Sean Hampton

SoundOut was born in 2009 as way to gather detailed, unbiased and independent feedback on new music. This was both to provide unique and invaluable marketing insight to artists but also to build a central comparative database enabling any track to be precisely positioned against its peers on multiple levels. - SoundOut

SoundOut was born in 2009 as way to gather detailed, unbiased and independent feedback on new music. This was both to provide unique and invaluable marketing insight to artists but also to build a central comparative database enabling any track to be precisely positioned against its peers on multiple levels. - SoundOut

The first thing that caught me about “DP IV” is the lack of buildup, almost as if Sean didn’t want to spend much time bloviating about needless things. A simple lead-in drops away to him coming in calmly with a multi-syllabic rhyme scheme typical of east coast flows. The funny thing is that in this case it’s more than that—he doesn’t just fill his bars with words that rhyme, each one is structured to showcase his ability to float between playful swagger and serious candor. This is an example of why there’s still so much love for lyricists in a game so heavily watered down; when Sean deftly switches his flow to one reminiscent of Drake with the elongated syllable drag I couldn’t help but chuckle because there are plenty of other artists who would’ve tried singing on the track. Speaking of the beat, the instrumental is purposely understated which works for the song as the airy melody rolls right along with the boom bap drum pattern—there’s a lot to be said for this beat selection; Sean felt comfortable enough to go in on it without holding back anything.

Clocking in at 3:19, there isn’t anything in the way of a chorus here—a lyrical state of the union address if you will—and being as nice as Sean Hampton is on the mic there isn’t much in the way of a reason to have one. One of my favorite quotes from “DP IV” is “No credit, straight cash lil’ homie, you can count that/Talk shit but I back it up, iCloud that/Matter ‘fact gimme that back, I’ll count that” The mix of and reality in this song is truly indicative of what Sean’s about and I dug how he was able to keep the punchlines fluid and never lets braggadocios cloud the true intent of the song. The mix was on point and the vocals crisp; I find very little to discount about “DP IV” and would recommend this as a worth addition to your playlist. Overall, “DP IV” does a great job of letting the listener know exactly where he’s coming from and a whole new body of work from him like this would be greatly appreciated.

Artist: Sean Hampton
Title: DP IV
Reviewed by: Charles Sweet
Rating: 4 (out of 5 stars) - Charles Sweet