Dax faces the mirror on his new single 'Man I Used To Be'

With his latest outing 'Man I Used To Be', Dax bares a reckoning. Written after six sober months, the Wichita-born rapper-turned-singer steps into the booth with the urgency of someone who knows the stakes. The track feels like a testimony, a purge of memories that once held him captive.

The song opens with a refrain that’s equal parts confession and rebirth: “I’m half the man I used to be, it’s gon’ take some getting used to me.” From the start, Dax sets up the tension between mourning what’s lost and embracing the unknown. And it is that duality that threads throughout the entire track. Nashville producer Jimmy Robbins keeps the arrangement sparse, letting the vocal weight carry the emotion. The guitars and percussion never overstay their welcome; they simply frame Dax’s voice, which cracks and steadies in equal measure, reminding us this transformation is still fresh.

The verses hit with curses inherited from family, toxic attachments, substance abuse, and the prison of one’s own mind. Lines like “Heartbreak and lies, dirty soul ties” speak with the kind of specificity that signals lived experience. And when he pivots to the cutting challenge, the song sharpens into something even bigger, a call to examine your own shadows.

On the eve of his Lonely Dirt Road Tour, Dax offers this single as both a marker of where he’s been and a map toward where he’s going. 'Man I Used To Be' is raw and unsettled, like a scar still tender. And that’s exactly why it lingers with a longing impact.