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| It should be clear by now that the so-called underground has its new star. Neglected by the critics for quite a while, Jean Grae (former What?What?) last year became 'the best-kept secret on New York's indie hip-hop scene'. The hope for an alternative position in hip hop, which, from
an outside perspective, must seem extremely marginalized these days. And indeed, Jean Grae hit the stage with more than a G-string - it just didn't seem necessary to expose anything except her voice to provide the audience with a valuable visual experience. Plus, the precision of her spitting is rarely
challenged. She brings back some of the flavor and ease in combination with creativity we were used to, lets say, a decade ago. Not that others wouldn't, it's just that it doesn't seem to cost her a dime. Her talent just seems so inexhaustible that even on a bad day, her freestyle ten times overtops
what other artists may call their best attempt. It's probably easier to sport a J-Lo booty than even trying to get close to this unbound lyricism. |
| Consider this. Now, consider the fact, that nobody would sign her with "Attack of the Attacking Things", which was without a doubt one of the most creative pieces the late nineties and early millennium had seen. Too personal, they said. And so only this year, she finally
got a record deal with Babygrande. (Also home to Jedi Mind Tricks, Canibus, and, since recently, Brand Nubian). |
| The EP meaningfully opens up with "Hater's Anthem", a traditional battle track, where we find phrases like: "and now I'm finally back/to throw chains or hopscotch your ass back/I play close like a thong hugging an
ass crack/..." This sublime position is challenged by the doubts and insecurities that soon after appear on "Take Me" in a double dose. Here, Jean Grae talks about faith and how hard it is to keep it at times: "God help me I'm having trouble with your masterplan". "Swing
Blades" with Can Ox can be seen as the second part of this, the observing half; same issue, but seen from a somewhat bigger perspective, as the you is introduced. |
| Up to now, all of this had lain on stable ground, but just wasn't very exciting. What comes then, however, will bring back every thrill and enthusiasm that had possibly been missing before. For "My Crew" is worth a Grammy
(if a Grammy is worth anything at all...) - and this claim has still to be refuted. It goes right under the skin and stays there, even after you've stopped the constant head nodding. It lacks really nothing, least of all content. The 'crew' is taken as a metaphor for a wider community, where things
have changed for the worse quite a while ago. Reminiscing about some good old times, Jean ponders: "I represent for a nation, thought we was in it together / but I guess it get strange when money rains on sunny weather / tougher than leather, we weaker than glass / and shattered on the side of
the road / tryin' to get a ride to pass each other fast". And, while driving at such speed, apparently, a common understanding about the direction never really mattered, so that some got separated at one turn or another: "Y'all lost me, somewhere between waking and coffee / the shit change
so quick / I didn't blink and it cost me / fuck it, it cost us / do we even know where we at? / (...), we can't even open the map / rap's dead, rap sucks / thanks to y'all for killin' it, grillin' it down and spillin its guts, and fillin' it back up with trash". |
| Uhm..while we're still recovering from this mind-blowing masterpiece, the strings on "Code Red" just taste a bit insipid. Too bad, actually, as the story surely deserves close listening (another piece about the constant struggle in life). But then, the voices of Block
McCloud, Pumpkinhead and Jean herself, do not really agree on a tone in the chorus, and thus it staggers slightly. "Chapter One: Destiny", finally, welcomes "to the mind of a contract assassin", whose "fate will be decided on you", then impresses with an off-beat,
and the suspense about how the story is gonna continue in Chapter Two. |
| As for the music, "The Bootleg of the Bootleg EP" sticks more or less to what we're used to: strings and harpsichord, lush melodies, a little soul music, sometimes embracing her voice, sometimes discreetly kept in the background. The difference between this and her debut,
however, lies in an overall darkening (and sharpening) of the tone. Now, we would probably consider this a rather negative piece. But there's more to it. After all, this is 'the bootleg of the bootleg', so, shortly after number 6 we get treated with more material than we can possibly digest in one course.
In a mix of almost 45 minutes, she slurps herself through a cocktail of instrumentals from D.I.T.C., the Neptunes, to M.O.P and Jay-Z - Jay-Z, above all - and finally adds some of her older pieces. Sooner or later, we also thankfully rediscover her great sense of humor there. |
| That mix was probably needed for Jean Grae's skills to fully unfold. Considering the EP as a whole: It might be, that she really took a few steps away from herself (as many artists do on their second album), it might be that this happened in order to sound less personal. We don't
know and we only slightly regret it. What doesn't take us long, though, is to recognize this piece as a remarkably juicy plant, still growing even, despite the slowly drying up landscape it is standing in; a reminiscence of shell-toed Adidas, still looking forward, reflecting the present, and providing
a valuable vision for the future. |
| review: denise |
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