We're All Alone In This Together
It’s perhaps fitting that Dave’s second album opens with the familiar flicker and countdown of a movie projector sequence. Its title was handed to him by iconic film composer Hans Zimmer in a FaceTime chat, and *We’re All Alone in This Together* sets evocative scenes that laud the power of being able to determine your future. On his 2019 debut *PSYCHODRAMA*, the Streatham rapper revealed himself to be an exhilarating, genre-defying artist attempting to extricate himself from the hazy whirlwind of his own mind. Two years on, Dave’s work feels more ambitious, more widescreen, and doubles down on his superpower—that ability to absorb perspectives around him within his otherworldly rhymes and ideas. He’s addressing deeply personal themes from a sharp, shifting lens. “My life’s full of plot holes,” he declares on “We’re All Alone.” “And I’m filling them up.” As it has been since his emergence, Dave is skilled, mature, and honest enough to both lay bare and uplift the Black British experience. “In the Fire” recruits four sons of immigrant UK families—Fredo, Meekz, Giggs, and Ghetts (all uncredited, all lending incendiary bars)—and closes on a spirited Dave verse touching on early threats of deportation and homelessness. With these moments in the can, the earned boasts of rare kicks and timepieces alongside Stormzy for “Clash” are justified moments of relief from past struggles. And these loose threads tie together on “Three Rivers”—a somber, piano-led track that salutes the contributions of Britain’s Windrush generation and survivors of war-torn scenarios, from the Middle East to Africa. In exploring migration—and the questions it asks of us—Dave is inevitably led to his Nigerian heritage. Lagos newcomer Boj puts down a spirited, instructional hook in Yoruba for “Lazarus,” while Wizkid steps in to form a smooth double act on “System.” “Twenty to One,” meanwhile, is “Toosie Slide” catchy and precedes “Heart Attack”—arguably the showstopper at 10 minutes and loaded with blistering home truths on youth violence. On *PSYCHODRAMA* Dave showed how music was his private sanctuary from a life studded by tragedy. *We’re All Alone in This Together* suggests that relationship might have changed. Dave is now using his platform to share past pains and unique stories of migration in times of growing isolation. This music keeps him—and us—connected.
The British-Nigerian rapper’s second album is as ambitious, technical, and deeply felt as his first. It is sure to keep his star on the rise.
A knockout follow-up to 'Psychodrama', this Stormzy and James Blake-featuring LP sees the rapper grapple with doubt at the world around him
Dave’s We’re All Alone In This Together is a perfectly crafted work of poetry and advocacy
At the rate he’s working at, watching him fill out the chapters to come is going to be a gift that keeps on giving.
The Mercury Prize-winning artist brings more voices into his remarkable second album, delivering home truths and personal insights
Dave returns with 'We're All Alone In This Together', a James Blake-produced second album that celebrates and mourns in equal measure.
PSYCHODRAMA, Dave's visionary debut album, was empowered by its fiercely local perspective.
Dave’s Mercury winning debut album ‘Psychodrama’ felt like a true cultural moment. The Streatham wonder swept all before him, racing to
With introspective but operatic rap, Dave paints pictures on an album that’s part confessional, part social critique
We're All Alone In This Together, the new album from Dave, proves that the Streatham rapper is the voice of a generation of young Londoners
The rapper’s long-awaited second album darts between hedonistic swagger and unsparing social commentary to cement his place at rap’s apex
The UK rapper digs deep for his second album to produce spoken-word therapy that taps into a generation wondering how things have got so bad