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On July 8th, British-Nigerian artist Jim Legxacy announced the drop of a new 14-track tape ‘Black British Music’ (excluding the introduction) since his breakthrough ‘homeless n*gga pop music’ in 2023. As we tried our best to get an early listen, this is a release we just couldn’t miss and therefore, took upon ourselves to provide an honest and unfiltered first listen experience for our readers to dive into. With singles such as ‘Stick’ and ‘Father’ released earlier this year, and unofficial tracks in previous states making it across the internet, it is safe to say the process was long; however, it was worth the wait.
‘Context’ & ‘Stick’
Although the upbeat single ‘Stick’ was already released and has been devoured by Jim’s supporters ever since, we are able to view it in a totally different lens now in addition to ‘Context.’ In that particular monologue, Jim reflects on everything he went through in a short span, from the passing of his late sister, his mother’s strokes, his brother’s psychosis and on top of that, blowing into stardom. Moreover, he adds that he had a hard time processing everything at once, while realizing although he may be “out of the mud/ there will always be more mud.” This sets the mood to the entire tape and also puts a bittersweet taste in our mouth now replaying ‘Stick’ again. At first, we may have been under the impression that Jim was simply portraying an adventurous day at the block with his homies and love tangles; however, there lies deeper meaning in the song and the signs were always there. “Cause my boat can’t take on more water / so I’m gonna sink,” reveals the chorus. While he takes us on a day trip in South East London, Jim is silently drowning from the inside, it might be purposely or perhaps we chose not pay attention until now.
‘new david bowie’
When you take a quick look at the cover of the tape, you may have noticed a Jim Legxacy with a lightning sign on his face. This is in reference to the late British artist David Bowie, an inspiration to Jim’s music. On his second instagram page, the starlet even went as far as posting his face beside Davids. Along with several posts sharing photos of the legend as Jim always showed his admiration towards him. The track sounds like an extension to the previous one, only now the tempo is slower, the tone is darker and it happens to be dusk. We’ve been strolling with Jim on this journey for a while now. Much like his signature sound, the track is heavily infused with several samples matched together while Jim sings of putting his “Phone on DND.” Now that he gave us some context behind his mindset, we may interpret this as also him turning his emotions off, not wanting to feel a thing, from his love interest bubbling on the surface to the challenges at home Jim is hiding behind closed doors.
‘Sun’ Featuring Fimiguerro
If you’ve been here long enough, then you would know that this is not the first feature between the two that we have gotten our hands on; however, the first of the duo to drop officially. Although it makes for a solid song, it does fall a little bit short from the intricate two previous tracks we just had a pleasure to digest. Perhaps the fact that we had access to the other unreleased songs for over a year ultimately ruined the overall listen, knowing there were better features sonically from them together. However, a listener with fresh ears to both experimental artists may have a completely different experience entering track 03. ‘Sun’ is an attempt at a summer jam by Jim and Fimiguerro but instead, it ended up sounding more like a filler.
‘06 wayne rooney’
Alongside his passion for music, Jim also constantly makes references to his love of sports. Previously titled by supporters as Ernest Hemingway, ‘06 wayne rooney’ is a rock-inspired song proving Jim's musical versatility. For the first time on this tape, we get a closer glimpse to the fast-paced, chaotic and Jim-like life through his lyrics. He retells; “I just came from a war / there is a party in my head,” making use of his coping mechanism he has shown throughout to deal with the constant unpredictabilities in his life. Through his music, Jim has mastered the personification of his feelings, as much sonically as lyrically.
‘issues of trust’
Throughout HNPM, one of the main themes was the absence of his father and how it deeply affected him. ‘issues of trust’ is a folks ballad, yet another layer of Jim’s music adaptatibility that he has been waiting to unveil. Accompanied by just a guitar and violin-like strings, it doesn’t sound toned down, au contraire. as his gut-wrenching lyrics fill up the atmosphere in all the ways you’d hope it would. It is not about what is said, but the unspoken that Jim still hasn’t found the courage to share or perhaps just hasn’t found the right words to express his feelings, namely towards his father.
‘Father’
Perhaps a fan-favourite, ‘Father’ is Jim’s attempt to turn a complex topic into a lighthearted and catchy anthem. Similar to his other single, Jim is masking the melancholy of his feelings to make it digestible to listeners. It has a party-tone while the lyrics appear to uncover a difficult situation Jim had to endure growing up in the absence of a father. Just like music can be a distraction to our problems, Jim uses the choice of sampling and background music to uplift something for most would be a dark and sad output. This is a direct reflection to Jim’s coping mechanism and how he dealt with his past.
‘d.b.a.b’
A track for many supporters that was known as a rough live recording shared on the internet, ‘d.b.a.b’ in its complete form did not disappoint! Its magnetizing synths mixed with Jim’s vocal performance makes us feel every word angrily spat out of his mouth.
‘big time forward’
At first glance, ‘big time forward’ seems like it could be another low-ballad; however, it quickly persists with rhythmic drums best compared to some Dancehall inspiration. The only downside is it the repetitiveness of his lyrical line; “girl wanna move forward / she wanna big time forward” taking up most of the word space. He doesn’t elaborate much on his muse and how the sensation may occupy his body, mind and soul in that particular moment. That being said, it could be by envisioning DJ’s making mashups and remixes, which would explain the simplicity in its structure.
‘SOS’
Another song that was first introduced to us in the form of an airy live recording circulating across the Internet really took us by surprise. ‘SOS’ appears now as Soca, closest to the classic ‘Turn Me On’ by Kevin Lytte with bits and jams of Hip-Hop vinyl-spinning sound effects. Soca is a blend of dancehall and pop music, being at the centre of this multi-genre tune. This is Jim's best interpretation of the Soca sound, well-known in Britain due to its large Caribbean community and influence.
‘i just banged a snus in canada water’
In ‘i just banged a snus in canada water,’ Jim makes his biggest comeback in rap yet. In fusion of drums reminiscing of the Jerk era and singing samples, in addition to the narrator hyping up throughout, it makes for an unforgettable first listen and definitely stands out from the tracklist.
‘dexters phone call’
Sitting as the second official feature with dexter in the newsagent, Jim takes the backsit, thus taking care of the production side of this elevating song. Even in its simplicity, it still holds Jim’s element due to its distorted yet perfected soundscape Dexter is singing and a choir then joins her.
‘3x’
Jim’s official third single that dropped at the same time as the tape is none other than ‘3x’ featuring Dave. Before they were even talks of Jim’s new tape, he made a quick appearance on Dave’s last summer ‘Sprinter’ with Central Cee. For most listeners, it might have gone over their heads; however, supporters have been anticipating an official with the two and we’re glad for the wait. Whilst Jim does his ting, Dave is the one shining the brightest with his clever lines.
‘tiger driver ‘91’
‘tiger driver ‘91,’ stands well on its own but could have been left off the tape. It speaks of the same content on the previous track with Dave, which is addressing the haters, money and jealousy, almost playing beside it as an extension without new exciting elements. The trap-like vocal performance by Jim could appear tacky for some listeners as for long, the argument between US & UK in music was that the British artists are too focused on replicating American sounds to appeal to an American audience. Even though he manages to make it his own, it is not the best we’ve heard of Jim.
‘brief’
Last but not least, ‘brief’ can be best described as a moment of reflection by Jim on the lessons his past has taught him. Like most of Jim’s music, it is impossible to categorize his sound or coin it to a specific genre; however, we can determine that this track is fairly inspired by Afro fusion. For that reason, Nigerian singer Omah Lay, Victony or even newcomer Serotonin feel like a perfect fit not only to this topic but also the soundscape.
‘Overall’
Jim Legxacy’s growth in this tape is undeniable. In just a short amount of time, he has managed to revolutionize music as we know it. While he pays homage to his British roots and past inspirations, it is as though there are no genres of the world that he cannot touch. His outreach is boundless. Jim is capable of making any sound his own, where at some instances his pen might suffer a little bit as a result, the soundscape takes over and leaves listeners feeling content of their overall experience.
