Maryland’s multi-talented IDK has been something of a Swiss Army Knife for years, and that’s on display once again with his latest creation, BRAVADO + INTiMO. The idea behind this series of works was to show his bold and extroverted side, as well as his more intimate and personal image. This is reflected in the project and track titles. Some have “(B)’s” or “(i)’s” next to them, which indicates the type of atmosphere and tone you’ll hear on that record. It’s almost split down the middle, and in a way, it’s a double-disc album. Prior to the release, IDK released four singles, three of which were quite distinctive.
These include “DENiM” featuring Joey Bada$$, “TiFFANY” featuring Gunna, and “SUPERNOVA” featuring TheARTI$t. While the production is clean, approachable, and enjoyable to listen to, the performance itself isn’t too memorable. He did more bold and replayable things in projects like Simple. For example, F65. The duality is there, but the beat at least brings us the experience. Overall, it can be a bit simplistic lyrically. IDK did say, “My goal with this album was to simplify everything. For Bi, I just wanted to sing over beats that artists like MF DOOM would normally rap over, and only rap when it felt most natural.” We can Admire his dedication to sticking with an idea, but we feel he’s at his best when he takes more risks. Still, give BRAVADO + INTiMO a try and see what you think about it.
