Dave’s new album channels his thoughts through sharply written songs.
Dave’s new album has been getting a lot of hype since its release yesterday. Let’s see what the fuss is about.
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“Fuck eco-friendly, my car eco-aggressive.” Yikes. In big 2025, we’re still making ragebait lines like this? And what exactly is the “history in the making” James is singing about? All this aside, nothing particularly impressive here. The writing isn’t run-of-the-mill, but it’s not too far from it. He does work in one or two standout lines, but everything’s forgotten at the end, considering how monotone his performance is. The production isn’t doing us any favors either. It’s not the most encouraging opener to a rap album in 2025, honestly.
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The conservative Christian sentiments on this track give it a corny polish—he literally closes the track with “How we selling them the devil but still giving God the glory?” And the sentiment overall is, well, understandable, but it just puts a magnifying glass over a bigger problem in the music industry, and not the one Dave is alluding to here. Dave’s meaning here, one could argue, is “open to interpretation.” And the “interpretation” that I’m getting is this popularized misconception that’s led to the needless demonization of what’s called “secular” music, which is music that exists explicitly outside of religious spaces. And this type of sentiment, following a track that literally says “fuck eco-friendly”—in 2025, no less—I’ll admit to being a bit hesitant to complete the rest of the record.
Just two tracks in, it’s already giving this annoying “God first, then fuck all but me and my family” energy, which, considering all that’s been happening all over the world as a result of too many people having this kind of mentality, is fatiguing. But let’s at least try to get some “artistic” and “enjoyable” qualities from this, at least, right? Well, no, we aren’t on this track either because it’s another unadventurous performance over a production that’s a bit too restrained.
Another “problem” I sort of have with this track is its title. It is apparently a reference to how long his brother’s been serving a sentence for, which is tragic. But I wish this fact were spelled out a little more in the details of the track because I got this information off the internet by chance. Maybe it’d help the track’s case just a little more.
Overall, on this track, Dave’s writing is very good. He fleshes out his thoughts to rap verses very well, but it’s watered down drastically by another monotone performance over an in-the-box production.
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Oh shit. This is going to be a full-blown contemporary Christian rap album, isn’t it? Laughing at how all the tracks have explicit tags though. I’m surprised that even Jim Legxcy couldn’t render a performance solid enough to spice up the track. The writing on this one is a lot more preachy, though.
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Bro, what? I’m sorry, this track’s just not for me. The whole thing is supposed to be a “passing the torch”-style conversation between Kano and Dave. But the corny Christian-rap finish becomes thicker with each track, which isn’t a bad thing in itself, but as I mentioned two tracks earlier, considering where the community this kind of music stems from has landed the world at large, it is a bit hard to digest. He is, so far, doing a decent job with the writing, especially in terms of fitting it into this Christian music space. It’s just that, as is the case with many contemporary Christian music efforts, the result just reeks of a desperate attempt to adapt the exact thing they demonize—rap music—to fit their standards. Again, all the tracks on this album have explicit tags. And it also has a coded pandering vibe to it, if you ask me, because what can happen now is that this album will gain traction in Christian circles as well. And given that the younger demographics within these spaces tend to look for music that sounds “modern” but also “spirit-filled,” tracks like this will have a near exponential amount of reach. That’s how rappers like Lecrae are still making bank to this day—ad-libbing secular music with “Jesus” and marketing it as “spirit-filled.” And again, production and performance aren’t doing us too many favors either. I get that the aura is meant to be a “cool guy” vibe, but it’s just been boring for the most part.
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This one feels a bit too formulaic. It’s a love song. The verses are half-rapped by Dave; the choruses are sung by Tems. But overall, nothing’s special, unfortunately. Both performances feel monotone, the production isn’t helping their cases, and even the writing isn’t at its strongest here.
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The writing aims to provoke emotion, but it’s watered down tragically by a restrained performance from Dave, yet again, though James Blake’s appearance does help the track’s case a bit. The production isn’t offering us too much, sadly.
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Great thought-provoking lyrics, but the performance feels like a mere recital of the lyrics.
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Could the lack of features be what this album needed? Because now, the performances seem to be getting better now it’s just Dave.
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At this point, I’m just happy the closing tracks are doing their best to save face for the album. Nicole’s feature is easily one of the best performances on the entire album. The writing on this track is laser-sharp in its depiction of abuse.
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“The Boy Who Played the Harp” is excellent in all facets, especially the writing. Everything clicks here. Awesome closer.
Overall, it’s fine. Those closing tracks really helped the album. I wish it had a better starting half, but it’s not all bad. I see myself mainly recommending this to Dave fans and seekers of contemporary Christian music, except for the last batch of tracks that I think are near-essential listening for everyone. The writing overall is great, I just wish the performances and production efforts were better at times. But overall, it’s all right.
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