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Des Brennan — We Were Friends [EP Review]

“[I believe] I have the ability to make a valuable and positive impact on the industry.”
–Des Brennan

Pearl City, New York, Rapper Des Brennan is — if nothing else — a huge surprise. Whether the bi-product of jadedness as a result of numerous mediocre submissions or the impression his SoundCloud avatar exuded, I walked into his latest EP, We Were Friends with the expectations of being slightly let down; that couldn’t be farther from reality. What I just spent the last two days digesting is a curated, lyrically rich collection of contemporary, fresh, soulful [New York] hip-hop.

Produced entirely by Seneca B — a name I’m not wholly familiar with — Des drops seven tracks that have a cohesive, jazzy vibe that runs the gambit from introspective themes, the loss of love, and fake friends. He has a cadence and scheme that loosely resembles Homeboy Sandman; “my words are better when they’re undisclosed, the truth is better when it’s undisclosed,” Des laments on the the song “Clipped,” which was one of my personal highlights here. “Never Know” is another standout, with it’s AZ sampled chorus and Des’ gritty flow, “this is my nirvana, still no support from my mama.”

While he’s been rapping for close to 5 years now, he’s only recently started releasing music in the past 365 days; after graduating from SUNY Plattsburgh in May 2015, he realized it was the perfect time to take a stab at a career in the industry. “I believe I have the ability to make a valuable and positive impact on the industry,” notes Des. He seems suited to an imprint like Rhymesayers for example. With this being his second year of releasing music on a [professional] level, Des comes off as confident, well put together, and focused. We Were Friends is recommended listening!

Riley About Author

Riley here — father, artist, videographer, professional writer and SERIOUS hip-hop head. I'm a member of the Universal Zulu Nation, and I think everything is better on vinyl. Add me on Twitter! @specialdesigns