Next up, a rapper (and Stefflon Don’s brother)…
[Video]
[4.33]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: Dutchavelli’s Dutch From the 5th has a handful of songs that, while being rather typical UK drill fare, have a specific element that make them worthwhile: a vocal sample that matches the energy of the rapping (“Intro“), a twanging guitar sample (“Kaka“), incessant and creepy synth swells (“Do It“). The gimmick on “Zero Zero” is stately strings fit for a funeral. There’s reason for this: at the end of the track is a voice message from Dutchavelli’s late manager Fox, and we hear him talking about the two now being out of jail. There are sirens, too, and the bragaddocio that counters it adds a bit of reflective poignance, but a particularly coherent idea doesn’t always make for an exciting one.
[5]
Andrew Karpan: Dutchavelli has yet to find his money-making flow, and this is a brooding and somewhat humorless take on ex-compatriot 21 Savage’s sound two tapes ago. Like 21’s tales from the edge of Atlanta, Dutchavelli goes for storytelling that is lean and minimal. But his ends up a little too minimal, and his bars thud to the ground like bricks. The refusal to so much as bat an eye comes off as Scorsese-chic, and the clever nod to “De Niro” feels like dutiful drawing within the lines.
[5]
Rachel Saywitz: Spent the entirety of this song googling “rhymes with zero celebrities,” because I don’t understand why, out of all the money-making celebrities in this world, one would want to emulate Robert De Niro. There has to be a better option! Orlando? Lando? The google search is now “names that rhyme with robert de niro.” I can’t get out of this spiral until I find the answer. Someone please help me.
[3]
Alfred Soto: The stop-start structure is one of pop’s most annoying tics.
[5]
Thomas Inskeep: I’ve never been much a fan of gunplay/Mafioso-style rap tales, and Dutchavelli’s strong voice doesn’t change that. (Not to mention the Nino Rota-style string samples don’t help matters.) Dutchavelli’s talented, but this single ain’t the one.
[2]
Samson Savill de Jong: Sometimes shit just slaps, and there’s not much more to say about it. Dutchavelli isn’t saying anything new or thought-provoking here, and he’s not doing it in a particularly innovative way, but he goes hard and carries it off. “Feel like Hova” might be more true than Dutch knows, though, because take away the English accent and the grime sound, and this could be a Jay-Z song, right down to the nagging sense of wasted potential.
[6]