“Datin is a man after God’s heart. Datin is a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Datin is an everyday, regular dude.”
Datin’s new album Hell in the Hallway in intended to encourage the listener “no matter what trial they’re going through, no matter what storm they may be in.”
In the past year since releasing The Menace Mixtape, Datin has been facing tumultuous storms in his own life.
“A year ago, my marriage took a turn for the worst.”
Though Datin tried to reconcile his relationship with his wife, they ended up getting separated and later divorced. “I fought for my marriage. I honored the Lord through it.”
“In the divorce I lost everything and willingly gave up everything.” Moving to a new home, Datin also lost his job as he was no longer able to make the longer commute. “I started having vocal cord damage and I’m a musician and one of my close friends passed away.” In addition, a person whom he had considered a close friend tried to interview his wife in an attempt to pull up dirt on him.
With all of these things happening in a short period, Datin was driven to the brink. “Am I gonna go back to my old ways? The old Datin, that’s grounds for death. That’s grounds for me putting a bullet in your head. That’s unacceptable. You’ve crossed a line that you can’t cross with me.”
“I feel like I was tested beyond limits I thought I could be tested. By the grace of God, I was able to push through and not react foolishly.”
“It doesn’t harp on the divorce thing alone. I’ve dealt with panic attacks from the stress.”
The title comes from a saying, “When one door closes, another will open, but its hell in the hallway.” Though his album is full of the difficulties he has faced, “there is victory now. I am good. I am actually doing great and wouldn’t change anything just to have this same outcome. If I had to go through this hell all over again, I would just to be where I’m at now.”
“God is getting glory. I’m not leaving you in this place of, ‘Woe is me. Where are you God?’”
A lot of his album comes from the husband’s perspective. Datin wanted to give a voice to men who are dealing with the pain caused by divorce. However, he does not want people to see divorce as an option when their marriage is in trouble. “You can’t force someone to stay, but you fight with everything you’ve got. You seek the Lord. You pray. You fast. You pray over that woman. You do what you must… You made vows, you put your money where your mouth is.”
“Fight for your marriage. If it’s too late at this point and you’re already there, man, trust the Lord. Divorce can feel like a literal death.”
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Get Hell in the Hallway here.
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