15 September 18 - 24, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents True to Himself Cure for Paranoia’s Work of Art furthers the message of being unique. BY AUSTIN ZOOK I f you have not been keeping up with Cure for Paranoia, now would be the time to start. The band, a project fronted by Cameron McCloud, has released two alt-hip-hop singles so far in 2025 (“The Artshow,” “No Brainer”), with his Work of Art EP slated for 2025. The new tracks are ear- worms, showcasing McCloud’s rap bona fides and the dynamic musical prowess of the broader Cure for Paranoia band. The group’s music is a blast to listen to in stereo, but it is to their credit that the tracks are even more electrifying live. Audiences can catch Cure for Paranoia often in the Dal- las-Fort Worth area. Their recent headliner at the Kessler Theater for the inaugural Louder Than Stigma Fest was the most im- portant show they performed this year, and it felt like it added momentum for Work of Art. Presented by local nonprofit Amplified Minds, the show highlighted the urgent and growing need for accessible mental health care for creatives. Speaking with the Observer, McCloud says he was ready to drop new music that aligns with who he has grown into as an art- ist. The group’s most recent album release was Center of the Maze in 2023, but they re- corded those tracks in 2017. After spending six years on the shelf, when the songs were finally released to the public, McCloud did not feel any connection to them. “The Artshow” is more in line with what Cure for Paranoia wants to do now, Mc- Cloud says. “Work of Art is all about showing up, taking up space and being unapologeti- cally yourself. The title of the EP is to fur- ther the message that everyone is a work of art. There’s no one like you in the world. There’s no one who can do what I do. That’s no one that can I say what I say like I say,” he adds, emphasizing the line: “Walk into the gallery like I am the art show.” He designed the song to help them make it onto Tiny Desk after two prior submis- sions did not make the cut for the show. Mc- Cloud has always been upfront about how personal challenges inform his music; Tiny Desk became another problem to solve through Cure for Paranoia. “I went and studied, like, all the previous winners,” he says. “I studied all the things they said about the previous winners.” He realized that when someone won, the focus was never on their talent or the strength of an individual song; it was always about the message and meaning behind their work. “So I kind of committed to creating ‘The Artshow’ as a song about me and where I was at in life … and all the things that I’d had to survive and get through to become this person that I am now, but also make it just really fierce and badass at the same time.” If “The Artshow” is Cure for Paranoia at its most confident, McCloud says their other new single, “No Brainer,” is on the opposite end of the spectrum. “I wanted to really just hammer in on the crazy aspect of Cure for Paranoia,” he explains. “You really have to have, like, a bit of delusion to think that you can stand out amongst the millions of other people that are trying to make it.” If that is true, McCloud makes it clear to us that he is proudly, defiantly delusional. At Louder Than Stigma Fest he told the audi- ence he has been dropping a new verse on Instagram every day this year. The challenge has been an outlet for him to explore and push himself creatively and has taken on ad- ditional meaning in recent months. McCloud’s mother was his biggest sup- porter in the endeavor. She recently passed away, but she is a major reason he has stuck with the project. “Whenever I went and stayed with her at the hospital,” he recalls during our conver- sation, “all she kept saying was like, ‘Did you write your verse today? You need to go and write your verse … don’t stay here if you’re going to miss your verse.’” The loss of McCloud’s mother is some- thing Cure for Paranoia is addressing in Work of Art. “There’s … songs about grief and loss and how you can choose whether or not to con- tinue to pursue your art form or your dreams or your goals, even through loss, even through grief.” The pursuit has additional meaning for McCloud now, who works not only to find success for himself but to honor his moth- er’s memory. “I’m gonna continue to live on through her,” he says. “The better my life is, the more meaning her life will have had in my mind. … I thought that I was putting ev- erything into music, but it’s like now … abso- lutely nothing on this Earth, outside of this Earth, in this existence, is going to get in the way of me achieving my goal of being one of the greatest musicians to exist.” At Louder Than Stigma Fest, that fervor was readily apparent on stage. Cure for Paranoia came out after openers that in- cluded Dallas Sounds Amplified artists Sam Cormier, Remy Reilly and Gracen Wynn tak- ing turns playing acoustic songs. They were emotional and vulnerable, all sincerity and sterling vocals. They eased the crowd into the evening before Cure for Paranoia ex- ploded onto the stage. There were 10 people performing as part of the band at the Kessler show, com- bining the allure of a big band jazz set with the in-your-face thrill of alternative hip- hop. McCloud led with a commanding, en- dearing stage presence backed up by the skillful delivery of his hundred-word-a- minute raps and his collaborators’ instru- mentals. Tye Harris made a surprise appearance, engaging in call-and-response with the audience and showcasing his free- style skills. Before he left, Harris helped kick off the show’s final stretch, launching into the hook for “The Artshow” and em- bracing McCloud. McCloud is a true believer in himself and Cure for Paranoia. That near-religious fer- vor shone through at The Kessler. You could feel the music in your teeth; it was an awe- some performance, McCloud in motion, moving with the beat, charming the crowd and playing off his bandmates. Everyone was in the moment, upping the energy, stay- ing positive, laughing between songs. They capped the evening off with a per- formance of “No Brainer,” celebrating the type of personal madness that, channeled properly, can have audiences eating out of the palm of your hand and turn a Dallas al- ternative hip-hop band into a household name. “Nothing is going to get in the way of me taking my music across the world,” says Mc- Cloud. We believe him. ▼ Music Austin Zook Cure for Paranoia, performing at the first Louder Than Stigma Fest at the Kessler Theater. Hand built not bougHt. Franklins TaTToo and supply 469-904-2665 • 4910 Columbia ave, dallas, TX 75214 proFessional TaTToo supply For pros only Call for your appointment or design commissions today!
