DRAM - LEORPIO

Some albums function as a simple collection of sound clips, but LEORPIO serves as the glue holding together a cast of elite artists orchestrated by Ellis Quinn. Released on May 16, 2025, this album follows the solo work DRAM&B (2024) and continues the collaborative spirit that marked the producer's early work, as exemplified by his first major album, Big Baby D.R.A.M. (2016).

Collective Opening: Money Calling with Khi Infinite

The album opens immediately with Money Calling, the first track on the first side, featuring the artist Khi Infinite. This collective opening immediately establishes a clear and unambiguous tone from the very first seconds. The addition of Khi Infinite's vocals is not just to fill the sonic space, but to complement the opening track and solidify the project's immediate dynamic as a duo. This alternation between solo and collaborative tracks is what gives the entire album its internal coherence, spanning a total duration of 38 minutes and 17 seconds.

A Legitimate Dialogue with the Past: Blue Hunnids feat. Guapdad 4000

The confirmed collaboration on this track with Guapdad 4000 is not insignificant; it functions as a dialogue with the past, validating the legitimacy of the project. Guapdad 4000 is not simply filling a spot, but actively contributing to the consolidation of the project, offering a historical perspective that directly engages with D.R.A.M.'s legacy without delving into the entirety of the guest artist's discography.

Triple vocal density: HOTLANTA featuring A$AP Ferg and Lee Cash

This track features two major artists simultaneously: A$AP Ferg and Lee Cash. This configuration creates a particularly rich sound texture where the voices overlap to form a polyphonic choir. The sharing of space with these two artists doesn't function as an accumulation, but as a densification, with each vocal adding its own nuance to D.R.A.M.'s production. The simultaneous presence of Ferg and Cash transforms the track into a scene where the hierarchy of voices fades in favor of a collective harmony, perfectly illustrating the album's ambition to create a shared universe rather than simply accumulating famous names.

A variety of styles: Sweet Nothings, GROOVY, Senzu Bean and Chance the Rapper

This side of the album explores D.R.A.M.'s ability to adapt to a variety of styles through a diverse cast of performers.

Symbolic closure: I Decided feat. Buddy and The Motion

The Motion doesn't aim to conclude the project with a final explosion, but rather to let the final notes of this collaboration between D.R.A.M. and Ellis Quinn resonate. Closing the album with this track suggests that the movement is never truly finished, leaving the listener in anticipation of new collaborations.

Beyond the duo format advocated by the accompanying article, LEORPIO reveals a complex discographical landscape where the history of rap intertwines. The numerous guest appearances demonstrate a desire to create a generational and stylistic continuum: from the historical legend Guapdad 4000 on Blue Hunnids to contemporary figures like A$AP Ferg, Lee Cash, GROOVY, and Buddy, the project functions as a living encyclopedia of flow. This vocal density, spread across eight featured tracks among twelve songs, transforms each track into a microcosm where D.R.A.M.'s production truly serves as a neutral and fertile ground for voices with distinct universes. Unlike a compilation where tracks coexist without organic connection, the selection of collaborations suggests an intentional architecture: each featured collaboration, from the A$AP Ferg/Lee Cash duo on HOTLANTA to the relative solitude of Mars or What Can I Do?, contributes to a collective symphony, allowing individual voices to fade into the background and create a sense of community. This approach, far from being a collection of fleeting appearances, validates the status of a collaborative masterpiece, where each voice, from Buddy to 3AG Pilot, contributes a necessary element to the overall project, confirming that LEORPIO is indeed an indivisible work orchestrated by Ellis Quinn and produced by D.R.A.M.

LEORPIO stands out for its consistent 12-track structure, totaling 38 minutes and 17 seconds. The complete absence of individual track credits does not prevent the album from establishing its own identity, as production is presented as a unifying force rather than a collection of individual contributions. The notable discrepancy in the number of tracks between some sources and the confirmation of 12 tracks via Apple Music and Spotify paradoxically reinforces the mysterious nature of the project. The album's success does not rely on superlatives or key figures, but rather on the quality of its collective architecture, where each featured artist, from Khi Infinite to Chance the Rapper, contributes to a whole that is far greater than the sum of its parts. It is this ability to integrate such a diverse range of talents without sacrificing the unity of the album that makes LEORPIO a notable project in today's landscape, especially if it is positioned as the natural successor to DRAM&B (2024).

Technical Details

- Release Date : May 16, 2025 - Label : OneLand, WAVER Records - Tracks : 12 (38 min 17 s) - Opening / Closing : Money Calling / The Motion - Featured Artists : Khi Infinite, Guapdad 4000, A$AP Ferg, Lee Cash, GROOVY, Chance the Rapper, Dwn2earth, 3AG Pilot, Buddy - Previous Album : DRAM&B (2024)