Psychodrama (2019)

Psychodrama (stylised in uppercase letters) is the debut studio album by British rapper Dave, released on 8 March 2019. It follows his first two EPs, Six Paths (2016) and Game Over (2017). The album features guest appearances from J Hus, Burna Boy and Ruelle. Psychodrama was executive produced by both Dave and Fraser T. Smith. The album features Dave's piano playing, while Smith assisted with Baroque influences, including strings, brass, harps, as well as more contemporary music through the use of drums and the synthesizer.

A concept album, Psychodrama follows the narrative of a therapy session, primarily detailing the impact of Dave's elder brothers' prison convictions, along with his struggles with mental health, strained relationships, and the tough social conditions that confront poor black youths. The album was supported by four singles: "Black", "Streatham", "Location" and "Disaster", with the latter three all reaching the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

Psychodrama debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and received widespread acclaim from critics, being hailed by some as one of the best albums of the year. It became the most-streamed first-week British rap album in the UK with a total of 23.6 million streams. The album was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of at least 600,000 copies in the UK. It won the 2019 Mercury Prize and Album of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards.

Background

In a 2017 interview with NME, Dave revealed he was working on his debut album slated for a 2018 release, stating: "I know exactly how I'm going to make it and what I need it to be, I just need to find the time."

Speaking on his relationship with Dave, co-executive producer Fraser T. Smith said, "I've known Dave since he was 17. I was in the middle of working on Stormzy's Gang Signs and Prayer album and my friends Jack Foster and Benny Scarrs who manage Dave introduced us. We immediately hit it off and put in a studio session. We wrote "Picture Me" during that session and the relationship developed into us working together on Dave's first and second EPs 6 Paths, and Game Over."

The album was officially announced on 21 February 2019 following the release of his single "Black'" to YouTube. An accompanying tour was announced days later, and the tracklist was revealed on 3 March, showing features from Burna Boy, Ruelle, and the then-incarcerated J Hus. Coinciding with the album's release, Dave released another single, "Streatham" on 7 March, via a music video. He also performed an extended version of "Black" at the 2020 BRIT Awards.

Production

Regarding the recording process for Psychodrama, Smith said, "I never want to repeat myself creatively, and was wary about replicating the unique processes and dynamics which had made my working relationships with Kano and Stormzy so special, but Dave is a one off – namely because our music comes from jamming in the studio. His piano playing and musicality are phenomenal, as well as the diverse influences we both draw from, so it's a great blend. [...] Dave typically creates ideas on the piano, and I'll sometimes sit down the other end of the keyboard, adding bass notes or chords, or will grab a guitar or bass or be playing on the Akai MPC4000 or Ableton." Expanding on the Baroque influences on the album, Smith said, "We knew from the beginning that we'd be drawing from a very wide musical palette of strings, brass, harps, and hard-hitting drums and synths. I love to blend acoustic instrumentation with electronic elements. Manon Grandjean, my long-standing engineer, beautifully captured Dave’s piano, guitars, drums and vocals at my studio in Fulham." Regarding the album's vocals, a Sony C800 microphone was used and tracked through a UTA mic pre, summit TLA 100 compressor and then the UTA Unfairchild compressor.

Themes

Psychodrama has been referred to as a "concept album", and has a three-act structure; act one is defined as "environment", act two "relationships", and act three "social compass". Smith said that Dave "spent a long time coming up with the title and concept for the album [...] Psychodrama was always going to be a very ambitious project. [...] The overarching theme was to document Dave's life up to this point in terms of his upbringing, his life in South London as a young black male, the struggles, the joys, the uncertainty, the ambitions, hopes and fears. The album addresses a number of issues, particularly focusing on Dave's struggles with mental health, namely depression. The first track begins with Dave talking to a therapist, a constant throughout the album.

Other themes include Dave's strained relationships, poor upbringing, his father's absence and the impact it had on him, and issues such as domestic abuse and racial inequality. Dave has said much of the inspiration for the album came from his older brother, Christopher, who is serving life in prison. The themes of psychotherapy came from the same type of therapy his brother receives in prison.