Music this year has been all about vulnerability. U.K. rapper Dave has continued this trend with his most recent album “The Boy Who Played the Harp.”
2023 saw Dave break out into the mainstream with his collaborative EP, “Split Decision," with fellow U.K. rapper, Central Cee.
Dave took a year off to focus on his third studio album. He teased the album on Instagram with a short film before officially releasing it Oct. 24.
“The Boy Who Played the Harp” carries on the legacy of Dave’s previous albums thematically but incorporates religion more. The album’s name is in reference to a story found in 1 Samuel 6:14-23 in the Bible. In the story, David, a young shepherd boy, plays the harp to soothe Saul, the king of Israel.
The religious themes start from the first line of the album on the track “History.”
“This is God's plan / He said it to me,” Dave said.
This opener shows Dave reflecting on his ascension in the U.K. rap scene. He raps about his ability to make it in the scene while still representing his South London roots, being from Streatham.
Dave goes into a confessional song with the second track, “175 Months.” He starts off the track by saying “Father God, forgive me / It's been a couple years, there may be more that I ain't prayed.”
Dave confesses to God, whom he believes can help guide him through his struggles and forgive him of his self-identified sins.
In the fourth track, “Chapter 16,” Dave shares a conversation with a U.K. rap-pioneer, Kano. Dave gives his respect to Kano, sharing “I studied you since I was fourteen.”
Kano then hands the torch of U.K. rap off to Dave and fellow rising star Little Simz, “You and Simbi, go grab the accolades that they would never give me.”
The next song on the album “My 27th Birthday” is a continuation of Dave’s “Birthday” series. He has released songs about his 19th and 24th birthdays on previous albums. These tracks all dive into his mindset and view of the world at that age.
This newest look into Dave’s mindset sees him wrestling with the moral issues he sees around him. He asks himself how he can be enjoying luxury locations like the Caribbean and Dubai while “White people mistreatin' locals” and how “I cried about slavery, then went to Dubai with my girl.”
Dave then shifts into looking at his ability to reach success, but how much it lacks “Free, but I'm broke, have me feelin' like I'm caged in.”
Dave has been able to have commercial success, but the success is juxtaposed with wrestling with his mental health. He is free from the financial conditions he had while growing up, but the mental strife is still there.
The last verse of this nearly 8-minute-long song sees Dave questioning the point of his music. During the time between albums, most of the projects he released were flashier, such as his EP with Central Cee. This leads him to question if “My music just becomin' a depiction of my wealth?”
It seems clear money and fame are not the main goals of his music. He cares about the quality.
“You wanna know the reason it's taken me four years? / It's not 'cause I'm surrounded by yes-men and sycophants / It's 'cause I'm with producers and people that give a damn,” Dave said.
One of the most powerful tracks on this album is the ninth track, “Fairchild,” which has a very well-done feature by another rising U.K. rapper, Nicole Blakk. In the song, Dave reflects on women’s safety through Nicole Blakk’s first-person perspective.
The album finishes with the title track “The Boy Who Played the Harp.”
Dave’s question to himself is, “What would I do in the next generation?” He then goes on to ask himself what he would do across historical situations such as the Titanic.
However, he flips the question by asking himself, “What am I doin’ in this generation?” He wonders if he is doing enough to speak up about what is happening in Gaza, or if he’s “Afraid of a shadow-ban.”
This desire to speak up and be a voice for his generation comes from the weight he feels surrounding his namesake. He feels the weight of living up to the legacy of the Biblical character David, of responsibility and faith as someone with a voice.
One of the last lines on the track sees him embracing this role.
“My ancestors, my ancestors told me that my life is prophecy / And it's not just me, it's a whole generation of people gradually makin' change,” Dave said.
Dave may have seen the most success in his career with a flashy song like “Sprinter,” but it is clear that is not the direction he feels he is called to. This album is a showcase of technicality and storytelling, all while Dave reflects on what his role is. He is a rising star in the U.K. and global rap scene, and he is reflecting on how he got there and what his role is now.
