PSYCHODRAMA (2019) is the debut album by British rapper, Dave. The album cover features a demonic, Ghost Rider inspired figure with blue fire emanating from a skull. The figure seems to illuminate the black background, which foreshadows an isolated and introspective theme. The cover art is simple, straightforward, and graphic —which is very well describes the album if I must say so myself. From the title and the cover art it is safe to assume that this album will feature graphic, serious, and introspective content.
This album consists of 11 tracks, with a total run time of 51 minutes. This project features cuts with a variety of run lengths ranging from 2 minutes and 44 seconds to 11 minutes and 8 seconds. The opening track “Psycho” starts the album off to a strong start. The first thing that you hear is what seems to be a therapist beginning a session with the British rapper. Throughout this dialogue an eerie and spacey vocal sets a spooky and mysterious mood very early. Not to0 long after Dave begins rapping with an aggressive and bouncy flow that becomes even more so when the futuristic drum pattern creeps in. Throughout the track Dave addresses his upbringing in Streatham, his troubles in school and in his community, and how his childhood made him who he is in the present day. There is a very powerful shifting narrative that is present in this track and it is as follows. At the start Dave addresses himself as a “psycho” and a “sicko” however the last line of the track features the powerful line “I ain’t psycho, my life is”. Aside from the very serious content matters of this track, Dave shows off his cleaver world-play with lines like: “my currency is Kenyan, it’s in it for the long run”.
After listening to the album in its entirety, I believe there to be 5 stand-out tracks: Psycho, Black, Purple Heart, Location (Ft. Burna Boy), and Streatham.
The track “Black” is a heartfelt account of current racial and social inequalities present in his home of the U.K. and the world in general. Throughout this track Dave presents what he deems to be “[his] experience” as a black man. What is refreshing about this track is the very deep and accurate depiction of being black. Most comparable tracks from other artists focus on the African American experience, whilst this track tries to attack this issue from a broader perspective. 
The track “Purple Heart” is a more relaxed and lighthearted one that acts as a message from Dave to his significant other. He relates to her through the shared nature of their pain. This is all done over a very beautiful sounding looped vocal chop which is reminiscent of the production on the late xxxtentacion’s debut album “17”. Dave once agin boasts his ability as a lyricist through lines such as “girl your a gem and I (gemini) and I ain’t even talking ’bout the star sign” and “she said I can sir (cancer) and I ain’t talking ’bout the star sign”.
Overall, this album featured great production, powerful lyrics, infectious flows, variety, and a depth of insight that is far beyond the artist’s years (Dave is 20 years old). The most major flaw of this album is the ridiculously long run times of some of the tracks; that although are not bad tracks per say, are simply not tracks you would listen to more than once. However this said, this is definitely one of (if not my favorite) albums of the past year as it included all of the aspects of what I believe make an excellent album. 8.5/10
