As I am sure is the case for most people, I had not heard of DPR LIVE until he decided to drop a single with DEAN earlier in March, but LIVE has actually been on the scene since 2015 and he has been doing this very popular Bryson Tiller genre, Trap Soul since then. LIVE hails from visual work production company Dream Perfect Regime (DPR) and he is the first and only artist under the company.

Coming To You Live is DPR LIVE’s first album and it features two lead singles, “Know Me (ft. DEAN)” and “Please (Feat. 김효은, G2 & DUMBFOUNDEAD)”. Aside from those two, additional songs “Right Here Right Now (ft. Loco and Jay Park)” and “Laputa (ft. Crush)” also received music videos.

“Know Me” is the star, the true gem of the whole album. This is the one time LIVE stands out and excels as a rapper. He is bold, he’s braggadocios, he is everything a rapper should be. As for DEAN, he put on an exemplary performance, as he usually does. Unfortunately, from here DPR LIVE starts to falter.

“Please” is another standout from the album. It functions like a cypher set to a tough instrumental and brings out the best of the artists, but still, DPR LIVE is outshined by his features.

“Laputa” is the weakest track on Coming To You Live. DPR LIVE dips in and out of sounding like Beenzino; in fact, “Laputa” might have worked as a Beenzino B-side, but for LIVE, it is a throwaway. As for “Right Here Right Now”, the best part of it is Loco, whose performance on the song might be hinting that he has a full album on the way soon.

Coming To You Live feels like it relies heavily on its established artists and on the fact that these songs are very trendy without doing much to show what LIVE the rapper can do. The album isn’t revolutionary, but it manages to deliver some nice beats, great club songs, yet nothing that will really live past the moment.

6.3

Genre: Rap/Hip-Hop | Release Date: 3/15/17