Some artists spend years waiting for their moment without realizing it already came and went. Lil Deezull knows what that feels like. He’s been rapping since 2015, freestyling with friends in Cambridge, Maryland long before he thought of it as a career. It took seven years and a viral track before he understood what he’d been sitting on.

The Cambridge rapper, born August 16, 2005, didn’t start out with a plan. His first actual track, “Big Booty,” got passed around locally and gave him his first taste of what connecting with an audience felt like. But it wasn’t until 2022 that everything clicked. A track called “Purple Rain” went viral, and suddenly the kid who’d been rapping for fun had people actually paying attention.

“Since then I started taking my music career seriously,” Lil Deezull says. That shift shows in his output. His 2024 album, For All The Snow Bunnies, marked his biggest project to date and helped establish him beyond his Eastern Shore hometown.

The numbers tell part of the story. His track “Suffering” has pulled over 106,000 plays with solid engagement, while newer releases like “NO KINGS” show he’s building consistent momentum rather than chasing one-off hits. He works primarily in hip-hop and rap, pulling from the melodic trap style popularized by artists like The Kid LAROI and Polo G, but he’s not interested in staying in one lane.

“I am a multi genre artist and I make music for everyone,” he explains. Recently, that’s meant studying country artists like Morgan Wallen, looking for ways to expand his reach beyond rap’s typical audience. It’s an unconventional move for a young rapper from Maryland, but it speaks to how he thinks about his career.

His lyrics draw from personal experience. Daily life, observations, things he sees and hears in Cambridge. He wants listeners to find something relatable.

“My hope is that people will relate to me and that my music can help them get through whatever they are going through in life,” Lil Deezull says.

His next project, Maryland Man, drops May 16 and represents a return to collaboration after a solo-focused 2024. The album features fellow Cambridge rappers Lil Mop and Murda2x alongside international collaborator Brixton, who appeared on For All The Snow Bunnies. It’s a deliberate effort to spotlight his hometown’s scene while building on last year’s momentum.

At 19, Lil Deezull has already been making music for nearly a decade. He’s had time to figure out what he wants to say, and he’s also had time to accumulate regrets. “Don’t be like me and have a life full of missed opportunities,” he says. “Live your life and take any chance you get.”

It’s a surprising bit of self-awareness from someone still early in his career, but it tracks with why he finally got serious after “Purple Rain” took off. He’d spent seven years treating music like a hobby while the moment kept knocking. Now he’s answering the door.

Follow Lil Deezull on SoundCloud, Instagram, and YouTube.

Trains make for inherently cinematic settings: the claustrophobia, the momentum, the fact that you can’t just walk away when things go sideways. Dennis Dewall clearly knows this, and he’s using it to full effect in THE TRAIN, an espionage thriller that narrows his Spy Capital universe into the confined intensity of a luxury locomotive.

Dennis Dewall stars as Major Alex Stirling, a former SAS operative who finds himself in the middle of an intelligence turf war aboard the Majestic Imperator, a privately owned train carrying high-profile passengers through Central Europe. When rival intelligence services close in, what follows is a volatile mix of surveillance, manipulation, and direct confrontation. The train becomes a rolling battlefield where everyone’s watching everyone else, and nobody’s safe.

What separates this from standard action fare is the man behind the camera. Boris Volodarsky isn’t just a filmmaker. He’s a legitimate espionage authority who’s written extensively on KGB operations, Stalin’s intelligence apparatus, and high-profile political assassinations. That real-world credibility shows up in the film’s approach, lending THE TRAIN grounded authenticity that distinguishes it from more stylized espionage entries.

The cast pulls its weight. Madalina Bellariu Ion, who’s appeared in projects like THE YOUNG POPE and TAKE COVER, plays Natalie Krug, an operative who’s equal parts dangerous and magnetic. Anouk Auer holds her own as Stirling’s daughter Olivia, adding emotional weight to the high-stakes narrative. The ensemble rounds out with Peter Ormond, Alan Burgon, Martin Ploderer, Suzanne Grieger-Langer, Polina Kuleshova, and Nadine Grosinger, all contributing to the film’s international texture.

Dewall and his team shot across Vienna, London, Malta, Bangkok, Budapest, and Prague to capture authentic international locations. The action choreography, handled by martial arts expert Ali Kabalan, emphasizes physical realism. Dewall performs his own stunts, which adds weight to the physical confrontations and underscores the production’s commitment to authenticity.

THE TRAIN releases September 10, 2026 in Germany and Austria, with a London premiere and additional territories following a week later. Dewall’s emphasis on physical authenticity and real-world intelligence expertise positions THE TRAIN as a grounded entry in contemporary espionage cinema. Sometimes the best action happens when there’s nowhere left to run.

There’s a certain kind of silence that’s louder than anything else. It’s the noise in your head when you’re alone in a parking lot, checking your phone, staring off into nothing. That’s where Will Retherford lives right now, both literally in the visualizer for his latest single “Voices” and figuratively in the work he’s creating as Saynt Ego. He’s not trying to escape grief or quiet the internal dialogue. He’s learning to sit with it, and he’s inviting listeners to do the same.

You’ve said “Voices” is about getting stuck inside your own head. Walk us through how that song came together.

I fixate on a concept, then take musical references and ideas into the studio with Logan Bruhn, creating collaboratively until the song reveals itself. It’s built around restrained beats, atmospheric synths, and emotionally driven vocals exploring the internal noise that pulls you forward and holds you back at the same time.

The visualizer is just you alone in a parking lot. Why was that the right visual?

The visualizer (created by Logan Miller) reflects that liminal space—stillness, motion, and reflection suspended between where you’ve been and where you’re going. It’s simple, but it captures that feeling of being stuck inside your own thoughts in a way anyone can relate to.

Your music explores grief, mental health, and transition pretty directly. What draws you to those themes?

Learning to create without chasing approval has been huge for me—making art I believe in, whether it’s received or not. Learning to believe in myself first before I expect others to follow. My music tells personal stories of loss, change, and becoming. It’s about learning how to sit with pain, move through liminal spaces, and grow into who you’re meant to be.

You’ve built a whole career as a producer with Citizens of Sound, featured in outlets like The New York Times and Entertainment Tonight. How does that production background shape your approach to making music?

As a producer, I’ve always been learning how to grow a team, move people in roles around like chess pieces in order to make the best possible art. Collaboration is your best friend. My music producer, Logan Bruhn, taught me that the best music is discovered in the room, not perfected beforehand.

For someone who’s never heard your music, how would you describe what you’re doing?

I make cinematic, electronic music about grief, transition, mental health, and becoming. I hope it gives people space to feel, reflect, grow, and breathe.

You’re juggling music releases and your first short film right now. How do those two worlds connect for you?

I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker as a kid, but music became my first true language for creating. The turning point came when I realized I didn’t have to choose. Film and music were always speaking to each other—I just needed to let them exist as one artistic path instead of two separate lives. Saynt Ego is part of a larger creative ecosystem where music, film, and storytelling inform one another.

What’s coming next?

I’m rolling out singles from Liminal Space while completing my first short film “Penny: A Portrait in Motion,” scored with original music. New music through spring, a full album in May, plus select shows, festivals, and the short film this summer. I’m focused on releases, sync, and growing an online audience, letting shows happen intentionally and organically.

“Voices” clocks in at 3:40, built around a restrained production that values feeling over excess and space over noise. Released December 16, 2025, it’s the first chapter from the upcoming record Liminal Space. Retherford isn’t trying to fix grief or silence the noise. He’s learning to sit with it, and the music creates room for listeners to do the same.

Follow Saynt Ego on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. For Will’s filmmaking and production work, visit Citizens of Sound or follow Will Retherford on Instagram and IMDB.