Album Review: Modus Vivendi by 070 Shake

The amount of flak streaming services were getting from the music press for the best part of the 2010s sounded like a diss track stuck on repeat. Much less attention has been paid to how young artists have benefited from the fragmented yet quickly-evolving digital market now worth over 50% of the global revenue. The prime example of this is 23-year old New Jerseyan 070 Shake and her debut album 'Modus Vivendi'.

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When it comes to emo-rap that alternates between existential crisis and exegesis, few -- if any -- artists can come close to 070 Shake in terms of style, lyricism, flow, and content. The New Jersey native, leader of the 070 crew, and Kanye West protégé takes her background in East Coast poetry “slams” and brings it behind the mic, and showcases the same prowess whether she’s guest-starring with Pusha T or stealing the spotlight from West himself. The artist born Danielle Balbuena in the predominantly LatinX suburb of North Bergen certainly had big shoes to fill, and Modus Vivendi -- her debut effort released on Def Jam Records -- could have gone in either direction.

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The best moment from Kanye West's ye, his much-maligned album from 2018, was crafted by 070 Shake. The 22-year-old singer's chest-thumping appearance on "Ghost Town" was a glimmer of promise amid a heap of sloppy, single-take recordings, one of the few times on the album actually seemed transcendent. Her debut, Modus Vivendi, proves our ears weren't deceiving us.

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A mong the few highlights from Kanye West's 2018 album, ye, were two features from emerging New Jersey artist Danielle Balbuena - known by the moniker 070 Shake. Most notably, the bilingual singer-rapper's guest verse on Ghost Town swam with a heady feeling of darkness and freedom - something that carries through to Modus Vivendi, Balbuena's debut album. It's a record that blends genres with assurance as 070 Shake interrogates her nihilistic internal monologues.

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