After a first installment, in which Lord Esperanza toured the cities of France, the Parisian artist now releases a second, international step in his series Dans Ta Ville, this time ignoring borders to invite a dozen collaborators from diverse backgrounds. This surprising concept album introduces listeners to German, Tunisian and South Korean rap on a variety of rather well-crafted productions. Even keb rap is represented, as FouKi and Lord Esperanza join forces twice on the opus. Punctuated by interludes of a flight attendant describing the different possible stages of a flight, this album attempts to defend a very modern hypothesis: language and style barriers are superfluous in rap. Coupled with Lord Esperanza’s skilful flow and songwriting talent, the guest artists present unique but somewhat uneven verses. The final product is conceptually very interesting, but is not striking. Dans Ta Ville – Ep. II is a heterogeneous stylistic mix that has only its musical world-tour concept as a guideline. However, Lord Esperanza proves that he is not just presenting a traditional hip hop product and that he is, at 23, one of the most versatile hopefuls in French rap.
