rapper Dave is a spellbinding storyteller, using his lyrics to reflect on both social issues and deeply personal subject matter alike. Whether he relays tales of how hard his mother has had it to get him where he needs to be (from the acoustic guitar-assisted ‘Heart Attack’: “How many of our parents had dreams they abandoned so they could put food on the table?”), or about his relationship problems ( “I used to cheat with Americans for a living,” he raps on the aching, James Blake-featuring ‘Both Side of a Smile’, “ I felt nervous every time I got a call from a plus one’), Dave always goes a little further when giving us an insight into his world.U.K. Through the clarity of his vocal delivery – raw, with no AutoTune or quickened flows to hide any questionable lines – Dave truly speaks for millions of youngsters, and especially young Londoners. ![]() This is mostly a record of lengthy, thought-provoking sermons from the 23-year-old as he raps about his observations on the world around him in a strikingly direct and intelligent way. Yet club bangers aren’t, for the most part, what Dave’s most interested in giving us on ‘We’re All Alone in This Together’. ![]() The duo rhyme with signature rap braggadocio over a zippy drill track, but – once again – it’s still a little gloomy sounding, a result of its trappy production as the minor notes and a wobbling bassline run wild. Yet even with the groovy bassline and dancing guitar notes, you can’t escape from the Streatham resident adding a few political lines: “But the system’s built so we’re livin’ in debt / Man ‘fi rise up ’cause we livin’ in, yeah”.Īnd then there’s the buoyant ‘Clash’, Dave’s recent single with Stormzy. ‘System’ is an upbeat addition to an otherwise vulnerable album. We’re midway through the 12-track record at this point, and the rapper has been getting very heavy, addressing the Windrush scandal, immigrant injustice (the skeletal ‘Three Rivers’) and the harsh realities that have kept him bogged down. With what is his only his second full-length studio album, Dave has struck gold again.ĭave gives us some club bangers to recreate the success of his debut’s Burna Boy-assisted ‘Location’, the best here being ‘System’ with legendary Afrobeats star WizKid. Luckily, ‘We’re All Alone In This Together’ might be his most introspective work yet, digging so deep into his personal life that the record is nothing short of an autobiography. He proved himself immensely with his 2019 debut album ‘Psychodrama’, and there’s a sense that this follow-up will have to reach high standards indeed to fulfil its promise. ![]() You look back to 2016, when he released his debut EP ‘Six Path’, and wonder if the then-18-year-old would have ever thought he’d be a constant top seller, rubbing shoulders with the likes of OVO founder Drake, having become one of the leading rappers to ever come out of Britain. One of the UK’s most coveted musical exports, Brixton-born, Streatham-raised Dave is one of the world’s favourite rappers on this side of the Atlantic – and it’s all for good reason.
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