“You are now entering the death zone, welcome to the Darkside.”
Every Seahawks fan, and football fan, knows what happened 11 years ago. Twenty-six seconds left, ball at the one-yard line, Seahawks down 28-24, Russell Wilson drops back to the dismay of every Seattleite in the universe. Al Michaels‘ voice still rings in nightmares, “The pass is intercepted at the goal-line by Malcom Butler!”
The world was left wondering, why didn’t they hand the ball off to Beast Mode, Marshawn Lynch? What followed for the Seahawks was a decade of mediocrity, rebuilding the roster completely, which ultimately led to Pete Carroll stepping down as head coach in early 2024, after 14 seasons.
A new, fresh start was needed. Insert Mike MacDonald.
Mike Macdonald the Savior
By hiring Macdonald as head coach after Carroll stepped down, the team signaled a shift to a defensive mentality focused on growth and maximizing young talent. Macdonald, formerly the Ravens’ defensive coordinator, brought an elite defensive pedigree to Seattle. General Manager John Schneider took full control of players and personnel decisions, which has proved to be the focal point of the team’s success.
Players like Grey Zabel, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Zach Charbonnet, Kenneth Walker III, Sam Darnold have been substantial in this Super Bowl run, ranking in the top 10 in offense this season. The “Legion of Boom” era turned to “Mission Over B.S.”.
The “Darkside” defense led by Ernest Jones has become the number-one ranked defense in the NFL. Stud defensive backs Nick Emmanwori, Coby Bryant, Riq Woolen, and Devon Witherspoon have ignited the past, living up to the L.O.B. play-style that was a significant factor in their two Super Bowl appearances in the 2010s.
Linebackers Drake Thomas, Ernest Jones, and DeMarcus Lawrence bring the intensity to the second level of the defense. Leonard Williams leads the defensive front with a viciousness that’s unmatched.
This team feels different. They are fast and swarm to the ball. They are explosive on offense, and Sam Darnold has been dealing. Two days from now, the world could be calling this Seahawks team Super Bowl champions, as they prepare to play the biggest game of their lives in Santa Clara against the New England Patriots.
A Fan Creates an Anthem
So, what better way to celebrate the season and this magnificent playoff run than to make a rap song about it? That’s exactly what hip-hop writer, songwriter, and producer Draze did.
Dumi Maraire, who goes by the stage name Draze, is a Seattle Seahawks super-fan born and raised in Seattle. Draze told The Lead he’s been a fan of the Seahawks since he can remember. To commemorate the season that the franchise put together, Draze conducted an upbeat and incredibly catchy song, called “The Darkside”, as the Seahawks geared up to play the 49ers on Divisional Weekend.
“At first, I thought it was a little corny doing an anthem,” Draze laughed. “After we beat the 49ers [to get the No. 1 seed], something clicked in my head.”
Draze was driving around the cities thinking up concepts for a song. He called one of his good friends, legendary producer Vitamin D, and told him, “I want a west-coast banger, and I want a drum pattern that sounds like a car door crashing. The beat dropped in my phone 30 minutes later. I played the sound, and my wife said she loved it.”
The Finishing Touches on “Welcome to the Darkside”
About an hour after listening to the music, Draze finished the lyrics. All he needed was a studio to record, and soon, Seahawks fans across the world would be bumping.
“I ended up booking a studio session, and I brought my daughter with me,” Draze said. “She’s 24, but she’s an amazing artist. I had her do the ‘M.O.B.’ part. My god sister is also an artist. I sent her the ‘Welcome to the Darkside’ part, and I said, I want it to sound like you’re in the Hunger Games.”
Once Draze recorded it, and had his daughter and God sister add in their parts, he sent it over to Vitamin D, and he mixed it in within a day.
Time of His Life
Just under two weeks later, at Lumen Field, as the Seahawks were pumping themselves up to play the 49ers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Draze would experience a moment he will never forget.
“Hearing my anthem being played at Lumen Field was EVERYTHING,” Draze said. “There are three major markers to creating an anthem. You want to capture the city or fan base, the players, and the organization. Hearing it at Lumen Field says in some regards that I have captured all three. So, that was the validating moment, while I watched 65,000 fans bobbing to it.”
The anthem was everything that the stadium needed. The Seahawks pummeled the 49ers to reach their first NFC championship since Richard Sherman’s famous, “If you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the results you’re gonna get!” rant.
The song, which reached half a million streams by the first day, was soaring. So too was Draze, as he was a featured performer before the NFC championship game.
“I performed at the Ticket Master official tailgate party at the WaMu Theater at Lumen field,” Draze said. “I got to rip it up at the NFC championship game and get people excited before the game. That was a prized moment, and it’s something I will appreciate for the rest of my life.
“To be a part of the game is one thing, but to be able to create that moment for so many people is everything.”
Stars of the Song
Draze does an excellent job in “Welcome to the Darkside” of showing the appreciation for the players on the Seahawks. He utilizes clever ways to make the stars stand out, a concept only a rapper can replicate. He mentions Emmanwori, Witherspoon, Walker III, and Njigba, among others.
“First off, I could name a few, but not all, so that was the hard part,” he said. “If I didn’t get a player in there, I wanted to make sure to at least get the position group [identified].”
This defense has fully stepped up, showing striking parallels to the legendary Legion of Boom defense, a similarity Draze sees clearly.
“The attitude and the tenacity. The never-say-die mentality. Our backs are against the wall, a lot like the L.O.B. days. That grit, that fight, that never quit mentality has been similar. You’re going to have to take their heart if you want to beat them.”
Draze’s Belief in Darnold
On the offensive side of the ball, the Seahawks have been amazing, led by Sam Darnold at the quarterback position. Darnold is truly an inspiration. His career signifies a never-quit mentality.
Casted off by the Jets, Panthers, Niners, and Vikings, Darnold is having an incredible season. After the win against the Rams in the NFC championship, where he was magnificent, Darnold became the only quarterback from his draft class to make it to the Super Bowl; a draft class that included Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Baker Mayfield.
He has exercised his demons and now gets to face the Patriots, the same team that trounced the L.O.B. back in 2015 who is also the team that Darnold was playing when he famously said, “I’m seeing ghosts”, as a member of the Jets.
As the big game approaches, people will ask many questions about Sam Darnold in the biggest game of his life. Against all naysayers, Draze has all the confidence and belief in the world for the Seahawks quarterback.
“We can’t erase history, right? What happened with the Jets, happened,” Draze said. “But Sam is a leader and one of the leaders of this new era of quarterbacks developing in six years, rather than two. He’s gotten better every year. Sometimes I think that should be the narrative, that he’s gotten so much better every season. People have knocked him down as far as the ‘demons’, right? Well, I think he already put that to rest in the [NFC championship game]. I’m so happy for him.”
Draze added, “He’s locked in. In the words of Terrell Owens, that’s my quarterback.”
Performing at the Bowl?
Hopefully, Seahawks fans won’t have to deal with as close of a game as last time. With the big game on the horizon, Draze is wondering if “Welcome to the Darkside” will be a big part of the Super Bowl.
“I’m having conversations with a lot of different people,” Draze said. “My team is reaching out to the NFL and the Seahawks and really trying to have those conversations about what that might look like.
“I’ll say this, everything is on the table, and I want to be a part of it as much as possible. I want this song to be a part of this journey. I was at the parade when we won it last time, and I plan on being at this parade as well.”
Of course, I had to ask Draze for a prediction.
“I just want us to be in complete control of the game. I want to know, as I am watching, that they can’t do anything against us. It might be tough; this is the best defense we have faced.”
Once, not if, the Seahawks win, maybe Draze will create a Super Bowl-win anthem. A fan can dream.
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