Drake. The Weeknd. It is hard to avoid the sounds from these radio dominating artists no matter how hard you try. Both of these artists have brought attention to the musical hotbed of the Great White North, known as Toronto. The city is referenced left, right, and center in popular music today, specifically in Hip-Hop and R&B. There is no doubt that the city of Toronto is going through a musical renaissance right now. Fresh outta Toronto’s musical oven, duo dvsn is here to give a smooth taste on how R&B music should be made.
Source: NOW Magazine
Dvsn pronounced “division” is a Canadian R&B duo made up of Daniel Daley and Paul Jefferies (stage name: Nineteen85). The group’s music features pangs of harmonies you’d hear from a gospel choir and heavy sub-basses with thick hi-hats that you hear in current Hip-Hop music. It’s a well-tailored combination that blends 90’s, R&B slow jams with contemporary Hip-Hop rhythms we all can’t seem to get enough of.
Source: Hypebeast
Dsvn really popped off when they released the song “With Me” on Soundcloud. This song garnered attention after appearing on Drake’s OVO Sound Radio Show on Apple Music on September 5th, 2015. A record deal with Drake’s label, OVO Sound, came quickly after and dvsn released their first album, SEPT. 5th. The album title signified the date OVO Sound Radio Show featured “With Me”.
Source: iTunes
SEPT. 5th was a success and showed that dvsn was here to stay. This past fall, dvsn released their sophomore album, Morning After. 13 songs, smooth as silk, and chiller than Jack Frost himself, Morning After is honestly in the running for my favorite R&B album of the year. Like a D’Angelo album with the brushing falsetto, Morning After is the type of album you gotta listen all the way through.
Credit: Youtube
My personal favorites from the tracklist are “P.O.V.”, “Morning After”, and “Don’t Choose”. But I usually just shuffle the album, and it seems to do the trick.
COVER PHOTO: DJBooth
And check out: dvsn’s OVO Sound Radio Show mix.
Let me know your favorite tracks from the album in the comments below.
