A striking cello opens the track, functioning as both a cunning harmony and a simultaneous bassline. James Blake’s effervescent, angelic vocals float alongside Santan Dave’s heavy, emotive bars, complete with syncopated drums and haunting echoes of “doesn’t just happen.”
[Chorus: James Blake]
Falling in love (Doesn't just happen)
Staying in love (Doesn't just happen)
Falling in love (Doesn't just happen)
Staying in love (Doesn't just happen)
Falling in love (Doesn't just happen)
Staying in love (Doesn't just happen)
Dave and Blake’s undeniable bond is reflected effortlessly in their music, where two seemingly opposing musical timbres actually sit together quite nicely. Songs like ‘Selfish’, ‘History’, and now with ‘Doesn’t Just Happen’, do a brilliant job of combining Dave’s intense raps with James’ electronic, dramatic production– complete with orchestral-leaning vocal ballads, ruminations on relationships, and the complexity of love.
Dave never wavers in the intensity he brings to every record. In this 3-minute track alone, we learn that Dave’s girlfriend presumably hates him, how growing up hungry can impact how you move in the world, the moral battle of having money, musings on Tony Soprano, and how deep down — maybe Dave hates himself too.
[Verse: Dave]
If being a good man was easy, I'd still be me, cah I do shit the hard way / You don't know who's who
/ My girlfriend hates me, deep down maybe I do too / We used to jack n***** in the morning, cah most man didn't have cash when work's done / This type of dinner have your jawline thinner, man gonna think you had work done
See a man maintainin' / See a man, wait, nah, see a man complainin’… / Yeah, I got dirty money, but show me a pound or a dollar, and it doesn't have blood on it (Doesn't just happen)… / Therapy couch like Tony Soprano, black Viano / Hit an artery, stabbed in a major…
That's staccato, cash or card though?
I got the country's sins on finance
I know we all wanna make it to heaven, but it— (Doesn't just happen)
James Blake’s vocals mirror Dave’s sentiment. He mulls over ideas of effort and how good things actually take meticulous time and dedication, contrary to the belief that things just happen, or subsequently “fall into place.”
[Bridge: James Blake]
Maybe you stopped putting in time
Somewhere along the line
And everything good
And everything good
Doesn't just happen
Doesn't just happen
[Outro: James Blake]
And everything good
And everything good
Doesn't just happen
Doesn't just happen
Doesn't just happen
Blake’s new album ‘Trying Times’ will be his first independent studio album, to be released by his own label, Good Boy Records. This comes after his continued advocacy against major labels and streaming platforms that refuse to pay artists properly, stymying the creative process in and of itself. . And after management cuts – which is between 15 and 20 per cent – and taxes and recording overheads, it’s just not sustainable for an artist to focus on just their art.”
He committed himself and his art to independence, fostering direct, genuine fan engagement and promotion. In the spirit of maintaining agency of his own fan relations and promo, James Blake released this exclusive track with Dave on Monday, January 19th, with a 72-hour listening window with options to preorder or presave, in addition to offering a special first press vinyl edition available for purchase.
His new album is slated to come out on March 13th, 2026, exploring the relentless nature of modern life.
Emem-Esther U. Ikpot @ememIK46
