Military buzz rolls on the snare nod to the preceding track and are on repeat throughout. The first track, Kingdom, takes the intro’s musical theme and runs away with it: driving, brooding Hip Hop from Island and producer Anju Blaxx. It’s unsettling, giving a sense of a coming storm – and opens proceedings well. Like UK-based conscious Hip Hop artists Lowkey and Akala do so well, here Island has taken the closing speech from Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 film The Great Dictator and set it to a musical backdrop. The Intro sets out the album’s stall perfectly. And it’s almost impossible to fully furnish it with enough praise. The vast array of producers on Dre Island Now I Rise, and the success of this multi-collaborative approach, is also a measure of Island’s natural talents. It’s a project, expansive in its musical content, sweeping in its thematic narratives and cinematic as a sum of its parts.

To call it an “album” does not do it justice. Because he has risen to a glorious plain.ĭre Island Now I Rise, released via Dre Island Music and Kingston Hills Entertainment and distributed by DubShot Records, is nothing short of remarkable. And the world needs to make sure it’s ready. Having been in the making for around five years, it’s time for Dre Island to present his first full project to the world. If she dies, he could never forgive himself – but if he fails in Constantinople, would Mehmed ever forgive him?Īs nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies? Empires will topple, thrones will be won… and souls will be lost.EXCLUSIVE – Dre Island Now I Rise Album Review – Steve Topple for .Īnother week, and another long-anticipated debut album has arrived. Torn between loyalties to faith, to the Ottomans, and to Mehmed, Radu knows he owes Lada nothing. And for the first time in his life, when Lada asks him for help, he refuses… leading his sister to make the darkest of choices. Mehmed wants control of the city, and Radu has earned an unwanted place as a double-crossing spy behind enemy lines. But Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople – and it's no diplomatic mission. Lada needs the support of her diplomatic younger brother, Radu. There's no time to wonder whether he still thinks about her, even loves her. And thinking of Mehmed, the defiant Ottoman sultan, brings little comfort to her thorny heart. She storms the countryside with her men, but brute force isn't getting Lada what she wants. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada is out to punish anyone who dares cross her. All she has is what she's always had: herself.

And now i rise