged by his absence as she dances around the room with one of the men.