Mark Thompson, DZ SVG & Izzle (feat. Knowa Lazarus & Theory Is Everything)

New Day: A Song Born from Brotherhood, Loss, and the Unexpected

You wouldn’t think a bachelor party could lead to one of the most personal and heartfelt tracks I’ve ever worked on, but life’s funny like that.

It all started with Dannieboi’s wedding—yeah, the same Dannieboi from Wave 89.1, where we all had our roots. I was in charge of organizing the bachelor party, and instead of going the traditional route (cue strippers, drinks, and debauchery), we decided to do something more... us. We made a song.

I showed up with my gear, ready to jam with some of the realest people I know—Knowa Lazarus from Q-York, the guy behind hits like "Yuoy" and "Mainit" (repping New York), Theory is Everything (also from New York), DZ SVG (Dino), and Izzle (who flew in from LA). Imagine that—a room full of talent, beats, and bars where a reunion for some of Wave 89.1’s old crew played out more like therapy than a party.

me around happy people
the mixtape Mark Thompson and dannieboi

Now, here’s where the twist comes in. I showed up 8 hours late. Yeah, I was the guy who helped plan the party and still couldn’t be on time. But behind that tardiness was a whole storm of grief and anxiety. I was grieving the loss of my dad, socially anxious, and feeling out of place in a room full of happy people when I was broke and broken inside.

Still, I pushed through. And what came out of that night was “New Day”—a song that, on the surface, might seem like just another collaboration, but it was so much more. This was us patching up old wounds, laughing off past beef (like the infamous 7-page complaint about Dino’s show back in the day), and creating something raw in the most imperfect conditions—think dynamic mics in an untreated room with one speaker. The passion was real.

It was DZ SVG who first threw out the idea—“Why don’t we make music instead?” And since we were all musicians and friends, it just clicked. Me, Izzle, and Dino laid the foundation. Later, Knowa and Theory, who couldn’t make it to the initial session, stepped in and added the final touches. Knowa was a key force in bringing the track to its final form, even though Dannieboi was meant to be on the chorus but knocked out before he could.

"New Day" sat on my hard drive for over a year. Two versions. Two sides of a story. But when I finally listen back to it, it’s not just a song. It’s a reminder that even in your darkest moments, sometimes, the people around you help pull you into the light.

New Day

Mark Thompson, DZ SVG & Izzle (feat. Knowa Lazarus & Theory Is Everything)

Thompson Music Group

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