Love is War is a momentous album from an artiste who is fully blossoming into a creative butterfly. As a producer, songwriter, lyricist, rapper and singer, IAMDDB is continuously and consistently demonstrating growth in the totality of her artistry…
By Yinoluwa Olowofoyeku
It is often said that who we are is a strong combination of our nature and our nurture. That’s why it’s evident when someone is born to do a thing and when they’re made into something. Sometimes both sides are in harmony, and we get cases where people discover their callings and leadings early and quite convincingly. And such has been said to be the case for IAMDDB.
Diana Adelaide Rocha De Brito was born in Lisbon, Portugal, to an Angolan father and a Portuguese mother. She grew up around musicians and consistently found herself drawn to her father’s studio where he would share his favourite songs with her and also record music for his Afro-Jazz band. Following a move to Manchester at about age 6, she began to immerse herself deeper into music. With her father’s influence, she was listening to all sorts of genres and styles. It was here she discovered the likes of Bob Marley (who she cites as her biggest inspiration) and Whitney Houston. By age 7, she was already writing songs, recording her first song by age 11. She started to take music seriously around high school and began working with local producers and artistes, going by the name Diana DeBrito. However, she didn’t fully commit to a music career until a 6-month stint she spent touring Angola with her father and his band. This became a turning point for her and it spurred her on to start producing, engineering, and learning the in-betweens of music, not just lyricism and the beat. She returned to the UK with renewed conviction and a renewed identity, IAMDDB (I Am Diana De Brito). In 2016, she shunned the call of university education, dropping her debut single “Leaned Out” the day she dropped out.
From there, IAMDDB rode her momentum, releasing three EPs in two years before her first tape, Flightmode Vol.4, arrived in 2018. She garnered instant recognition and acclaim across the UK as an upcoming act to watch, and quickly developed a reputation for pulling on her myriad influences (such as American singer, Gretchen Parlato, and Mozambiquan musician, Jimmy Dludlu) and translating them into her genre-bending, transcendent sound as she effortlessly combines elements of Rap, R&B, Neo-soul, Urban Jazz, and Afrobeats. Around 2020, she became fully independent, taking full control of her artistic journey through her Waev Entertainment imprint. After a smattering of singles, Waev Entertainment was finally ready for a full project, unveiling Volume 6 of IAMDDB’s creative streak in the form of her second studio album, Love is War.
The album begins with a confident braggadocious rap reintroduction in “Reminder I’m That N*gga.” Over a shimmery synth loop and bouncy Hip-Hop drums, IAMDDB spits her game with a playful energy that draws the listener into her personality.
Once she is properly reintroduced, we are treated to delicate and intimate Afrobeats energy on “Vibration”. “Will you heal me or reveal my scars? I cannot see the future but I feel comfortable”, she sings in honest emotive melodies over subtle Afrobeats percussions and a rumbling 808 bassline. Her vocal delivery couldn’t be any less different from those employed in the previous song as she populates this sparse soundscape with warm harmonies and smooth soft singing.
Her singing chops are revealed even further on the Masego-assisted “Rasta Pasta”, a delectable mashup of Reggae, Soul, and Jazz influences. A rich bass guitar is augmented by distorted chords, shimmery synth accents, and a steady drum topline. IAMDDB deploys smoky soulful vocal deliveries, reggae-esque lyricism and jazzy scat affectations to create a ridiculously relaxing song. Masego compliments her beautifully with his unique vocal timbre and playful songwriting.
“Ibiza” picks up the energy with a pulsing four-to-the-floor kick drum and swinging Afrobeats drums. These percussions couple with spacious plucks and a thrumming bassline to set the stage for summery smooth singing that invites the listener to sway in the wind with the palm trees.
“I don’t wanna act nonchalant, yeah, I don’t wanna come off too strong, yeah. But in your hands is where my heart belongs, yeah”, IAMDDB sings over riveting Drum ‘n’ Bass drums. However, the typically harsh stylings of Drum ‘n’ Bass are subverted by buttery e-piano chords and a lively bass guitar riff. The subtle singing is balanced by a few rapped passages that drive the song’s message home before being bookended by the effects-laden refrain of “I hope you cry”.
The heavily distorted 808s of “ABC” brings in a wild energy that is exaggerated by the callous and unhinged way IAMDDB delivers the intimidating and confrontational lyrics on this song. The yelling and screaming drive home the message without becoming grating or unpleasurable. The “bitch-bashing” energy continues on the abrasive square synths and rattling trap drums of “Kounting Chickens”, and the bouncy 808s of “Bet” and “Onsight”. It’s impressive how fitting her delivery is across these songs when compared with her more soulful efforts. The only drawback here is that these songs don’t have the same lyrical depth as the softer tracks. There’s a lot of loud brash energy, financial posturing, braggadocio, aggressive violent intent and defiance, but very little by way of clever wordplay or creative flows.
The softness returns in full force on “Cry Baby”. Filtered drums pan playfully around the listener’s ears, shrouded by a soulful synth, impactful kick drums, a skipping synth pulse, and the sounds of lapping waves. Over this soothing soundscape, IAMDDB gets back to her soulful best, utilising the various reaches of her vocal register to harmonise and symphonise about getting through moments of emotional distress. The earnest delivery and simple lyricism make the song extremely relatable.
“Gentle baby, be tender with me”, IAMDDB sings as strummed guitars and scanty drums usher us into “Gentle”. Muted trumpets wail in the background with distorted keys as we get jazzy singing and occasional poetic rapping. Ever so often, IAMDDB slips into her falsetto to deliver these haunting vocal passages that seem to fly across the already ethereal soundscape the song exists in.
“Saved” takes the laid-back lo-fi energy that we’re getting accustomed to and applies it to a spiritual ballad that calls on God for guidance and grace. The singing is fittingly angelic, assisted by enchanting woodwinds and warm string choruses. Even stronger than the singing and the mellow instrumental is the introspective and honest songwriting on this track. Each line sounds like something other people in similar positions could also utter. At the same time, it comes across as unique and very personal to the artiste herself, and that is a fine line to walk. “Sirenade” continues the sonic thread and is largely Neo-soul in its composition. Chiming e-pianos and a lively bassline pair with clacking drums to set a steady canvas for the eclectic and free-form singing one expects of jazz vocalists.
“Glow in the Dark” begins to wind Love is War down with its atmospheric instrumental landscape furnished by echoing keys and strummed electric guitars. IAMDDB’s vocal delivery evolves yet again on this song and adopts a spacey R&B affectation, doing away with the looseness of the jazzier style. The drums are elusive, being felt more than heard and the song closes with an instrumental flourish that feels very conclusive.
So, it’s a bit jarring that the album ends instead with “Stop Playing With Me” which is effectively just an extension of the earlier “Bet”, albeit with a feature from UK rapper, Len. His idiosyncratic energy does add a bit of extra bite and sauce to the song but it feels like a less effective conclusion than “Glow in the Dark” could have been.
Love is War is a momentous album from an artiste who is fully blossoming into a creative butterfly. As a producer, songwriter, lyricist, rapper, and singer, IAMDDB is continuously and consistently demonstrating growth in the totality of her artistry. The dichotomy she can strike in her style, sound, and approach is almost jarring at times. The ease with which she seems to switch it up should be studied. The impact of her broad music education and inspiration is apparent through the run of the album in the influences and elements she can pull together. Largely, Love is War feels like it is made of two halves; a softer jazzy half providing the depth and emotion and a hard-edged brash rap side providing the energy and grit. I did find myself wishing for a bit more diversity from the rapped side, as it would have been interesting to hear more songs in the broad spectrum of the Hip-Hop vein. The rap songs also didn’t come with the same level of depth and introspection or reflection as the sung tracks, which I found a bit disappointing considering the breadth of IAMDDB’s ability. Even the flows and wordplay were a bit run-of-the-mill, leaving a vacuum that would have been used to do something more acrobatic with the rap.
That being said, the actual vocal ability on display here is nothing to sneeze at. While she doesn’t resort to any showy vocal gymnastics, she displays her stellar technique and fluid talent in the amount of control displayed in the loose jazz vocalisations, angelic falsettos, and unusual harmonies she utilises all across the album. Even in the aggressive rap songs, there are screamed and sung passages that are sly advertisements of the vocal talent she possesses. Couple this singing with the relatable and candid lyrics written throughout Love is War, and you are left with songs that are capable of soothing, calming, and evoking emotions. The technical components of the album do their part in augmenting the emotional effectiveness of the songs. Across the board, production and engineering is top of class. Every single beat, no matter how sparse or stacked, is filled with complimentary layers that are all expertly arranged in the soundscape. The recorded vocals are given this same treatment as harmonies and vocal effects are all given the space to shine and be heard.
At the end of it all, I found Love is War to be a well-refined and endlessly enjoyable album that shows that IAMDDB is fully confident in her space in the music industry. There was a bit of a lull during the rap-heavy middle of the album, but nothing could detract from my enjoyment of the project and I hope the subsequent volumes are coming soon.
Lyricism – 1.4
Tracklisting – 1.8
Sound Engineering – 1.8
Vocalisation – 1.6
Listening Experience – 1.5
Rating – 8.1/10
Yinoluwa “Yinoluu” Olowofoyeku is a multi-disciplinary artist and creative who finds expression in various media. His music can be found across all platforms and he welcomes interaction on his social media @Yinoluu.