Grammy Award-winning R&B talent Daniel Caesar released a new album at midnight Friday. CASE STUDY 01 is the follow-up to his 2017 debut Freudian. The newest album from the Toronto native on Golden Child Recordings has ten songs, with features from Pharrell Williams, Brandy, and John Mayer. Caesar is known for his gospel and soul influences along with his smooth vocals. While still early in his career, he's already created an impressive catalogue of love anthems.
CASE STUDY 01 consists of production from the Neptunes and Boi-1da, and is executive produced by Jordan Evans, Matthew Burnett, and Caesar himself. The album also sees a feature from a fellow artist from "the 6," Sean Leon. The two have worked together on music as far back as 2013.
https://t.co/CTIfh04riF pic.twitter.com/O2axEOOJAF
— Daniel Caesar (@DanielCaesar) June 28, 2019
"CYANIDE" and "LOVE AGAIN" are the strong points of the album's first half. On "CYANIDE," Caesar sings over a mellow dancehall rhythm, saluting to his Caribbean background as both Barbadian and Jamaican. Many of Caesar's best work comes with the fusion of a female vocalist. The soulful number "LOVE AGAIN" has 90's star Brandy and Daniel alternating throughout the song telling a story about a broken relationship with wavering hopes of a rekindle.
The second half of the album has quality bits in songs like "SUPERSTITION," where John Mayer so naturally finesses his instrumental production with flair. The lead guitar syncs playfully with the unwrinkled vocals from Caesar. The album closes with a beautiful bookend "ARE YOU OKAY?" which was co-produced by Boi-1da. Daniel ends the album with an almost two-part song. The combination of an acoustic guitar and all sorts of celestial instruments drive the singer's confident words. The second part of the song introduces Chef Boyarcaese, who seems to be Daniel apologizing to a woman for old problems that he's learned from. It's somewhat of a high energy outro with lyrics of desperation.
The 24-year-old musician was able connect with R&B artists on his last project like H.E.R., Syd, Kali Uchis, and Charlotte Day Wilson. Over the past two years, he's hopped on other rap-sung collaborations with artists like Common and Chance the Rapper, and teamed up with fellow Toronto native Jessie Reyez. In November, Caesar was seen on Instagram stories in the studio with iconic producer Pharrell Williams. A few months later he took home the Grammy for Best R&B Performance for "Best Part."
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