Jonathan Perez aka JayDaReal is an American hip-hop recording artist from Manhattan, New York, who was raised in Middletown, OH most of his life. His rise in the music industry started with his single “Brand New” which was also included on his recent album “Realest In Zone6ix”. Jay saved up money since he was 16, for his own studio where he spends most of his time recording, and releases the majority of his songs on Soundcloud.
What’s in a name? In hip-hop, the proper name is often reverse-destructed: artists eschew their birth names in favor of stage names that convey an intended message to their peers and their audience. “This is who I am now,” they say, and we inflate this name with great meaning.
JayDaReal, in this sense, is an interesting case. When you see a name like that, you know just about all you need to know about its owner without knowing anything. JayDaReal is a singular artist whose aesthetic is at once indefinable and all-encompassing, somebody who revels in eccentricity but with an authenticity that means his artistic choices are hard to question.
What is immediately evident on the single “Brand New”( Remix) even more than some of his previous mind-bending performances is the vocal polyphony that he employs in this jam, together with an unsurprisingly strong production.
Subtle piano twinkles mix with a deep resonating bass, aggressive hi-hats and a snappy snare. Lyrically, the track doesn’t break any new ground, as it’s the usual sex impregnated verses, but everything is so rooted in the cosmic surrealism of JayDaReal’s flow that they virtually cease to matter.
He plays many roles in his songs, but all of them are directly connected to the overarching persona that is JayDaReal. Here he has delivered precisely what hiphop audiences are looking for, building on his past work, and emphasizes his best qualities.
He switches flows constantly, using the muscles in his mouth like a machine, to warp his vowels or make his syllables extra-flexible. This freedom makes listening to JayDaReal not just exhilarating but inspirational.
Notwithstanding the explicit language, “Brand New”( Remix) straightforward immediacy is what makes it make such an impression the first time around, and it’s a break from the increasingly experimental leanings of hyped pop releases. It is extremely easy to listen to. A tight drill beat against deep bass and ambient synths make this record the perfect ‘turn-it-up’ music.
OFFICIAL LINKS: WEBSITE – REVEBNATION – BANDCAMP – SOUNDCLOUD
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