iann dior is an up and coming artist that I have had on my radar for a while now. The first time I had heard of him is when he started gaining traction online at the beginning of 2019; songs like ’emotions’ and ‘cutthroat’ which features Trippie Redd have gone viral, garnering iann a pretty big following online over the last year or so. It is songs like these and also ‘gone girl’ which features Trippie Redd as well as his 2020 single ‘Sick and Tired’ with Travis Barker and Machine Gun Kelly that have quickly turned me into a fan of iann dior’s. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, iann grew up with a similar taste in music to a lot of the other Emo Trap artists making music today. He obviously was into Pop-Punk and Emo-Rock as much as he was into Trap music, and it really shows in his own music. One thing I really like about iann dior is that he straddles the line between Punk and Trap more evenly than a lot of other artists making Emo-Trap. Most artists making this kind of music mainly focus on the Trap side, using melodies and vocal patterns(espexially in one chorus) that resemble Emo-Rock but ultimately rapping like any other Trap song. A lot of Iann’s instrumentals, though, have more of a Trap-Rock feeling to them, and his vocals are a lot more reminiscent of Rock music than a lot of other artists within the genre. From what I have heard, iann has been able to tow the line and blend genres in a cleaner way than a lot of his contemporaries. With that being said, here is my review of iann dior’s new project ‘I’m Gone.’ In the comments below, please let me know if you agree with this review as well as what your favorite songs are from this EP!
The EP starts off with a more upbeat and happy tone than most people would be used to hearing from iann dior. ‘Paradise’ has a bit of a tropical sound to it; the melody is almost similar to something you would hear from artists like Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz. This song is different from most other Tropical Trap music in the fact that the melody is driven by a guitar and not synths that sound like steel drums. I really like the guitar melody used in this song because it gives ‘Paradise’ a super warm feeling. I also really like how sweet and smooth iann’s vocals are. As iann sings about getting lost in the sauce and partying his days away with the girls he is talking to, his fun flow and soothing vocals will make anyone want to party with him. ‘Paradise’ is a very solid opening track for this EP, and it shows right off the bat that iann can make excel at more sounds/kinds of music than just Emo-Trap. Following this is the song ‘Pretty Girls, ‘ which is definitely a highlight for me from this project. This is the kind of thing I am talking about when I say iann dior sometimes leans more towards Rock instead of Trap. ‘Pretty Girls’ has a Pop-Punk guitar riff that is super fun and carefree sounding; it reminds me a lot of bands like All Time Low or Hot Chelle Rae. It does not really have a Trap beat to it; instead, it has the kind of drum pattern that you would typically hear in a Punk Rock song. ‘Pretty Girls’ has a sort of opposite lyrical meaning to the feeling of the instrumental. This song is about iann trying to get over this girl that he used to want. He knows that she doesn’t really have real feelings for him or anyone and is actually ice-cold; she screws over everyone she meets. ‘The next track, ‘Sickness’ is definitely a song that I expect to pop off from this EP. this song reminds me a lot of some of the Emo Trap music that was popular in the mid-2010s; specifically, it reminds me of music that came from the Goth Boi Clique. The vocal style and flows used are sort of an ode to Lil Peep and Lil Tracy, and the melody and beat are reminiscent of Nedarb. Lyrically, it has a partially cocky and partially sad feeling to it like a lot of Lil Peep’s music does as well. It is obvious that iann loves Lil Peep’s music and wanted to kind of make an homage and replicate it with this song. ‘Sickness’ definitely is not the most original song iann has ever made, but it is definitely good for what it is.
I’ve been losing my mind tryna figure it out, but I’m stuck in a drought. I guess I’ll start again. I’ve been losing my mind tryna figure it out, but I’m stuck in this house. I am my only friend…
Whereas the song preceding it did not have a ton of originality and kind of seemed like iann was trying to replicate his favorite artists, ‘Shameless’ is nothing like anything I have heard from iann or really anyone else. This song is totally unique and really stands out. It has an almost industrial bass line that is super buzzy and harsh and loud. In a way, this song reminds me of XXXtentacion because the instrumental and feeling of the song is just so weird and abrasive. ‘Shameless’ does not necessarily have a very Emo or Punk feeling to it, but it does have a very dark and otherworldly feeling. The rapping and flow for this song are so cocky and are just so tough. ‘Shameless’ is definitely a stand out from this EP for me because it is just super cool and different from anything I have heard from iann to this point. After how weird and crazy the dong that precedes it is, I can’t lie that ‘Psycho’ actually almost lets me down in a way; hearing a typical Cloud-Trap song after ‘Shameless’ just doesn’t hit the spot. I don’t want to say ‘Psycho’ is filler or a throwaway because it is a good song and I’m sure a lot of iann’s fans will love this song. It is honestly good for what it is. ‘Psycho’ has a very spacey and trippy sounding instrumental that fans of artists like Lil Skies or Travis Scott would really enjoy. The vocal performance is very average to me; iann does not really show off his vocal range on this song, which is one thing that makes him so unique. As I said, if you love atmospheric Cloud-Trap, you will love this song; in the context of the rest of the project though, I think ‘Psycho’ is a “pass” for me. ‘Sick and Tired’ is another song with a totally different feeling than the couple of songs that precede it and is definitely another major highlight from this record. ‘Sick and Tired’ features Machine Gun Kelly and the drummer Travis Barker; it’s unsurprising that Travis played a big part in making this one, as it kinda sounds like a Blink 182 song. This is a song in which iann dior really shows off his diversity as a singer and artist. Not many other rappers could straight up make a Pop-Punk song and have it sound so good. I don’t know if ‘Sick and Tired’ was actually written dining Quarantine, but the lyrics definitely fit well with Quarantine. This song is about going crazy while you sit at home and talk to yourself; this is a sentiment that so many of us have experienced over the last few months. If you’re a fan of Pop-Punk music or want to give rock a try, ‘Sick and Tired’ is a song you should download.
On the song ‘Runaway Kid,’ iann dior switches to more of an R&B and almost Reggae feeling with his music. This is the kind of song that seems to be influenced by his heritage and the territory he was born in(Puerto Rico) because it does have a bit of a Latin flavor and feel to it. Even though ‘Runaway Kid’ has a sweet and soft and almost uplifting feeling to it, the lyrical tone of this track is actually pretty sad and downtrodden. This track is about iann running away from home a lot as a kid, and getting high all night to try to get over his mental health problems. I kind of wish melody and tone did have a feeling that related more to the lyrics because this song is lyrically very relatable and honest. The melody and instrumental feeling of the song are nice, don’t get me wrong, but ‘Runaway Kid’ could have meant more with a sound that draws you into the lyrics more. The song ‘Good Day’ has a lyrical tone to it that is pretty much opposite from the one in the song that precedes it. This track is about iann counting all of his blessings and realizing that his life has become pretty great. In a project that has a lot of very melancholy lyrics, it is nice to hear iann so happy and upbeat on this song. This song does have a melody and instrumental style which matches up to the lyrical tone of the song. ‘Good Day’ has a Cloud-Trap sort of instrumental that is very warm and sweet sounding. ‘Good Day’ has a sound that reminds me of sitting on the beach or being at a kickback with friends. This song is very light and fun to listen to in a lyrical sense and an instrumental sense, and I could see it being a favorite song from this project for a lot of people because it just makes you feel good. The album comes to a close with the song ‘Prospect,’ which features Lil Baby; this is another track that I feel like will end up being one of the more popular songs from this project. It just has a very clean Pop-Trap feeling to it that is perfect for the radio. The melody for this song has a very Asian feeling to it; ‘Prospect’s’ melody sounds like the melody is being produced by a mandolin and sounds like it is something you would hear while walking through a rose garden in China. Lil Baby and iann dior are artists that flow so well on the same song together and who’s style of singing and rapping match up very well. I would love to hear more music from these two in the future, as the sound very natural in the same song and have very good chemistry. ‘Prospect’ is not the most original song on this EP, but it is a very fun song and has a lot of radio appeal to it and would be a good club song as well.
iann dior really has been on a meteoric rise since he blew up in late 2018. Over the last year and a half, he has gone from no one knowing who he is to an artist with hundreds of millions of streams, a record deal, and a well-produced full EP. I’m Gone by iann dior is not the most complete and fluid sounding project of all time, but I really appreciate how diverse the sounds on this EP are. iann dior really can create music for everyone; he can make Pop-Punk music that sounds like it came out of the late 2000s, he can make R&B-tinted Cloud-Trap that is trippy and atmospheric, and he can make hard and heavy Trap music that just makes you want to party and rage. I can not wait until he develops as an artist more and become more consistent because iann dior has a ton of talent and could easily be the next big thing.
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