I know it’s Christmas Day, but this is far from your typical Christmas album…In fact, it’s not a Christmas album at all. Death of a Pop Star is the latest release by David Banner who collaborated with producer 9th Wonder. The result: a solid disc of smooth flows mixed with great beats.
The album opens with “Diamonds on My Pinky” and Banner, a hip-hop veteran even if you don’t hear his name on the regular, talking about trying to keep the blade from his wrist and dark lyrics such as: “Obama won the election/but my folks still suffering…Like Jergens for the jerkin’/I tried suicide but the gun wasn’t working.” 9th Wonder’s beats feature soul mixed with creepy, spacey effects, giving the whole song a dark vibe.
One of the album’s highlights, “The Light,” has an old school feel to it at first while 9th Wonder incorporates some techno synths, making this song one of the catchiest on the album. But this may be one of Banner’s deepest, judging by the lyrics in the chorus: “Lord, I know I ain’t right/I pray every night that I can touch my people and/Lead them to the light.” The struggles in the ‘hood is very topical in the hip-hop and rap genres but even so, “The Light” is a good song and one of the best on the album.
Bringing in some of the big guns, the duo features Ludacris, Anthony Hamilton and Erykah Badu in “Be With You,” “Stutter” and “Silly,” respectively. Though Banner has the help of these artists, he has yet to break into the mainstream with Death of a Pop Star. But with his status within the hip-hop/rap community (he’s charted several times on R&B and rap charts), he doesn’t need to be and it’s because he keeps putting out solid releases like this one that feature his barking-yet-smooth flow.
Buy the album at our record store on Amazon
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