Written Before Listen
Dave is a UK Hip Hop artist who is known to be one of the more conscious in the area. I listened to Psychodrama when it came out and I will say that I wasn’t really big on it. I didnt dislike it or anything, it just didnt catch my attention the way it did others. With that being said, his new album has been making waves recently and I am ready to review it. Let’s see how much Dave has evolved overtime.
Dave’s Importance In The UK Hip Hop Scene
UK Hip Hop is not the strangest hip hop genre out there, but it stands out in comparison to most American hip hop. Personally, I don’t mind UK Hip Hop at all…matter of fact, one of my favorite rappers of the 2000s (MIA) is from the UK. When it comes to modern UK Hip Hop though, the big names are mainly lyricists. Little Simz, slowthai and Stormzy are more lyrical than energetic. They are also the first UK Hip Hop artists that come to mind for me. Despite that, Dave is still an outlier as a lyricist. He is way more touching as he seems to be presumed a life changer. He is definitely one of the stronger lyricists and not only in the UK but in general.
Lyrics
Dave being the storyteller he is, he also is extremely technical. Right off of the bat, we have the line “What's the point of bein' rich when your family ain’t?/It's like flyin' first class on a crashin' plane” as well as “all the models Himalayan, they got higher heels”. There are a lot of intricate one liners, double entendres and thought-provoking punchlines. Unfortunately, it does come with its inconsistency. There was the YG and Kehlani line on the second track and the preachiness of “Three Rivers”. Look, I see that Dave is a strong lyricist and he does bring some super strong bars on nearly every track, but similar to other wordplay rappers, Dave’s lyrics do come with its cringe points.
Production
Before I talk about this, let me mention 4 artists who are all considerably GOATS of hip hop. 2Pac, MF DOOM, Biggie and JAY Z. What do they have in common? They are very versatile in topics, they are also extremely technical bringing iconic one liners on their music. Another thing they have is top level beat selection. With the exception of MF DOOM, they dont choose the most left field beats, but none of those artists chose beats that pass by you. Dave lacks that in a strong way. There is rarely a memorable beat on this record which will make this record a hard one to revisit.
Themes
I’ve talked about his technicality and his place in the game. I’ve also talked about his topically focused songwriting, but what does he talk about? He opens up the album where the second verse talks about a fan of his contemplating suicide…yeah he’s deep. He also talks about historical tragedy, religion, love (in a positive and negative way), immigration and mental health. All of the topics covered don’t get wasted as the album averages 5 minutes a track with one track being nearly 10 minutes. This is not an album for the background.
Inconsistency
There are honestly things I love about this album but also things that I strongly dislike. I love the lyrics, I love the themes but I don’t like how inconsistent this album is. I also don’t like how middle ground the flows and production are. Dave stands out as a lyricist but not really an artist if you get what I mean.
Verdict
I thought this was okay. A lot of the things people like about Dave catch me in a good way, but there are things that get overshadowed by those same people that distract to a strong liking.
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