And After That, We Didn't Talk

GoldLink sure doesn’t make easy work for himself. On *And After That, We Didn’t Talk*, the rapper reels yarns while spitting circles over chopped-up, off-kilter beats that’ll make your head spin. All the while, he unearths some pretty deep relationship wounds. “Spectrum” is a year-in-the-life tale that’s playful, sentimental, and rapped at hyper speed atop a woozy, house-inflected club track. But for every introspection, there’s a late-night indulgence: “Dance on Me” spins a Lyn Collins breakbeat into a supple jam that just swims in funky, soulful vibes.

The Washington, D.C.-based rapper GoldLink broke through with an upbeat fusion of house music and hip-hop on his mixtape The God Complex, snagging the attention of Rick Rubin. His debut album concerns a relationship and subsequent breakup he had when he was 16, and the details are often kept elusive.

The DMV rapper and "future bounce" pioneer showcases his tremendous talents as an MC and a singer on his densely soulful debut album.

When GoldLink first emerged with The God Complex, the often introspective and insightful lyricism was slightly overshadowed by the fixation...