DR King – Love is a Drug

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/1wCzvd4JoEV3MZ82Z4TLMz?si=epiVaTq4RpOeEwmQKLIzug

It’s not often said, but in reality duets are much harder to record than solo songs are. Sure, when you’ve got two voices working together on a single track you’ve got twice as much creativity flowing in the room, but that only happens when the chemistry between two singers is natural and allowed to cultivate on its own. You can’t force something as intuitive as music and the compatibility that two humans have to possess to make it really special. Record labels and A&R reps have tried for years, unsuccessfully I might add, to create artificial chemistry between artists who are experiencing an equal level of exposure or hype, but no matter how provocative the match may be the results are never that great when the fire just isn’t there. In DR King’s amazing new song “Love is a Drug,” he teams up with Jackie Foster, his vivacious co-contestant on NBC’s The Voice, and listeners are treated to what it sounds like when two musicians are completely in sync with each other.

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/drkingnyc

Like two gears working in tandem to power an engine, Foster and King compliment each other’s vocal style with such cohesiveness that it’s not an outrageous notion to imagine them recording an entire album together and capturing the hearts of an entire generation. Pop music has never been as willfully experimental as it is right now, and both and Foster and King have absolutely zero inhibitions when it comes to unleashing their own uniquely surreal interpretations of harmony and rhythm. Individually they’re two of the brightest young stars in the western pop lexicon, and together they create a sonic tour de force that is equal parts emotionally stirring and affectionately intimate. “Love is a Drug” is a very ambitious song to take on as a debut project, but these two manage to make it look like a walk in the park on a chilly autumn day where all you need is the company of a kindred spirit to keep you warm.

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXytWlkBhgc

If every artist cared about music and the way that it’s made as much as DR King and Jackie Foster do, FM radio as we know it would be a lot easier to listen to. It might take some time and a little bit of creative growth, but in the years to come I think that these two could command enough influence over their shared scene that maybe the established face of pop will start to shift more in their direction, with other musicians applying themselves with as much dedication as they do. It’s a very exciting time to be a music fan, and if DR King continues to produce content that is as awesome as “Love is a Drug,” you can bet everything you’ve got that he’s going to be one of the most dominant forces in all of pop come the 2020s. I’ve never been much for hyping an artist who has only released a single or two, but in this case the work is so good that I’m forced to make an exception.

Michael Rand