The R&B singer’s new album is an effortless display of vocals over trap beats.
Digital Druglord was released April 21, 2017. Blackbear has adopted the common trap ballad style of modern R&B artists, delivering vocals over beats with heavy snares and hi hat sounds. The album is released under his own production collective, Bear Trap Records. The project is available for streaming on iTunes and Spotify and the singer has recently announced his upcoming tour dates on twitter.
The California native is known for his songwriting skills and has collaborated with many big names like Justin Bieber. Digital Druglord is the singer’s third solo album, with a tracklist of about 10 songs running just a bit over 30 min. There aren’t many features on the album, just ones with 24hrs and Juicy J for the tracks ‘moodz’ and ‘juicy sweatsuits’. After listening to the album all the way through twice, it is clear that the project as a whole is not very cohesive. However, the project does display Blackbear’s versatility in delivering vocals over different kinds of sounds.
Though the album is enjoyable, it is not one to be played in any and every setting. Most of the songs are about sex, heartbreak and drugs – literally the whole album consists of explicit tracks (that are all titled in lowercase letters). There are some points in the album when the production overpowers the lyrics in the best way. A lot of thought was put into the mixing and mastering of the tracks of the album, which features a lot of electronic elements alongside the trap beats. Digital Druglord is an album that is definitely worth a listen.
