Only for Dolphins- Action Bronson

(Album) (Hip Hop)

Rapper/writer Ariyan Arslani, also known as Action Bronson, released his fifth studio album, “Only For Dolphins”, a few weeks ago! This release comes two years after the launch of “White Bronco” in 2018.

Upon listening, you hear that “Capoeira” is a very triumphant opening for the album, displaying a blaring horn sample, a popping drum rhythm, and even a sax solo at one point. It also features the dolphin sounds that can be found on almost all of the album’s tracks.

In general, the album features a wide arrays of sampled sounds, like the funky guitars and horns on “Latin Grammys”, or the 80s revivalist beats showcased on “Splash”, to what sounds like a sitar line on the song “Mongolia” which gives it its exotic sound. I find myself very impressed, and interested by this array of instrumentation, and it is definitely a huge draw to the album for me.

Production-wise, it appeals to the style of rawer, underproduced hip-hop which you might see from artists like MIKE or Earl Sweatshirt. Bronson’s flows on a lot of the tracks are also reminiscent of them, but all of this has been his style for a number of years.

Ultimately, although the sound captured on the album isn’t necessarily ground breaking, we still see a solid list of lo-fi rap songs, and a guarantee that each successive one will catch your ear with a drastically different sample.

Give the album a listen: https://open.spotify.com/album/1ZbgQbpmCbLX2RTYSAIG6k?si=t7scjv2mSEKHhdhfd8YgrA

FAVORITE TRACKS: Capoeira (feat. Yung Mehico, Latin Grammys, Mongolia (feat. Hologram and Mayhem Lauren), Splash, Cliff Hanger, Marcus Aurelius