DRAM is back. After experimenting with a name change — I sense some music industry rights issues behind that — the Virginia crooner has returned to the persona that first made him a playlist while carrying over the straight-soul trappings of his last album. Today, he released a new single, “Let Me See Your Phone,” and announced his third studio album, What Had Happened Was, coming on October 27 via Waver Records.
“Let Me See Your Phone” is a slow-burning ballad in the vein of tracks like “Exposure” and “Cooking With Grease” from his 2021 album Shelley FKA DRAM, which should have absolutely killed that tired “R&B is dead” argument in its cradle. The new track is produced by Rory Farrell — that’s right, Rory from the New Rory & Mal Podcast actually makes music too — and finds the Hampton, Virginia native making a plaintive request to confirm his suspicions about a disengaged lover. It’s reminiscent of the Erykah Badu duet “WiFi” from his 2016 debut Big Baby DRAM, only from the perspective of the end of the relationship rather than its potential beginning.
In a press release, DRAM calls What Had Happened Was his most “raw and open album yet.” It’s described as “both a review of personal traumas he had to overcome, and how he’s been able to evolve as a person.” You can pre-save it here, listen to “Let Me See Your Phone” above, and see the tracklist below.
1. “Vibe of the Year”
2. “Ride Or Die”
3. “Wham”
4. “3s Company”
5. “Let Me See Your Phone”
6. “Where’s My Sunshine”
7. “Best That I Got”
8. “Can’t Hold You Down”
9. “Bad News”
10. “Angry”
11. “A Mother’s Love”
12. “Note To Self”
13. “Soul to Take”
14. “Big Baby DRAM”
15. “Ppl”
16. “Reflections”
17. “First Time Again”
18. “Wwyd”
19. “Wham (Remix)”
What rhymes with DRAM? The rapper’s new song “Wham!” does. A hypnotic banger produced by Spiff Sinatra, Hero, and Shelley/DRAM, he blends creative rhymes with a chill R&B chorus. “Wham!” was showcased during DRAM’s prior Instagram Live and teased via his social media channels in August. According to the song’s YouTube page, there will also be an acoustic video version.
Raised in Virginia, he was born Shelley Marshaun Massenberg-Smith, and has gone through a number of artistic name changes over the years. Stepping on the scene as D.R.A.M. with his debut EP #1Epic, the musician made impressive waves early on. His debut album Big Baby DRAMreached top 10 on the US rap charts in November 2016, and has since been certified Gold. Eventually, he changed his stage name in September 2020 to Shelley FKA DRAM, releasing a sophomore album in April 2021 with the same title. Now, as of a tweet he shared in July 2022, it appears he is back to just DRAM.
Over the past few years, DRAM has also attracted attention for a number of significant artist collaborations. His hit single “Broccoli” featuring rapper Lil Yachty made it to the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and opened the door for DRAM’s work with other musicians. During the fall of 2016, he appeared alongside Chance The Rapper for a performance of “Blessings (Reprise)” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The following year, he teamed up with Gorillaz for the song “Andromeda” from the band’s 2017 album Humanz.
Now, DRAM’s “Wham!” is the first glimpse of a potential new project titled What Had Happened Was. On Twitter, he revealed that he will be including R&B songs cut from 2021’sShelley FKA DRAM on his next release.
When K-pop rapper BamBam performed at halftime of a Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers game this past April at the Chase Center in San Francisco, fans probably had no idea that BamBam’s “Wheels Up” (featuring Oakland rapper Mayzin) was the first song released on the Warriors’ new record label. But the collaboration is a testament to the wide range of music that the label, Golden State Entertainment, led by producer No ID as its creative and strategic adviser, will be releasing.
No ID will be “overseeing music production and helping the company develop its long-term vision,” of the diverse roster and overall operation, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report. “We are on the cusp of something truly special, and I look forward to discovering new ways to bridge the worlds of content, sports, entertainment and technology,” he told the Chronicle. Splashed on the front page of the Golden State Entertainment website is the statement, “Rooted in, while transcending, the world of sports & entertainment.”
Also on the label’s roster, are LA-via-Chicago rapper Juice and Chicago-based Kanye West collaborator Rhymefest. The venerable Georgia Anne Muldrow is also set to be both an artist and a producer for Golden State Entertainment. The label will focus on hip-hop and R&B primarily, but are taking a full-on “content production” approach that also includes documentaries and artist co-hosted events at the Warriors homebase at the Chase Center
The first album put out by Golden State Entertainment will to be a release from, Juice, featuring Chicago OG’s All Natural and produced by Muldrow. Juice told the San Francisco Chronicle that this is a unique scenario, indicating that, “The main advantage that stands out to me is being able to move at a faster pace than most traditionally established record labels. There is no red tape, bureaucracy or pressure to emulate our competitors. And there is established distribution behind the company that is constantly working with us to assist in furthering all of our creative vision.”
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Shelley — the Virginia artist formerly known as DRAM — is not in the midst of a rebrand. Those who met the singer-slash-rapper with his breakout single “Broccoli” or even his groovy fun-spirited effort, “Cha Cha,” might think so, especially after finishing his second album, Shelley FKA DRAM. However, a deeper look into his discography brings us to efforts like “Caretaker” and “Best Hugs,” proof that Shelley’s soulful agenda has long been entwined in his DNA.
So what do we make of Shelley’s new album? Perhaps it’s a new chapter in his career, but that again plays into the “rebrand” idea that underscores the aged talents he presents on Shelley FKA DRAM. Instead, settling on an acceptance of one’s identity seems to be a much more fitting label for this project. Its ten songs detail Shelley’s shoulder-shrug that precedes a cannonball jump into a journey through the good and bad of love.
Shelley FKA DRAM tells a story of a love so beautiful and wholehearted that it’s worth spending a lifetime dreaming about. Its delicate songwriting wraps its warm hand around the tender production Shelley uses to paint a picture of intimacy to a degree so high that it often seems too good to be true. “Exposure” delivers words that would easily land you the woman or man of your dreams, no matter how many leagues away they might be. “The Lay Down” with HER brings the sounds and atmosphere of bedroom magic for a fiery and passion-exploding anecdote that ends with the fireworks of Watt’s searing electric guitar solo.
In between these songs comes a thought from Shelley. “Isn’t love just beautiful?” he ponders at the end of “Something About Us.” “I mean, every aspect of it / From the pursuit, you know the cold sh*t part / To actually feeling and embracing it.” And you know what? Shelley’s right. It is beautiful to sprout a connection, taking a romantic trip to wherever the heart chooses to go. Unfortunately, the journey isn’t guaranteed to last a lifetime, and the second half of Shelley FKA DRAM sees him become victim to what proves to be a flimsy promise in companionship. It all crashes and burns on “Cooking With Grease” and while he dusts himself off to start all over on “Remedies,” things aren’t the same.
Shelley approaches love with no guard to get around and without a wall to climb over. He makes it quite clear just minutes into the album. “Since we not stoppin’ ourselves,” he sings on “All Pride Aside” which features a sultry contribution from Summer Walker. “I’ll keep lettin’ you if you keep lettin’ me.” Pride blocks some of a relationship’s most necessary qualities from existent: vulnerability, communication, and compassion, just to name a few. Disposing of it is always easier said than done, and when one does, the highs of love feel really high, but its lows hurt more than anything else.
There’s a line on “The Lay Down” that sticks out to me like no other on Shelley FKA DRAM. “Can’t blow my high on airplane mode,” Shelley and HER sing at different points of the song. Life’s moments are what you make of them and not for anyone else to dictate. Keep your head in the clouds because anyone who’s up there with you understands the absolute glory in that. As for those stuck on the ground, they’re not to be worried about because you’re too out of reach for them to pull you down. This same philosophy takes life with Shelley’s sophomore album. As many may have tried to box him in as the artist we hear on “Broccoli,” he dictated his own life and artistry, accepted an identity he always knew he had, and gave the world an album that came from the heart’s core.
Shelley FKA DRAM is out now via EMPIRE/Atlantic. Get it here.
Shelley is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Chicks and Lady A were among several musicians that decided to change their name in 2020, mostly due to the fact that their monikers were problematic in nature. DRAM was another musician that changed their name, choosing to go by his first name Shelley and announcing an album, though the shift wasn’t tied to controversy. Now under his new name, Shelley offers a taste of his upcoming project with a performance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
The singer brought his charming single “Exposure” to the late-night set. Throughout the tender track, Shelley sings of learning to be vulnerable with his lover and making sure to respect their boundaries in the process. “Let me love you inside-out and outside-in / Let me touch your soul just like I touch your skin,” he sings.
Shelley’s upcoming album is aptly titled Shelley FKA DRAM. The release date is set for April 29, which is his late mother’s birthday. According to Shelley, he hopes to honor his mother’s memory with the LP’s release. “Before she passed I played her my upcoming album and I begged her to promise she wouldn’t play it for anyone else. She held her promise and took the music with her beyond this life,” Shelley explained. “Her birthday is April 29th, so I’m pushing my album Shelley FKA DRAM’s release date to April 29th as not only my gift back to her, but my promise to play it for the world.”
Watch Shelley perform “Exposure” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert above.
Shelley FKA DRAM is out 4/29 via Atlantic Records. Pre-order it here.
Shelley is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
