Hip-Hop and therefore rap and all the other sub-genres that it spawned has always had a love of the hedonistic lifestyle. Commerciality may now be more of a driving force for the music being made on those tough streets but it never lost its sense of wanting more, craving success and the glamour of the lifestyle that it brings. Some might see cliche running through the video but this is a genre which has always known what it wanted and this is just a mission statement rather than playing up to well used stereotypes. Okay, it is playing up to a stereotype but players will play…and why not?
Musically JJ delivers his message over skittering percussion and solid beats, it runs on a minimalist R&B groove, as does much of the contemporary rap being made today and so whilst it is invested in the age old vibe that has sat at the core of the genre since its formative years in the parties and street corners, rap battles and gang culture of the late 70’s it rocks with no small amount of contemporary swagger. Swagger, that’s exactly the word we are looking for here.
