BLANK.

BLANK. is the sixth studio album by Terrain rapper and producer DJ Crow. The album was released on August 3, 2018 independently through Colossal Records. The musical world were amazed that Crow was putting out another album only a year after the masterpiece that was In Search of Lost Time (2017). Crow explained that he originally was not going to put out another album for a few years, but received unexpected inspiration and felt like it had to come out as soon as possible as it reflected "the current state of Antarctica". BLANK. contains political and social themes, as well as personal reflection, combining to form yet another complex and mindblowing concept album. Recording took place between the short space of four months between March and July 2018. The track listing runs for a length of 12 tracks with varying song structures and running lengths. Every song title is capitalised with a full stop at the end, and each title is only one word.

Crow opted for a very simplistic approach with BLANK., especially for its artwork and title. The release was preceded by the lead single, "STREAK.", which is about a metaphorical kill-streak of Crow topping any other rapper in the game. The album itself was only announced the day before release, with a pre-order link being cheeted by Crow. The concept story features an incredible twist as once the album ends, sounds of the entire album being reversed is played and instructs the listener to listen to the album backwards, as the track listing is actually reversed. Therefore, the final track is in fact the first track.

As executive producer, DJ Crow recruited Atum Will Made It who produced a large bulk of the tracks alongside Crow. To aid Atum in creating a "loud and abrasive" sound, experts SKT and Destroy and Squaren Daren also assisted. Producer Detention, signed to Crow's label, returned to produce on a Crow project after being absent since Disc-Jockey's Nyt (2011). Yusei, TrillBron, jazz producer Thunder Bay, Jarvis Gibson, ID Kard, Pilloww and Terrain da Don contributed as well. This is the first DJ Crow project to feature no guest appearances.

Background
In March 2017, DJ Crow released his sixth album In Search of Lost Time (2017) to amazing success and acclaim, with many critics labelling it a modern musical masterpiece. After the success Crow confirmed that he would not be releasing another project for at least three years. For the rest of 2017, Crow maintained a low profile, making a couple guest appearances on songs and producing for others. By the start of 2018 he began to feel musically inspired, particularly due to the political affairs of Antarctica. As a result he secretly began to write for a concept album with no idea for when it would be complete and released. After writing the recording and production was complete within the space of a mere 4 months from March to July.

Crow enlisted top hip hop producer Atum Will Made It for the first time to create an abrasive, loud sound with trap instrumentation.

Album title
The title BLANK. is a very simplistic name, practically a word without a definition. If something is blank, that means there is nothing there. Crow chose this title to fit the simplicity of the album on the surface, but inside it is actually quite dense and takes a while to process. Once the listener understands the story behind the album, BLANK. represents the clean slate that Crow initiated on the whole of Antarctica.

Concept story
In similar vain to his previous projects – Today's Declaration (2013) and In Search of Lost Time (2017) – Crow created BLANK. in the form of a concept story. This means that there is a narrative going in throughout the entire album. Normally, a narrative would be told in chronological order. However the story to BLANK. is told backwards. The concept story features an incredible twist as once the album ends, sounds of the entire album being reversed is played and instructs the listener to listen to the album backwards, as the track listing is actually reversed. Therefore, the final track is in fact the first track.

This was done in order to create two alternative narratives, a positive one and a negative one. The listener is then able to contrast the two and see how life would have been for the penguin race if Crow did not escape the CyberVoid. Crow enables this to make sense both ways through his verse structure. For some songs, the verse order is backwards, e.g. Verse 3, Verse 2 then Verse 1. This was extremely difficult for Crow to do and make total sense, however he managed it and it takes careful concentration from the listener in order to understand. While the middle bulk of both narratives are near-enough the same, the beginning and endings are very different and are the key parts of the narratives being alternative timelines.

Non-chronological
From track 1 to 12, it is presented in the following way: After outlining the political state of Antarctica in a few verses, a gunshot is heard. This is interpreted as Antarctica shooting Crow into his deletion ("ANTARCTICA."). This is a reflection of how the political system destroys its citizens. The next sequences depict Crow's travel to the CyberVoid and reflecting on his life ("CONTROL.", "GRATITUDE.", "DESTINATION."). During this an ambiguous tussle happens which results in a gunshot. While travelling towards the CyberVoid, Crow reflects on his career and brags about topping every other rapper in the game ("PREY.", "STREAK."). Crow is able to see the turmoil occurring in Antarctica. The cause of this hinted to be President Donal Tenorio, however it remains vague.

A sudden rebirth rejuvenates optimism within Crow and preaches how he is going to fight the power ("INCEPTION."), discussing one's purpose in the world as well ("FUNCTION."). Personal reflection revives his confidence ("YOU.") and leads to satirical take on patriotism ("BLEED."). The penultimate track is split in half, but both half explain an encounter with Desmond Tiny, who can see into the future and control time. The first half shows a generous Desmond Tiny, who allows Crow to escape the CyberVoid in exchange for his life. In the second half, the beat becomes more dramatic and faster. Tiny does not see Crow as a worthy candidate, and so offers him no deal.

By the end, it is not clear which option Crow experienced as the track ends on a cliffhanger ("DESTINY."). However, the outcome becomes clear – Crow ends up stuck in the CyberVoid unable to escape ("VOID."), ultimately failing to save the continent from political collapse.

Chronological
In the correct order (12–1), Crow escapes the CyberVoid ("VOID.") after cutting a deal with Desmond Tiny, a controller of time ("DESTINY."). Crow presents a satirical take on patriotism ("BLEED.") and then a period of personal reflection revives his confidence now that his life has been given purpose ("YOU."). The title "YOU." indicates Crow being the chosen one to preserve 2018 Antarctica. After discussing one's purpose in the world, and how he is practically not a real living penguin anymore ("How does it feel to be real?)" ("FUNCTION."), Crow experiences a rebirth as he begins the travel back to Earth from the CyberVoid ("INCEPTION.").

Crow reflects on his career and brags about topping every other rapper in the game ("PREY.", "STREAK."). During this, Crow is able to see the turmoil occurring in Antarctica from afar. The cause of this turmoil is hinted to be President Donal Tenorio, however it remains vague. But Crow's lyrics take notable shots towards a presidential figure. Finally, Crow arrives back on Earth while reflecting on his life and how he is going to do good ("DESTINATION.").

After more personal reflection ("GRATITUDE."),The Master is shot and killed so Crow can gain control of the Universe and all events that occur ("CONTROL."). This was the ambiguous tussle from the alternate timeline. Now that he has become Master of the Universe, Crow initiates a clean slate on the whole of Antarctica and shoots himself, resulting in his deletion ("ANTARCTICA."), sacrificing himself in the process. This 'clean slate' is ambiguous and it is never explained what exactly happened to Antarctica – it is left to the imagination of the listener.

Artwork
The cover for BLANK. is the most simplistic artwork of Crow's career to date. Designed by Yusei, it is entirely orange, with the only other detail on it being the Emalf Advisory label in the bottom-centre. It is reported that orange was chosen as Crow's feathers are orange, so the art is a reflection of him. It also fits the name of the album, being a blank cover, continuing the simplistic factor of the album.

Singles
The lead single, "STREAK.", was released on July 20, 2018, two weeks before the album. It is produced solely by Atum Will Made It, and peaked at number 1 in the UnitedTerrain Singles Chart.

The second single, "CONTROL.", was released a week after the album's release on August 13, 2018. It was also produced by Atum Will Made It.

Track listing

 * Notes


 * “ANTARCTICA.”, ”YOU.”, “DESTINATION.” and “DESTINY.” features uncredited additional vocals by Anna Ice.
 * “GRATITUDE.” features uncredited background vocals by Atum Will Made It
 * “YOU.” features uncredited additional vocals by Al Freddo.
 * “BLEED.” features uncredited additional vocals by Bryan Fable.
 * “INCEPTION.” features uncredited additional vocals by Shade the Puffolian.
 * “VOID.” features uncredited additional vocals by Thunder Bay and Cody Otis.

Commercial performance
The album entered the UnitedTerrain Albums Chart at number 1, selling close to 690,000 digital and physical copies in its first week. Thus, Crow secured the seventh number 1 project of his career, including his collaborative album with Joe-Q and the label compilation Colossal World (2016).


 * First week sales of Crow's albums in UnitedTerra

Critical response
With BLANK., DJ Crow continued his run of critically acclaimed albums. Most publications praised the experimental direction of the album, as well as its politically-conscious messages. Critiques were still plentiful, as some critics believed the story was too complex and hard to digest. There was also slight divide in the album's sonic direction, with some stating that Crow was trend-chasing with the trap-styled production.

The opening 2-minute track "ANTARCTICA." was dubbed the Banger of the Year due to its loud, thumping trap beat.