Dave - PSYCHODRAMA
65
I've never really had lyrics be the element of music that drives me to like or dislike something. You could have a song with absolutely abysmal lyrics, and as long as it's good music it's good music, even if the lyrics bring it down a tad bit. There are albums where the lyrics are a key factor in my enjoyment, albums like OK Computer, Hunky Dory, and I mean for god sake, I'm reviewing Aesop Rock's albums! Isn't he like well known FOR his lyrical abilities?

I don't ignore lyrics, I just don't find it the core part of my listening experience most of the time. PSYCHODRAMA is much different. Here, Dave wants you to focus on what he's saying. The whole album I was sucked into his stories, and the way he expressed them. The album revolves around the concept of an actual psychodrama, which I think is a really cool concept. Does Dave pull it off? Most of the time, he does. The album's lyrics revolve around stories about his life and society, with some of his lyrics hitting incredibly deeply on many different tracks, such as Psycho, Black and especially Lesley. Many people point to this track a lot as being the best, and I think it is as well. Somehow it actually justifies its 11 minute long length with a brutal and captivating story of a woman named Lesley in an abusive relationship. Just an incredible storytelling track, jesus christ. While some of the lyrics can come off as a bit cliched in tone, it's no doubt most of the time he's a really capable writer.

But the production... does it support him well? Mostly. The beats are really well made and fit his style of storytelling and his flows really well. It does a great job at enhancing the theme of his stories, especially Lesley. But something comes off as a bit off-putting on this album and it's that... is it just me or do these just sound like free YouTube beats? Something with a title like "J-COLE TYPE BEAT -CONSCIOUS UK HIP HOP BEAT - DRAMA"? After looking back on it, the production might make this album so much harder to revisit, since the impact of the lyrics and tone might just be a one-time experience. But the problem is... I like the beats. I thought I didn't like Screwface Capital at first cause I thought the beat was generic, but when I kept listening I thought, "Wait a second, I like this, what the hell?" I mean, sometimes the production works wonders with Dave, especially on Black.

But sometimes, it can feel a lot like a "type beat" freestyle somebody typed in the comments of the video with people replying with flame emojis. You know, those lyrics people write that always start with getting wasted at a party with a bunch of hot girls... and waking up after it. You know, something that most possibly didn't happen. I'm not linking this directly to Dave as his lyrics are a huge notch above those, but that's the impression I get.

But I guess without some things that weigh this down significantly for me, and a few tracks I thought weren't great, Psychodrama is still a pretty damn good conscious hip hop album. I don't know if this album will hit me as hard as the first listen did, but I think despite some of the negatives I've listed, I liked this more than anything and I'm hoping the best for Dave's future releases.

favourite tracks: Psycho, Streatham, Black, Disaster, Screwface Capital, Lesley
least favourite: Voices

Summary: Very Good

1 Comment
4y
awesome great music hip hop classic
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