By Jonas Broom
What does home feel like to you? How did your surroundings shape you into the person you are today? Jadasea’s newest project Holly Grove is the manifestation of these questions, and the answers they bring. The newest album by the London rapper is packed with a versatile mix of tracks. The first, starting like a game of Mario Kart 8; Engines revving and tires smoking.
The opening track “SE15”, featuring production from the brilliant Tony Seltzer, starts everything off with an ethereal soundscape. Seltzer, notable for his work on MIKE’s Pinball 1 and Anysia Kym’s Purity from last year, is a master at making what I love to describe as hard hitting video game beats. Speaking of Kym, track four “Intrinsick” features the New York rapper and vocalist on a beautifully bouncy beat reminiscent of early Pharrell production. Kym’s mellifluous flow pairs perfectly with Jadasea’s spiky cadence making this track an honorable mention.
Holly Grove is a soft departure from his prior release Folder 3, which contained a more “drum-less” style. Holly Grove takes Jadasea’s previously established lyrical chops and fuses it with bouncy electronic beats with a touch of hard-hitting ambience.
The album continues its momentum with track 5 “Cobra”, flexing spacey under-water production. Seriously, I feel like I’m cooling in an octopus’s garden as fish of all sorts circle me in the sky. Track 9 “Collateral“ features yet another New York MC; MIKE immediately kicks off the song with an “in your face” flow, setting up the scene for Jadasea to sneak onto the rhythm and bring it home. Many of the beats from this album, including the past two mentioned, are produced by the widely acclaimed SURF GANG collective, giving fans of underground rap all the more reason to give Holly Grove a spin.
The artwork, done by @drowzyo on Instagram, is one of my favorite aspects of Jadasea’s newest release. The imagery depicts a lush green park beneath a bright blue sky with scattered clouds. The city skyline extends across the horizon and within the park there is a giant red and black snake slithering away from a comparatively much smaller basketball court. The setting screams summer, the ever-present sense of mysticism surrounding the scene and what it might entail. Questions fill my mind; what does this park sound like? Where is this snake going? Why is there a snake in the first place? The music answers these questions in one way or another. This was the first time @drowzyo had made artwork for any music project.
Jadasea posted on Instagram celebrating the album’s release and in the description he included that this project is an ode to growing up in Peckham, an incredibly diverse district in south-east London. Despite having never been to Peckham, I can attest that this album sounds like passing by the bricked building apartments of Brooklyn. Being no more than nine years old, walking home from South Oxford Park where I might have been playing football with my younger brother. The summer sun prepares to dip down as people from all walks of life keep the city bustling, beginning their nightly city routines.
I think Holly Grove is home, these are songs that represent the experience of growing and being shaped by your surroundings. Riding public transportation, long walks through brick-laden parts of cities, and rather uncomfortable heat are things that paint the picture of what home is to me personally, and I’m sure whatever reminds you of home will come to your mind when diving into this musical landscape.
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