The Corner: Vol.1

With The Corner: Vol. 1, Jadasea continues that solid, occasionally stifling, inquiry into understated pain rap. While he’s short on novelty, his recorded voice is a clean, layered mix, pitched mid-range and near-velvet, winning over darker, terse burrs that make his lyricism even heavier with melancholy. Defiant, nihilistic songs like Peace Out, on which he goes bar for bar with MIKE, stand out as highlights: on a simple sample of an organ ringing out (dulcet chords on one side, corn put out on the other, both tinged with fire), Jadasea goes all in, deploying a harder, tougher attack than on other songs. Through the album’s 26 tracks, from Grimey Blimey to Heaven High, Jadasea bounces from life lessons to global friends. He often colours emotional landscapes over physical ones. His positions of cool assuredness benefit him, but losing track of tracks stacks up. As much as his delivery proves him dedicated to learning his lessons well, it isn’t always sustained long enough to carry the length of a full LP – especially as his delivery more resembles the leveled tolling of a bell, where a certain sameness can seep in and make you reach, without much warning, for a skip. On The Corner: Vol. 1, we hear how Jadasea has reached this place, and Laron’s excellent production has no trouble vouching for him. Sections on one track shift towards the following, segues that make good records, but require more than a few minutes – or, no longer than a song-or-two’s length – to satisfy you. If Laron’s beats, built on sun-bleached samples but with a 21st-century afterglow, would have the glaze of a banana tinned, Johnny Roc opens up the tin on Laraaji, slathering in sweet mango puree and salsa too – and on The Corner: Vol. 1, they work together, bringing fire to songs that glint like they were carved by flint-knappers.

JADASEA & LARON - THE CORNER : VOL.1

RATING - 7.3/10

FAVORITE TRACKS - Tony Yayo, Quicksand, The Corner

GENRE - UK R&B, Hip-Hop/Rap, UK Rap, Natural sounds