After a string of popular tracks on Soundcloud within the past two years, a well-received mixtape in 2014, and a spot on the 2015 XXL Freshmen list; Washington DC rapper GoldLink finally released his debut project “And After That, We Didn’t Talk” on Nov. 6 through Los Angeles music collective and record label Soulection.

Although still relatively underground, the young 22 year-old rapper has been making waves on the internet with his self-described “future bounce” sound that was prominently heard on his mixtape “The God Complex” , on tracks such as “Ay Ay” and “Bedtime Story”.

The tape would would later earn him a mentorship with legendary record producer Rick Rubin, who ultimately helped produce “And After That We Didn’t Talk”, and would later embark on his first North American-headlining tour this past summer shortly after being named to this year’s XXL Freshmen list.

Having already been closely affiliated with Soulection and some of their roster producers such as Sango, Mr. Carmack, and Chris McClenney; the label helped release GoldLink’s debut release by featuring the rapper on their 229 radio show episode last month on Beats 1 Radio via Apple Music.

On the show, GoldLink previewed a few tracks off of “And After That We Didn’t Talk” and spoke with Soulection co-founder Joe Kay about the album, the recording process, and his future plans. Although the album includes only three guest features, two of them are rising stars in the making that are in the same ballpark as GoldLink, allowing for a perfect collaboration with both artists.

GoldLink enlists singer and producer Masego on the smooth, melodic love track “Late Night” that provides a marvelous opening hook by Masego and later repeats itself towards the end in a hard hitting setting.

Following the track is the other collaboration with the young Los Angeles based soul singer Anderson Paak, who recently caught a buzz appearing on Dr. Dre’s “Compton” record. Paak provides beautiful verses on “Unique” that go perfect with the funky vibe of the track.

Perhaps the best track off the album is the up-tempo dance track “Spectrum” that brings back GoldLink’s unique “futuristic bounce” sound from his previous mixtape. GoldLink continues the fast-paced momentum on the next track “Dance on Me”, a song that definitely has the potential to be a radio or club hit.

Although at times it’s hard to keep up the rapper’s fast paced rapping, his ability to stay on key with the tempo of each track makes GoldLink stand out as a rapper who can showcase bars and be hype all at the same time.

Goldlink does however slow it down at the end of the album on “See I Miss” on which he raps about not being a fan of love but is surprised that he does miss a certain girl in his life.

“Who kneeewww, yeah/that I would even miss that b****” sings GoldLink at the beginning and end of the track.

Although a few tracks do come off as a repetitive and some are a hit or miss, ultimately not bad for a debut release from the young rapper. GoldLink has the potential to break into the rap game and break boundaries that no other rapper has dared to break before, similar to the way Young Thug has with his adlibs and weirdness.

Definitely look out for GoldLink to make big waves in the next year or so.

You can stream “And After That, We Didn’t Talk” below via Spotify.