ily *shows u my digital circus oc*

her name is Meekz !! she's silly !! ⭐

(detail pics under cut)

At such a young age, Dave set the bar so high for himself with his 2019 debut album PSYCHODRAMA and has continued to dominate the UK Hip Hop scene ever since with amazing features and one-off singles. Anticipation for his new album We’re All Alone In This Together has been very high and now it is finally here and Dave is continuing to build on the incredible potential that he showed on such an amazing first album. Dave really sets the tone for this new album with We’re All Alone. The thing I love the most about this song is how he changes up his flow. I have felt that he has his go-to flow but he has shown that he is capable of doing different flows which he does on this song and it ends up being really good. Straight out the gate, he comes through with an amazing line where he raps “I had dreams of doin' architecture or sittin' through a Harvard lecture / How the fuck I end up bein' Harvey Specter?” and then from there goes into a scheme about Suits. The Gryffindor line was hard too. Dave raps about realizing the effects of his music on others and the position he’s been put in. This is only the intro but easily some of the best rapping he’s ever done. Verdansk is a good song but sounds exactly like his song Titanium. It has lots of good one-liners on this song like “I drop YGs, do it like Kehlani.” Dave always sounds great over drill beats and this Stormzy collab Clash is no exception Stormzy killed it and I love how the beat changes to a more grime-sounding beat in the middle. I did not see In The Fire coming at all. It’s a posse cut featuring Fredo, Meekz Manny, Ghetts and Giggs and it left me speechless. That is one of the best beats I have ever heard in my entire life, it’s so soulful and I loved how the drum patterns change for certain rappers’ verses. The sample is absolutely beautiful and each of the five rappers incorporate bars about fire or use fire as a larger metaphor for hardships in their respective upbringings which is so amazing. Everyone does their thing on it but Ghetts absolutely shelled it. He raps “So accustomed to the fire, I get shivers when I'm naked in the sauna.” Giggs is not always the most consistent but when he really tries he does great things on tracks and that is exactly what he does on this song. Every time he and Dave link up they make fire and he really showed up to rap on this song. I loved that line where he raps “Is this n***a trusty Or Sideshow Bob when he's creepin' on Krusty?”Dave has the last verse and really brings it home with an incredible verse. One standout line from his verse is “I could've been deported / That's the definition of a "Fight-or-flight.” We have not ever heard a posse cut like this in UK rap history so In The Fire is definitely a historic event. It truly is its own moment. The production on Three Rivers reminded me of Black. The song tackles the treatment of immigrants in different time periods over the course of three verses. The first is about Caribbean immigrants in the UK during the 60s, the second is about eastern Europeans in the 90s and the third is about ongoing conflicts in the middle east. I am assuming that the three rivers correspond to each region that is discussed in each verse. He does such a great job on speaking about how immigrants are treated in these three verses in a very precise manor but with great detail. He raps: “And every day the sun rises a little later / That's how it is when your oppressor is your liberator” He was spitting when he said that immigrants are “key workers, but they couldn't even get in the door.” Three Rivers to System was an odd transition but System marks a run of three Jae5-produced afrobeats-style bangers. Nigerian GOAT Wizkid joins Dave on System which is such a vibe and definitely one of the songs of the summer for sure. Wizkid never misses, especially coming off Made In Lagos which has become one of my all-time favorite albums in a very short period of time. I loved that clever line that Dave had about how “She wanna do SMS / Not save my soul, that's spend my savings” but then he quickly switches to talking about how the system is built against him. Lazarus is an instant favorite. This song has a beat so good that I have to wheel it up every time I turn it on. Jae5 deserves an award for this beat. I had never heard of Boj before this song but he did an amazing job on the hook, which is in Yoruba. I don’t understand it but for me, when it comes to enjoying music in different languages it’s all about the delivery and how you use your voice. I really liked Law Of Attraction. This collaboration between Dave and Snoh Aalegra. It’s a good change in vibe and Snoh sounds amazing. The one thing I didn’t like about this song was the line that Dave had where he says “I put your name on a necklace / That's a chain reaction.” That was a little corny. After that song, the album reaches a more subdued level compared to songs like Clash and Lazarus. Both Sides Of A Smile is a collab with James Blake who sounds amazing on the song about the two sides to a failing relationship. It reminds me of Wretch 32’s song His and Hers. I liked how when Dave was rapping from the woman’s point of view, he had a woman rap a portion of it as if she was talking to Dave. Twenty To One is definitely the worst song on the album. I didn’t like the hook at all. It’s not a bad song though. I liked that line about how “A good girl [is] like Pokémon / Easy to see, but hard to catch.” Heart Attack is a heartbreaking song about knife crime in the UK. Dave raps for nine minutes uninterrupted without a hook over a very minimal beat that cuts out for a portion of the song so Dave is just rapping acapella. Describing it is one thing but when you actually listen to it, you’ll understand what I mean. Survivor’s Guilt is a fantastic note to close on as he raps about feeling guilty about celebrating his successes because his friends that he came up with are no longer there to celebrate with him. He also talks about having anxiety as well as ending a relationship with an Albanian woman due to cultural differences. He raps “My ex has got ivory skin / Which is funny 'cause it's really the elephant in the room” as well as this gem: “Rum and Red Bull, it's a culture clash.” Jorja Smith contributes vocals to the song as well. We’re All Alone In This Together definitely differs from PSYCHODRAMA in terms of lyrical content but the albums share some similarities in terms of production which I guess is Dave’s sound. The production is great but both albums have the balance between hard-hitting bangers and afrobeats-style vibes along with long and reflective songs about how he lives in his own psyche. He also talks about relationships as well as more complex political topics as well. These albums are definitely not the same though. He gave so much of himself through the lens of his brother on PSYCHODRAMA whereas on this album he is in a different place of fame and notoriety where he is able to bring light to issues regarding the treatment of black people and immigrants as well as speak about his own mental health which has helped his constantly-growing fanbase. He may feel alone as David but he’s alone in this world together with his fans.