Tailing his soothing official debut album release ‘Joëtry’, London’s consoling voice of the streets Joe James switches it up to give us a taste of the come up with gritty offering ‘Rainbow Money’.
Possibly one of the most underrated voices within the UK scene, Joe James has been making waves throughout the ‘underground’ scene since 016’ days, with old school anthems such as his apologetic ode to his mother in pensive offering ‘Mumzy’ that’s currently touching around 1.5 million streams on Spotify alone – but if we’re really talking about J-O-E himself, you can’t forget to mention his break-out grime infused riddim ‘Soul Brother’. Released back in 017’, this track established Joe’s against-the-grain nature even at a young age with his unapologetic poise, pulling out atypical flows and wordplay exhibited throughout, but especially in that infectious stuttered hook.
Previously mentioned, the rapper come model released a debut tape during the winter, spring cusp within the new year which garnered some serious attention amongst avid rap heads across the nation and many calling for ‘album of the year’ within the rising UK rap community (I may or may not have been one of those bruddas). The EP consists of nine luxurious tracks, weaving his distinct vocals and raw wordplay along side a string of soothing harmonies from a number of angelic songstresses running throughout the tape – creating an absolutely seamless listening experience. Offerings such as ‘blackberry curve’, ‘polythene gucci belt’ and (a personal favourite) ‘mate in five’ all consist of slow jam inspired instrumentals, utterly complimenting the Londoner’s raw voice as he tells his tales – a truly flawless soundscape for a late summer’s night.
I may or may not have got a bit carried away with the discography but the guys just been around for too long and had too many cold tracks not to – but anywaysss into the latest offering, ‘Rainbow Money’. ‘Rainbow Money’ sees Joe confirming his proficiency in multiple genres, switching up the instrumental selection, hopping on a ‘Shoreline Mafia’ type beat with a choppy cadence and atmospheric keys, complimented with a muddy West-Coast bass synth lingering throughout and pungent 808’s to top it off, all mixed by Cam.
Straight off the bat, the talent touches base on the topic of discussion, ’Rainbow Money’, as he’s seen showing a profound amount of ‘pink’ and ‘grape’ notes of Queen Lizzy while baking off in the studio with his clique captured by Honey JD. Joe goes on to reminisce the lengths he’d go to back in the day to attain currency, giving us a raw but honest depiction wrapped in witty wordplay: ‘up in trapo trying to get papes in/we was up and down the market like we bit trading’.
The seasoned artist further speaks on methods he gained money during his youth, as he goes onto reference his days racking up thousands of pounds in modelling campaigns: ‘I made 12 bands just for wearing Stoney’ – showcasing the cross overs of life he’s experienced.
Yet another notable offering placed under the multi-faceted talent’s belt only has us hoping for more releases to come, and with a year locked up in the studio, Joe may just have some more bangers in the vault for us on the way. So until he unveils the pending sounds, run up ‘Rainbow Money’ on all platforms and check in on those visuals too.
