In music, every artist we listen to can attribute their unique sound to others who inspired them. If we listen close enough, we can hear these influences within the songs, whether it is in the lyrics, flow, or overall sound. For many artists, these influences come from musicians close to them, but in the case of Desire, it came from someone he’s spent his whole life with.
Being the younger brother of the underground kingpin Summrs, Desire is sure to have these influences shine through in his music, which I can clearly see in his new album “Aactivated” (released on March 17th). For anyone, hanging around people that inspire you at a young age is sure to lead to a faster maturation and growth. Desire has had the luxury of this, being able to be surrounded by other artists, and they too have seen this growth, as he has landed features with multiple big names within the underground (Summrs, Kankan, Iazye!, to name a few). Along with being awarded with the only feature on his brothers’ most recent project, “Stuck In My Ways”, the Louisiana rapper released his own 19 track album last week.
After a few listens, I can confidently say that this album was a great way of Desire marketing himself, highlighting his different flows and talents. Starting the project off with high-energy songs such as “Play Witcha Nose” immediately captured my attention, but he cleverly transitioned into showing off his ability to sing over melodic pluggnb beats. I was most excited to see how he would continue to impress me with his R&B inspired tracks, and he didn’t disappoint, releasing one of my favorite tracks of the year “100 Reasons”, where he expresses his feelings effortlessly over the melodic production. The second half of the album has a healthy balance of emotions, giving us a streak of high energy songs, followed by slower tracks, keeping the listener on their toes. The instrumentals (some of which were made by leading underground producers like GeoGotBands and Goyxrd) seemed to be created with him in mind and complimented his strengths flawlessly. Not only does he slide over the production, but he also wrote lyrics coming from the heart.
“Tryna open my heart for you, but trust is where I lack
You left me in a dark room with a cold heart now im stuck where im at”
-Save Me, Pt. 2
The album brought with it lots of different vibes for any mood you’re in; some upbeat, concert-energy songs, and other smooth, emotional tracks. Each genre of music has their leading figures within, whether it’s the Drakes in Hip-Hop or SZAs in R&B. Although other underground genres have less listeners, these same principles apply. A new wave of artists coming through the underground are seeing their success due to their willingness to experiment with sound until they found their niche. Desire is a prime example of this, which I can clearly see on “”Aactivated”.
“Aactivated” is out on all streaming platforms now