Jafro
Rib
I can admit I have been a Jafro fan from afar and slowly I have been admiring Jafro’s rise on the grime scene. With my first time hearing him on red bull’s grime a side to then watching his freestyles here and there.
My first impression of course was that this nerdy looking kid with glasses has some hard bars but that was about it. However on the 27th of march something happened which i think in the grand scheme of things will be looked at as the turning point of his career, His Blackbox freestyle was released.
Honestly to say it was fire is a massive understatement it starts differently with a patios singing hook then evolves into legendary status. I really don’t want to say too much as I truly implore anyone who reads this to have a listen.
In my opinion its top 3 blackbox freestyles. so check it out if you haven’t already
So this made me interested in writing an article about his music. Luckily for me he has released an ep this year Called Rib
Holy fuck man this ep is so good, I definitely wasn’t expecting this at all.
Lets start on the first track Ola, an acoustic guitar laced song which reminds me of an old wyclef tune. Also jafro shows off his singing chops which is surprisingly really good. Such a chilled song definitely one for sunshine
The next track on the ep is also the best it is titled R.I.P Prince so i thought it was gonna a sentimental track about a friend or family member but no it is a Prince Tribute. Twinged with Synth heavy 80’s funk like backing, Jafro sings in a falsetto which he pulls off so confidently. This track is definitely up there with Bruno mars 24k Magic in terms of that roger and zapp aesthetic.
The next two tracks Venus & Mars and Don’t Make Me are RnB/Rap Hybrids in which he shows the strength of his artistry as well as his musical maturity. His can sing so well it makes me wonder if he was a singer before he started rapping. The tracks also dont feel like obligatory Tunes for the gal dem (yeah I do realise even on text i can’t pull off that sentence)
The next track Eh Nah im not sure if it’s a song or a musical skit. Its still really interesting how he works really strong bars in an obvious song which he is fucking about. funnily enough though the bars on this track are the best in just straight rap terms. The beat is also a classic garage beat that is remixed and i can’t remember what it is.
The next track I Can Tell is on a summery Afroswing type beat. this song is wavy it is just so chilled makes you wanna sit in the sun with friends and enjoy a few cold ones.
The final track’s Coma Abacaxi instrumental sounds like something produced by the alien producer Wonda. on this track he is rapping towards a female but with the swagger and confidence of a mid 2000’s rnb singer
Conclusion
See because this series is only about music I will put it into bullet points why this piece of work i enjoy
- Variety
- Good Bars
- Catchy as Fuck
- Progression as an artist
- Risk taking
But seriously Jafro is so talented its actually maddening that monotonous as fuck drill music is getting so much shine. But seriously check out the project and show support to Jafro
theyakketyyak 