Dylan's Deep Dives

Music Jackman Album Review: Harlow Redeems Himself When Reflecting On His Roots  By Dylan Barbee Photo provided by @jackharlow on Instagram  Release Date: 4/28/2023 Louisville rapper Jack Harlow has had a rapid rise to success after his breakthrough song “What’s Poppin” blew up in early 2020. Since then, Jack Harlow has collaborated with several prominent artists in the music industry such as Drake and even received a grammy nomination for best rap album with Come Home The Kids Miss You in 2022. While much of his work in the recent years has consisted of displaying his confident and smooth persona, Jackman is an album where Harlow goes back to his lyrical roots as an artist before he blew up causing him to display vulnerable storytelling over robust production styles.     Jackman has 10 songs that span across a quick but fulfilling listen of 24 minutes. Harlow announced the album just two days before its release, leaving many fans surprised. There are no featur...

Music  NEVER ENOUGH Album Review: Grow Up and Find Yourself  By Dylan Barbee Image Provided by Spotify Release Date: 4/7/2023 Daniel Caesar has propelled the r&b genre forward with his introspective point of view being the focus of his sound and lyrics. Just how his previous albums Freudian and CASE STUDY 01 served as philosophical and intimate pieces of art, Caesar’s new album NEVER ENOUGH is just as emotionally bearing.     NEVER ENOUGH contains 15 songs that spans across an enjoyable 55 minutes. Features on this album come from Mustafa on “Toronto 2014, serpentwithfeet on “Disillusioned”, Omar Apollo on “Buyer’s Remorse”, and Ty Dolla $ign on “Homiesexual”. Daniel Caesar's performances outshine all the features’ verses.     On NEVER ENOUGH Caesar is on the journey of finding himself by navigating through romantic connections, reflecting on his childhood, and balancing his newfound confidence as an artist with his familiar insecurity of the ...

  Music  Sremm 4 Life Album Review: An Overload of Cliché  By Dylan Barbee Release Date: 4/7/2023  It has been five years since Rae Sremmurd dropped their last project SR3MM which was a triple album where the two brothers from Tupelo, Mississippi embraced their stardom with songs like “Powerglide” and “Guatemala ''. Within these past few years, they have been very low-key and often only showing up for features. It has been a long and anticipated wait to see what the duo would release next but unfortunately their new album Scremm 4 Life is a disappointment and did not live up to expectations.    Scremm 4 Life includes 14 songs that take up to 48 minutes. However, the listening experience felt even longer considering how boring and uninspired the choruses were on some songs. The features on this album come from Young Thug on “Royal Flush” and Future on “Activate” where both artists provided strong verses making them the two best songs on the album.  ...

  Music  The Great Escape Album Review: The Alchemist Show By Dylan Barbee Release Date: 3/31/2023 When the Alchemist collaborates with any lyrical artist it is bound to be a treat for listeners. The Great Escape serves as a laid-back but thought-provoking album where San Francisco rapper Larry June advocates for the power of individual mindfulness over The Alchemist’s smooth boom-bap production style.    The Great Escape contains 15 songs and is a short listen at 46 minutes. Most of the features on this album performed very well. Verses on The Great Escape come from Action Brunson, Big Sean, Boldly James, Joey Bada$$, Slum Village, Wiz Khalifa, Evidence, and Jay Worthy.     Larry June mostly raps about his hard work ethic and his rags to riches life story. He lets his listeners know that with hard work and self-care, one can accomplish many things in their lifetime. “Invest in yourself, f*ck what they said, you can accomplish anything with a solid p...