Philadelphia resident DJ RJD2 has been enjoying his success in the corner of the music industry he inhabits since 1993, and continues his legacy with his sixth solo album, “Dame Fortune,” which was released on Friday, March 25.
“Dame Fortune” features vocals from Jordan Brown, Son Little, Phonte Coleman, Blueprint and Josh Krajcik, as the DJ opted to focus more on the beats themselves than the vocals. That being said, each feature is wisely positioned onto tracks that fit the style the singer feels most comfortable on.
The album showcases the strengths of a man who has been in the business for over 20 years, and with songs such as “Peace of What” and “A Portal Inward,” RJD2 continues to display the technical prowess that comes into making quality beats, and I wouldn’t be surprised if segments of these songs are sampled in pop hits in the coming years, as there is an underlying charm behind each individual track that is as impressive as it is refreshing.
However, that is not to say that the album is extraordinary, and the expectation of anything magnificent would leave much more to be desired. While RJD2 has made a nice selection of sounds, he has not released the next “To Pimp A Butterfly.” He is not attempting anything else but a fun, nice album and ultimately succeeds at his goal.
Unfortunately, a listener’s interest in each individual song will be heavily influenced by whether or not it has a singer, and if it does, which singer is performing on that track. While not widely known, it only takes a listen to distinguish between the styles of Jordan Brown’s R&B influenced performance on “Peace of What” and Phonte Coleman on “Saboteur,” who sounds heavily influenced by Damon Albarn, known for The Gorillaz and Blur. While the wide variety of sound certainly leaves the album interestingly diverse, that could mean that enjoying one song may not necessarily inhibit a listener from enjoying the album.
It would certainly be interesting to see where RJD2 goes next with his sound. He has enough of a cohesive style to stay in his comfort zone if he desires, but it would be a nice experience to see if he tries to do anything out there. The overall poppiness of his songs make each one not really stick out in a sea of music better at reaching those charts RJ is trying to top, and EDM is not a forgiving market as new DJs spring from seemingly nowhere. RJ is old enough to prove that he can stick around, but I think if he took a few more risks in his next project, he could truly stick out if he wanted to.
In summary, give Dame Fortune a try if you are searching for new, interesting music. While I do not rank music, it would definitely be in the high 7-8 territory. For me, the highlight of the album was “Peace of What”
RJD2 will be appearing at the Union Transfer on Saturday, May 28.
Eric Ryan is a second-year student majoring in English. ER821804@wcupa.edu