By Madison Brown

The Mirror Staff

“Digital Druglord” remained on the top of the R&B/soul charts for almost a week before being beaten out by Kendrick Lamar’s “DAMN.” and Childish Gambino’s “Awaken My Love,” two insanely popular albums that would be hard to beat.”

ENTERTAINMENT

“Digital Druglord” Takes a Hit on top of the R&B Charts

After co-writing Justin Bieber’s hit song “Boyfriend” in 2012, popular hip-hop artist Blackbear released an EP that caught the attention of popular music producers around the world.

Matthew Tyler Musto, most widely known as Blackbear, has gone on to produce and release multiple EP’s, eventually releasing his first and second full length albums, “Deadroses” and “Help,” in 2015.

In March 2017, Blackbear and hip-hop singer-songwriter Mike Posner released their first album “Mansionz,” after previously collaborating to write Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” and being featured in several of each other’s songs. The two have an interesting dynamic, creating a playful but heartfelt album that you can’t get out of your head.

Blackbear continued this mix of emotion and exuberant thoughts on April 20, when he released “Digital Druglord,” his third full-length album. Instantly it flew to the top of the R&B/soul charts. It remained there for almost a week after its release before being beaten out by Kendrick Lamar’s “DAMN.” and Childish Gambino’s “Awaken My Love,” two insanely popular albums that would be hard to beat.

“Digital Druglord” has 10 tracks, only two of which include features such as “Make Daddy Proud,” “Do Re Mi” and “Double” are obviously made to be singles, created with catchy lyrics and beats you’ll find yourself thinking about even hours after you’ve listened to them.

Other tracks like “wish u the best” and “hell is where i dreamt of u and woke up alone” still include his distinguishing vocals and memorable lyrics, but take a closer look into his problems—women, drugs, and money, which just so happen to be the same things he brags about in many of his songs. You really get a glimpse at the backlash of the typical hip-hop artist’s lifestyle, a struggle mainstream media seems to have just heard of.

Altogether, when listening to “Digital Druglord,” Blackbear’s songs are not as cohesive and story driven as Childish Gambino’s “Because The Internet.” But, if you separate the songs, you can get a better feel the thought process the artist was going through when writing and producing “Digital Druglord.”