On his latest single “Dad,” Gospel hip-hop artist Mark Jonez delivers a Father’s Day anthem that cuts through cliché with clarity, conviction, and heart. Teaming up with veteran Houston emcee Tre 9, Jonez turns a deeply personal meditation on fatherhood into a dual-pronged spiritual sermon—one aimed at earthly dads, and the other at the Father above.
If you’ve been following Jonez’s evolution—from the worship-driven “Lord I Love You” to the testimony-laced “I Know He Won’t Deceive Me”—you already know he’s not here to entertain for entertainment’s sake. He’s here to minister, and “Dad,” released just in time for Father’s Day, continues that mission with unfiltered emotion and contemporary flair.
Built around a hypnotic piano loop, the track opens with a sample of a child’s voice chirping, “That’s my dad.” It’s a deceptively simple refrain that becomes a powerful anchor. The looped innocence of that line sets up the lyrical gravity to follow. Tre 9 raps with measured intensity on the hook, threading together the pressures of parenthood with the peace of divine purpose:
“No giving up when I’ve had enough / I keep pushing forth, I won’t lag.”
It’s a mantra for any father fighting fatigue, and for any believer seeking strength. The message lands with even more weight thanks to its sonic restraint—drums stay in the pocket, synth bass hums low, and the production leaves room for the words to breathe. Nothing gets in the way of the message.
Jonez and Tre 9 paint a raw, unfiltered portrait of fatherhood: the guilt, the grind, the grace. They’re present, grounded, and resolute. No flexing, no false bravado—just the real struggle of staying solid in a world that pulls men in a thousand directions. “Can’t fake it,” Tre 9 raps. “Gotta stay a faithful dad ‘til my grave.”
Jonez slides in with the second verse that turns up the tenderness, offering the kind of soft masculinity not often heard in rap. His delivery is hushed but heartfelt, and the line “Teach you to love your brother” feels like a quiet revolution.
What sets “Dad” apart isn’t just its message—it’s the way it threads that message through both the sacred and the street. Jonez doesn’t separate his spirituality from his everyday struggle; instead, he fuses them into something urgent and universal. It’s not just a song about being a better dad—it’s about being a better man, a better disciple, a better reflection of the Father above.
At a time when commercial rap often celebrates absenteeism, Jonez and Tre 9 are showing up. Not just in the booth, but in life. And as the kid says at the top of the track—with pride and certainty—“That’s my dad.”
