Lucky Daye's CandyDrip Has Flavor For All Your Senses

By Rashad D. Grove


In today’s R&B landscape, Lucky Daye has emerged as a torchbearer of the genre’s prosperous history while simultaneously curating music that defies labels. Since his debut Painted was released in 2019, the countless Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter has been redefining modern R&B through, as he says, “a futuristic sci-fi world shaped by the inspiration of Afrofuturism.” In other words, with his evocative songwriting and penchant for creating mesmerizing melodies, Daye is intent on taking his listeners back to the future. This unique motif is what he believes makes him be noticeable amongst his peers.


“I think I bring individuality to the music industry. I'm not attempting to fall into a mode of what each person thinks a R&B artist should be,” Daye mentioned to MTV News over the phone in March. “I just put my foot down and be like, y’all can have the labels. I’ma just be me, and that’s what I bring to the table. I want people to know that I care about more them hearing my songs. It’s about more than that.”


With his second album, CandyDrip, released on March 10, the New Orleans native, who previously penned songs for Keith Sweat, Ne-Yo, Boyz II Men, Keke Palmer, Ella Mai, and Mary J. Blige, further cements his place in the contemporary music scene as an artist to be reckoned with.


Conceptually, CandyDrip was conceived out of a series of jam sessions over the course several days in Los Angeles. According to Daye, throughout the recording, he was in a creative zone where he collaborated with some of the most accomplished and innovative musicians on the scene, including guitarist Pierre-Luc Rioux, violinist Peter Lee Johnson, trombonist Chris Johnson, trumpeter Brandyn Phillips, and multi-instrumentalist Yonatan "xSDTRK" Ayal, just to name a couple of. In creating the LP, Daye immersed himself in the process by expressing all of his pent-up energy and channeling his creative prowess. That power is immediately apparent on the silky smooth “Guess,” and reflective “Compassion.” The undeniable synergy of those sessions eventually evolved into the nexus for CandyDrip, which Daye believes is his greatest artsy statement to date.


“We rented out EastWest Studios and called every musician we knew,” he recalled, shouting out the recording residence of Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange, among other albums. “Those ideas were so special that we took those skeletons and add onto them while in the pandemic. Once we got near the end of everything and were close to the release of the album, we began combining a lot of the songs. Actually, you could divide the album into two different halves.”


The duality is reflected in its title as well. “It’s called CandyDrip because it's triggering your senses, your taste buds of music. Some stuff may make you cringe, and then some can make you mention, wow, that was a breathtaking dish.”


the initial two singles from the album — “NWA” featuring Lil Durk, and “Over” — are snapshots of these recording sessions, and both tracks garnered important acclaim upon their release. Each one captures another dimension of Daye and his willingness to push the limitations of his creativity. On “NWA,” Daye effortlessly floats over a mid-tempo bounce track where he alludes to a run-in with the police, while on “Over,” which samples Musiq Soulchild’s “Halfcrazy,” he’s trapped in a toxic relationship where there usually be no escape. Both songs reveal dimensions of Daye’s persona and his immense versatility as a singer-songwriter.


Heavily influenced by the vocal stylings of Usher and the sonic mastery of Missy “Misdemeanor”’ Elliott and Timbaland, Daye also talked about how the sound of the Crescent City has left an indelible mark on his musicality and is a foundational imprint of the album.


“The influence of New Orleans has had a major impact on my music. There really are Spanish, French, Haitian, and American influences, so it's a gumbo weed of sounds,” he mentioned. “You go out there in the streets and yes it still looks like Paris, so it gives you that freedom to experiment any time it comes to music. I think coming from that place made me limitless as an artist also it abandoned me believing that I could do anything. It gave me a lot of confidence with my music.”


Right after his critically acclaimed EP Table For Two was released last year, it garnered two Grammy nominations for Best Customary R&B Efficiency and Best Progressive R&B Album, bringing Daye’s total career nominations for now to six. Since then, though, he says he’s grown immeasurably as an artist and as a person. He expressed his internal struggle navigating by way of the pressure of creating his rather anticipated sophomore album and dealing with the expectations from his fans. While his first official project, 2019’s Painted, was created for himself, on this album, he’s aiming to present his metamorphosis.


“I think I evolved a lot since the initial album, especially because I worked with plenty of different artists. I think I learned how to let people live and to let things go and to just bring good vibes to my music,” he mentioned. “Also, I realized that I’m not making music just for myself anymore. With the initial album, I didn’t get any outdoors advice like I did for this album. I still have anxiety about it because I don’t desire to let the people down.”


One commonality that runs through all of Daye’s work is the natural chemistry and partnership that he’s forged with his long-time collaborator, Grammy winner Dernst “D’Mile” Emile, who produced all of Daye’s debut album and most of them of CandyDrip, including the stunning “Cherry Forest” and the seductive, climatic closing track “Ego.”


“My relationship with D’Mile goes in back of music. Music was what we had in regular, yet we almost gave up. We were on our way back house, nevertheless right now he's like the go-to producer of R&B. As soon as people think of him, they think of me. I visualize him as my family member, not only in music yet in life.”


Not only has he dropped a new album, however Daye is also headlining his own national tour in support of the project. Like several other artists, this is his first time being back on the road for live performances since the COVID-19 pandemic halted most concerts. He says he’s looking forward to experiencing the energy of the crowd that he’s missed so much.


“I can’t wait to get back on the road. It’s been over two years,” he mentioned with excitement. “I can’t wait to be able to see all my fans and supporters.”


While it’s steeped in contemporary R&B, CandyDrip is an amalgamation all the musical forces that have shaped Lucky Daye. Traces of hip-hop, soul, blues, and gospel are all peppered while in the project. It’s an invitation to a journey to explore an array of emotions, the art of sensuality, and features some of Daye’s best vocal performances. CandyDrip is a reminder of the artsy progression of Lucky Daye and why his music is just the flavor that we need.