Nashville Tennessee-born artist Dre Palindrome unveils his new project City Prophet, a 7 track project that sees him teaming with DromeGod. Together they bring a refreshing fusion of R&B, trap with modern hiphop and pop elements.

 

The project opens with “Fathers’s Correction”, a hard-hitting bass-heavy but somewhat psychedelic track underpinned by layered melodic runs and lyrics that explore the dynamics of a son and father relationship and the coming of age of a young man from a unique perspective. The production is quite atmospheric and edgy as well. The next track “Today” comprises fuzzy synths and brooding pads with snapping trap drums. Here, Dre delivers his verses with a fiery rapid style and slows them down at certain times. The record sees Dre reflecting on his not-so-glorious days when he had nothing which he punctuates on the hook as he spits “Remember them bad days/remember them sad days/Them hop in dem cab days”.  This is followed by “Preference”, is a bouncy house/pop track with punchy four-to-the-floor drums and ethereal textures. The vocal performance uses a lot of vocal effects which adds a somewhat robotic and surreal vibe to it. I do like the way the track progresses and flips into a downtempo trap groove. The project switches up in “Till The Sunrise” where Dre looks back at a toxic relationship and comes to the conclusion that he has to move on. Here, the vocals sound playful and go offbeat at times but for the most part, it’s entertaining in its uniqueness. The last three songs on the project are instrumentals.

 

The beat for “Rando” sounds like a scene from an 80s action drama flick. The synth wave-inspired production is quite dynamic and progresses into an Afropop number with bouncy percussions and fills to match. The project closes out with the video-game-esque “Ayyyeeeee” and the downtempo dubstep-infused “Womb Shot_4”. Both tracks offer different vibes that showcase the synth-laden production style that drives the entire project.

 

In the end City Prophet, is a mixed bag of sounds, and styles and might just appeal to a niche group of music lovers. The synth-laden production stands out for its bright and bold features and the vocal style doesn’t cater to the mainstream listeners so overall, it’s a matter of taste for the listeners.