It’s not a drill, J Hus actually is again. After three lengthy years of fan hypothesis, fake album teasers and hype: the genre-splicing east-Londoner has returned for his third studio album. The one shock is that Hus is again within the constructing in any respect: he’d cementing himself as one of many UK’s most gifted new artists earlier than promising to stop touring (since walked again) and going quiet in an period that hardly ever permits for down-time.
The BRIT Award-winning emcee’s 2016 debut EP ‘Taking part in Sports activities’ was transient however promising, and his 2017 Platinum-selling Dave collaboration ‘Samantha’ and debut mixtape ‘The fifteenth Day’ had been dollops of Afroswing-glazed pop-rap, potent sufficient to trigger property injury. Then got here debut album ‘Frequent Sense’ in 2017, which scooped up Finest Album on the NME Awards, and the document has since been ushered into the UK rap fan’s unofficial Corridor of Fame. A stint in jail in 2018 put pause to his speedy ascent, however his second document ’Massive Conspiracy’ in 2020, Hus’ second LP was trim, to the purpose and soulful in all the correct methods. The silence since, nevertheless, has been deafening.
Becoming, then, that ‘Lovely and Brutal Yard’ opens with ‘The GOAT’, status-affirming sonnet the place Hus reminds followers of his legacy as if he’s delivering an episodic Netflix recap. “They know I’m a goat, they know I’m a canine, they know I’m a thug/If I obtained my nostril in your enterprise, it’s a snub,” Hus raps. “My bredrin bang it for me, I name that love. We grew up tough, needed to carry stuff, almost broke down, had sufficient.” Transitioning right into a motivational dialog with a pal, Hus is prompted to disclose the actual him behind the cameras and fame. It’s a reminder that Hus doesn’t communicate too usually, however that when he does, the world listens.
Executively produced by UK hitmaker TSB, whose credit embody Stormzy, AJ Tracey and extra, his third album is a 19-track voyage into the brazen, boundless and typically bleak frontier of the Black British and Gambian expertise. It pulls collectively disparate threads: on ‘Bloodbath’, which boasts a clean Afrobeat backdrop, Hus subverts expectations with slick-talking flows, road sermons and the odd romantic passage or two. It’s a bit all over lyrically, however isn’t that why we love him?
Lead single and Drake collab ‘Who Informed You’ firmly takes the highlight. With lab-cultivated ranges of charisma and catchiness all through, Hus and Drake toasts to the world’s boldest three-and-a-half-minute occasion: “Who instructed you unhealthy man don’t dance? Who instructed you gangsters don’t dance? Even with a wap on my hip, I dance unhealthy man, take one other sip and dance”, they purr. ‘Militerian’ renews the document’s occasion atmosphere, recruiting British-Nigerian singer Naira Marley, the tune splendidly caps off the trilogy of P2J-produced hits earlier than the tropical ‘Palm Timber’ kicks in.
Late standout ‘Come Gully Bun (Gambian President)’, that includes rapper Boss Stomach, takes us to their homeland as the 2 emcees flex their linguistic muscular tissues and storytelling abilities over minimalistic manufacturing. Conversely, ‘My Child’ – a monitor listed on the rumoured tracklist for ‘The Ugliest’ challenge – is a welcome dose of throwback thug luvin’.
There’s some fan-service, thoughts. First teased by JAE5, Jorja Smith and J Hus again in 2020, loved-up drill lower ‘Good Physique’ lastly will get a full launch; Smith’s vocals present melodic solace for the monitor’s string and hi-hats-filled cocktail. Dancehall dynamo Popcaan joins Hus for ‘Killy’, which is furnished with a cold-blooded, membership riddim and nearly actually will turn into a fan favorite.
There’s only some missteps. Burna Boy-starring ‘Masculine’ feels considerably undercooked in comparison with the duo’s earlier tracks, 2021’s ‘Play Play’ and ‘Cloak & Dagger’, which featured on Burna Boy’s ‘Love, Damini’. There’s the odd lyrical blemish (‘Recent Water / Safa Kara’) muddled motif (‘It’s Loopy’), and the occasional by-the-numbers beat (‘Alien Lady’), too.
‘Lovely and Brutal Yard’, nevertheless, is an elongated, but joyous return from J Hus. Splintering the sonics between drill, dancehall, Afrobeat and hip-hop, he permits himself to discover extra musical terrain than ever earlier than, whereas the rapper channels his lyrical efficiency, struggles and romantic pursuits into one unified portrait.
Particulars
- Launch date: July 14, 2023
- Document label: Black Butter Information
