dvsn: The Best Unknown Drop of 2017
Drake is famous for being one of the biggest rapper/singers of the 21st century so far. The so-called “Drake effect” makes certain any song he decided to bless with a feature, often coming in the form of a remix, will blow up, bringing the lucky artist straight to stardom.
So when he signed the enigmatic duo dvsn (Pronounced ‘division’) to his OVO label, I was sure before long I’d be sick of them.
But the first album they released while signed to OVO, Sept. 5th, failed to break into the top 100. Obviously, if they’ve garnered attention from Drizzy, they're special, right? As it turns out, I was right, and pleasantly I discovered the best underground R&B record since The Weeknd’s House of Balloons.
So when he signed the enigmatic duo dvsn (Pronounced ‘division’) to his OVO label, I was sure before long I’d be sick of them.
But the first album they released while signed to OVO, Sept. 5th, failed to break into the top 100. Obviously, if they’ve garnered attention from Drizzy, they're special, right? As it turns out, I was right, and pleasantly I discovered the best underground R&B record since The Weeknd’s House of Balloons.
Exactly one month after the highly anticipated Views dropped, dvsn appeared on the track “Faithful” along with the late Pimp C. While I was sure that after this there was no way dvsn wouldn’t explode, the track was largely disappointing. Despite the sales, this is resounding proof that Drake has absolutely no idea what he’s doing anymore. But let’s get back to dvsn, who ever since have remained completely off the radar.
In the way other artists of their genre have done, (i.e., The Weeknd, H.E.R.) dvsn chose at first to keep their identity secret, and did very few interviews. The other member, a three-time Grammy nominee, hasn’t remained a secret at all: Paul “Nineteen85” Jefferies makes up the other half of dvsn. If the name sound familiar, he’s behind some of the harder-hitting, and more minimalist, songs by our old friend Drake. The story of how the duo came together is still unknown, just that they appeared on Soundcloud in 2015 with two songs that would end up on their debut. Since the release of Sept. 5th, the covers they hid themselves under came off, and a name that doesn’t mean much to anybody is that of the vocalist: Daniel Daley. |
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In order to promote their sophomore album, dvsn released the first single, Think About Me. The cinematic artwork was a step away from their formerly minimalistic aesthetic, but a step in the right direction, it seems. Water plonking in the background reminds one of being in a cave, listening to droplets fall from stalactites. Hard-hitting 808s arrive with vocals from frontman Daniel Daley, and in a fashion that is so unmistakably dvsn, a steamy, sexy track about former lovers trying (and failing) at a return to friendship is flawlessly executed.
Between the lead single and the release of their sophomore album, dvsn also released two more singles: “Don’t Choose” and “Mood”, both of which ended up on the Best of the Week section on iTunes. Keeping up the cinematic theme of Think About Me, both of the singles had artwork reminiscent of a movie still. To announce the album title - Morning After - dvsn posted a mock movie posted. Aubrey Graham appears on poster, sparking rumors of a possible feature among the fans. However, on October 13th when the album was finally released, there were no listed features. Drizzy is found nowhere on the project, but labelmate PARTYNEXTDOOR and the British singer Delilah contribute vocals.
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Drakes’s absence is just another way that OVO failed to put their foot behind this project. Both of dvsn’s projects with OVO Sound have been put right next to similar artist Majid Jordan. Majid’s self-titled debut released only a month before dvsn’s Sept 5th and Morning After released just two weeks before Majid’s sophomore project The Space Between Us. Clearly OVO is not afraid to leave their more talented artists out on a limb as long as they continue to release albums, but this hasn’t prevented dvsn from constantly releasing quality music.
One of dvsn’s most common themes are a relationship in turmoil, and Morning After doesn’t defect. From begging his partner to leave him on the title track Run Away, then flipping the script and confessing they’re the one he wants to wake up next to on the title track, the album is a complete power play. “Nuh Time/Tek Time” is easily one of their best to date - if not the very best - mirroring the soul-bearing, then on to tender introspection “Try / Effortless” presents on Sept. 5th.
The true gem of Morning After comes with the albums final two tracks, “Body Smile”, and “Conversations in A Diner”. While the former offers up a barely discreet metaphor for make up sex, the latter opens with ambience reminiscent of a cramped hole-in-the-wall breakfast joint, where the couple discusses a break up.
“I wonder how many babies will be made to this album,” an iTunes commenter ponders. Sexy, heartbreaking, and raw, the three words that can best describes dvsn’s work. And with such a range of writing credits, it’s hard to imagine how it couldn’t be. At last Drake’s name appears, along with PND again, past collaborator James Vincent Mcmorrow, R. Kelly, and James Fauntleroy all appear, and more. They may not have achieved mainstream success, but from the clear cosigns they won’t be out of the limelight much longer.
The true gem of Morning After comes with the albums final two tracks, “Body Smile”, and “Conversations in A Diner”. While the former offers up a barely discreet metaphor for make up sex, the latter opens with ambience reminiscent of a cramped hole-in-the-wall breakfast joint, where the couple discusses a break up.
“I wonder how many babies will be made to this album,” an iTunes commenter ponders. Sexy, heartbreaking, and raw, the three words that can best describes dvsn’s work. And with such a range of writing credits, it’s hard to imagine how it couldn’t be. At last Drake’s name appears, along with PND again, past collaborator James Vincent Mcmorrow, R. Kelly, and James Fauntleroy all appear, and more. They may not have achieved mainstream success, but from the clear cosigns they won’t be out of the limelight much longer.
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