Throwback Thursday: Revisiting dvsn’s SEPT 5TH and the Rise of OVO R&B

For this week’s Throwback Thursday, I’m going back to a project that really captured a moment in R&B when the OVO sound was starting to take over. dvsn released SEPT 5TH on March 27, 2016, and it marked their first full-length project under the OVO banner.

At the time, OVO was building out a roster of artists who leaned more into melodic, atmospheric R&B. Between PARTYNEXTDOOR and Majid Jordan, the label had already carved out a distinct vibe — and dvsn fit right into that lane. Even before the album dropped, a number of singles had already started setting the tone for what was coming.

I was already tapped into everything happening around OVO during that time, largely because I was a fan of Drake and the sound he was helping push forward. When dvsn’s music started to surface, it immediately clicked for me. Then “Too Deep” dropped, and that was it. That record felt like a moment.

“Too Deep” was everywhere. You couldn’t really escape it — and honestly, I didn’t want to. It perfectly matched the energy of that time in my life, especially being in the final stretch of my twenties. It had that late-night, introspective vibe that a lot of OVO music was known for, but it still stood on its own.

The album opens with “With Me,” and even by today’s standards, it’s a bold way to start a project. At around seven minutes long, it gives the production space to breathe. After the vocals fade, the beat rides out for nearly two minutes, which really showcases the production work from Nineteen85. It’s one of those moments that reminds you how much attention to detail went into this project.

“Hallucinations,” the lead single, takes a more intimate and vulnerable approach. It’s slower, more stripped back emotionally, and it makes sense why they chose it to introduce the album. It pulls you into their world and sets the tone for the type of storytelling they were bringing.

Looking at the bigger picture, SEPT 5TH still stands as the strongest album in dvsn’s catalog in my opinion. That’s not to say they haven’t released quality music since — they definitely have — but this project feels like the true foundation of their sound and identity. A lot of the songs still hold up today and don’t feel out of place in the current R&B landscape.

What makes this album special is how different it felt at the time. It wasn’t trying to follow traditional R&B formulas. Instead, it leaned into a more alternative, atmospheric approach. And in a genre where artists can sometimes start to sound similar, that difference mattered.

My final take is simple: SEPT 5TH is still a solid listen today. If you’re revisiting it, you’ll appreciate how well it’s aged. And if you somehow missed it the first time around, it’s definitely worth going back to understand a key moment in modern R&B.