For the chronically online, Dean Blunt is likely a familiar name, but beyond a few viral songs on TikTok lies a strange and smokey figure who feels impossible to pin down. A quick search for Dean Blunt, whose real name is Roy Chukwuemeka Nnawuchi, leads to an intricately designed maze of smoke and mirrors across niche online forums, chats and channels that is itself a work of art.
Mr. Blunt’s musical activities fluctuate between the studios of famous and unknown artists, from fictional characters to stand-ins, aliases and collaborators; all work together to create a sort of online theatrical production. His record label, World Music, is run by Denna Frances Glass, a persona Blunt made who releases music on his Youtube Channel, dennafrancesglass, through videos and WeTransfer links that rarely stay public for more than a week.
His music, much like his online presence, is consistently inconsistent. Blunt has stated his strong distaste for genre distinctions, citing how genre terms are too “connected to race and boundaries” and that “people too conscious of genre are way too conscious of race.” This is a sentiment reflected in the diversity of his work; each new project pushes itself outward, branching into new sonic spaces all the while daring you to define it.
Blunt’s previous release was Black Metal – a title that referenced both the Black Metal genre popularized in Scandinavia and the appropriation of white-dominant genres by black artists who did so in part to subvert the autonomy and power white artists often inherit. Recently he has, however, criticized the popularization of these artists by white listeners who then categorize them as “underground” or “grungy” that remove black musicians from mainstream channels, maintaining racial boundaries artists’ tried to subvert in the first place.
Blunt saw this phenomena happen with his own music and at times struggled to navigate the sudden success brought by fans who over-defined and alienated his own artistic expression. His response on Black Metal 2, a long awaited sequel to his most popular release Black Metal—a release predominantly popular in the circles in which he was most alienated—decidedly pushed back against these fans with lyrics like, “Let it out, n***a, let it out / Show them cra**ers what you all about.” (“MUGU,” Black Metal 2). Some also speculate the second album’s much darker, even ominous sound was another way for Blunt to deter listeners hoping to hear more of the last album. Whatever the case, it is clear he doesn’t care for his fans’ strange idolization and worship nor their definition of what he is or should be.
His most recent release and yet another in his streak of collaborations is Lucre, an EP featuring vocals from Copenhagen’s rock star Elias Rønnenfelt and production credits from Vegyn, a British producer who you would likely recognize credited on Frank Ocean’s “Nights” as well as Travis Scott’s “Astrothunder.” Originally released on YouTube as a 16-minute-long audio file last New Year’s and more recently released as a 7-track EP, Lucre features tracks not named but numbered 1 through 7.
Many listeners anticipated Lucre to be filled with similar sarcastic sentiments towards fans like Blunt’s previous albums. A likely story considering the word ‘Lucre’ refers to money gained immorally or through distasteful means. While the title clearly addresses his recent rise in popularity and continues to show just how spatially aware he is, musically Lucre does not follow suit. The album is strikingly vulnerable, and, while Blunt doesn’t speak on it directly, feels personal for both him and Rønnenfelt.
Blunt, so often accompanied by rough samples and dark-twisted-satirical lyrics, provides Rønnenfelt with catchy dreamlike guitar riffs that you can’t quite get out of your head. Rønnenfelt’s performance will catch you thinking about that one crush who got away and the heartbreak and frustration of young love.
The album begins with glee club-esque humming from Rønnenfelt that quickly builds into a catchy, if brief, anthem of emotional indignation. Rønnenfelt’s vocals are layered with contempt and frustration as he yells out to an ex far gone. From the first line of track 1, “You’re a dope and a fiend for the show” to the last, “How long I would stay here,” Rønnenfelt brings an emotional earnestness through vocal expression that is a welcome extension to Blunt’s discography.
Track 2’s lyrics continue Rønnenfelt’s emotional exposition and range from nearly tired deliveries to yelps and inflections that wake you right back up again. “3” takes a noticeably darker tone, with a rougher guitar sample switching to an equally ominous beat about halfway through the song.
Track 4 is likely the weakest song on the album. It sounds like an homage to The Cure and garage rock but ends up feeling awkward and forced. Rønnenfelt is at his most emo, a strange lovechild of the 2000’s and 1980’s.
Thankfully, the slump is short-lived as on the very next song, “5,” Lucre delivers, in my opinion, one of the best songs on the album, and I am not alone. “5” has garnered the most streams on the album and it’s not even close. At two minutes long, the song is short and sweet. A spacey guitar meets simple drums that carry Rønnefelt’s catchiest performance yet, from repeating “Would you look at this now” wandering between both awkward and addicting cadences to his catchy hook-like verses that quickly escalate the angst and anger that’s been at the tip of his tongue the entire project.
Another highlight on the album is the final song, “7,” that has the feelings of a season finale, a sendoff from this eclectic team of artists as they wave goodbye, the strange coupling of artists clearly not together physically for the making of this mini album but who enjoyed the ride all the same. The high-pitched mournful violin strings, light acoustic strumming guitar of some sort, and soft drums with Rønnenfelt’s regret-filled notes form the defeated but sonically beautiful end to the short story of Lucre.
Ultimately, Lucre is not groundbreaking by any means but sits appropriately in the pockets of both Mr. Blunt and Mr. Rønnenfelt’s greater discography. For those looking for a stepping stone to begin understanding the mirage of Dean Blunt, Lucre is a good option offering some of his most digestible songs. If Dean Blunt’s music is the complex menu of a Michelin-starred restaurant, Lucre is a nice side of fries.
Favorite Tracks: “2,” “5,” “7.”
