Dave is growing and his just-released twelve-track sophomore album, We’re All In This Together, is proof of this. On his first attempt at cohesiveness, the critically acclaimed Psychodrama, an eleven-track award, and fame magnet, Dave was all about himself. As languid as his flow was, the choppiness common to rappers new to the mainstream, was just as evident, but he was game and tracks like Location, Purple Heart and Black, helped his listeners realize this. It’s been two years since this album, and Dave, grown and gallant, moves with a shared sense of belonging. Basing the title of his sophomore album on relatability is his first attempt at settling into his new normal.
This desire to mingle and be one with his new community follows the title in allusion by way of the range of artists he taps for features. From Wizkid, whose sound is primarily Afrobeat, to Boj, who is in a dalliance with Afrofusion to Snoh Aalegra, America’s new RnB darling, and James Blake, he shows off the expansivity that dominates this album.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFqVvjq6BGM]
These little features prepare listeners for the juxtaposition of subjects that reigns supreme on We’re All Alone In This Together, a title that is as reflective as one can be. Dave wastes no time in fusing these features together and from his very first line, “I remember when I used to be innocent. Ain’t shit changed, I’m a young black belligerent…”, everything starts to make sense.
With Hip-hop as the foundation that gives him a chance to stand tall, Dave dances around rousing, sometimes narratives, from the story of every young black man’s life on We’re All Alone, to the gritty articulation of fame and fortune patterned lifestyle on the earlier released Clash, to the sweetness of a love-led life on the Wizkid-assisted System to the rawness of romance on his James Blake partnership, Both Sides Of A Smile.
We’re All In This Together is not a pure Hip-hop album, but with its fusions and juxtapositions and rarities, it is now Dave’s most personalized work, bold, blithe and bright. On the twelve-track album, he holds nothing back.