Jesse James Solomon has dropped new visuals for ‘Ugly World’, the artist’s first musical release of the year. The talented 24-year-old has managed to make a name for himself in the UK rap scene since the release of his debut EP ‘Jesse From SE’ in 2014, something that he will hope to build upon in 2021.
Driven by a looped guitar sample, the dreamy production of ‘Ugly World’ is matched by the South Londoner’s characteristically lazy tone, effortless flow, and introspective lyricism. “How you stay so lovely girl in this ugly world” is the song’s hypnotic refrain, although JJ leaves large spaces throughout the track to allow the production to really be foregrounded. The surrealist production is drawn out by the music video itself, as JJ glides around his urban high-rise environment against the backdrop of London at dusk. Constantly addressing the camera, the rapper brings the song to life, serenading an unnamed girl for her ability to defy her “ugly” environment.
Urban snapshots truly are a feature of JJ’s musical work, whether that is through his authentic lyrical descriptions of inner-city life or his choice of album artwork. In an interview with Clash Magazine in 2017, he said, “Some people might describe me more like a poet. A young lad from South East London, who’s just trying to paint pictures, you know what I’m saying? Paint pictures of my environment.” Playing upon this idea of himself as a figurative painter, both the covers of his two most recent EPs, ‘Strata’ and ‘Bleak’, feature impressionistic paintings of night-time in London. The two covers set the scene for the music itself, which offers the perfect soundtrack to walking through the city at night.
‘Strata’ and ‘Bleak’, released in 2018 and 2020 respectively, have been essential to the development of JJ’s distinctive brand of hip-hop that he has cultivated over the last few years. In particular, ‘Bleak’ is the rapper’s most musically experimental piece of work to date; the jazzy but melancholic production on the EP made it the perfect project for a reflective lockdown period during spring 2020. ‘Ugly World’ engages in the same style of production that allowed ‘Bleak’ to evoke the gloomy feelings that it did, utilising heavy reverb, reversed samples, and pitched-down vocals. This sound, one that recalls the sound of Earl Sweatshirt across the Atlantic, is clearly one that JJ will continue to build upon.
The enigmatic rapper captures complicated feelings through his music in a way that others simply cannot. Whilst there is currently a vibrant scene of UK artists that choose to rap over soulful and spacey production, such as Loyle Carner and Knucks, JJ is in a class of his own.
Check out the music video for ‘Ugly World’ below:
