“The Boy Who Played The Harp” Review
With his newest album, The Boy Who Played the Harp, Dave brings listeners inside the life and spirituality of one of the UK’s premier hip-hop artists. This newest release follows 2021’s We’re All Alone in This Together, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and saw both success commercially and critically. The project, despite its achievements, left fans clamoring for more. In the four years since, Dave has continued to pump out music consistently. After releasing singles “Starlight” and “My 24th Birthday” in 2022, the Brixton-native collaborated on a 4-track EP titled “Split Decision” with fellow UK star Central Cee. While these projects were solid additions to Dave’s discography, fans patiently waited for what they hoped would be another excellence in musicianship and lyricism. Luckily for them, and myself, Dave has unsurprisingly delivered again.
As Dave fans have come to know, “The Boy Who Played the Harp” addresses issues and ideas rarely expanded in other hip-hop artists’ work. Themes of childhood, fame, trauma, and social justice are but a few of the more introspective topics Dave tackles in this album. “But when I’m all alone, I won’t lie, I question myself, Am I self-destructive? Am I doin’ the best for myself?” Dave raps on “My 27th Birthday.” Despite living the life of a star that many dream of, Dave is not afraid to be vulnerable through his music. It is extremely refreshing and consoling to hear a hip-hop artist open up to their audience and be seen for who they are when the spotlight is away.
The album’s strongest showing of Dave’s self-reflection is “Selfish,” which features alternative R&B artist James Blake. This track is bookended with almost 1 minute of questions, including, “What if my fear of doin’ it wrong’s the reason I haven’t been doin’ it right…What if my effort of pullin’ you close are pushin’ you further?” These rapid-fire questions reflect Dave’s spiraling thought process. As the questions go on, the beat fades, and Dave continues to deliver in a style reminiscent of spoken word. Each question hits harder than the last as Dave’s voice continues to rise out over the fading instrumental and beat, and you can’t help but look inward and ask these yourself. This is where Dave stands out in the ever-expanding world of hip-hop and rap, perfectly blending talented musicianship with poignant lyricism. As a result, The Boy Who Played the Harp is another strong addition to Dave’s discography and cements him in the upper echelon of modern musicianship.
