Review Summary: A flawed but potentially endearing message of hope
Disclaimer: This review was made for the review a random album game. I'd consider myself one of the least qualified (but still qualified!) to review a hip hop album. The genre is nowhere near my forte with only around 25 albums I've heard (and some of them are instrumental) at the time of this writing, especially since lyrics in music are often supplemental extras to me. But let's take a crack at it anyway.
Dark Time Sunshine consists of Onry Ozzborn, the rapper, and Zavala, the producer. With a gap of nine years between this album and the prior one, perhaps it was the pandemic being in full swing that inspired the two to collaborate on another release when the world felt like it was collapsing. Indeed, the first track's lyrics are a vague hopeful message of assurance, but it's quite fitting in the context of the time the album's release date came out. And later tracks directly reference it, making my theory more likely.
While it's not in the immediate forefront, it's Zavala's production and beats that carry this album. They're very crisp, with that nice lo-fi feel and psychedelic elements sprinkled all throughout. Ozzborn's off-kilter flow may work with the music but at times it does feel like he's reading lyrics without any regard to the beat. There are some inspired wording choices... but there are also some very corny lyrical choices throughout the album, and some bars that really feel like filler (do we really need to keep counting in The Rite Kids?). Some of the lines are the distilled essence of someone in their mid-40s trying to sound profound and uplifting but coming off as ridiculous instead, because... that's exactly what Ozzborn is doing here.
The message of the album is one of general positivity, but it feels like they're being delivered by someone out of touch to a far younger audience. It's an album that has an identity crisis from the get-go: Ozzborn is the right choice to accompany Zavala's beats for sure, it's just the execution feels all wrong. I can see some people finding the lyrics endearing, but they take me out of things. I'd love an instrumental version of the album, because the music is genuinely great, but as of this writing it does not exist.
I suppose this album is a test of patience for things that feel ever so slightly off. For those that can adapt, there is richness here. But for me, it was a swing and a miss. For an album that's entire message is to assuage the insecurities and anxiety of the modern world, I have to reflect when it asks me "Are we better off?" Not for the intended reasons, but was this experience worth it?
