by Dan O

J Words understands the feeling that the right music elicits and chases it no matter what the mixture needs to be.

I think of J Words as an intersectional genius in music. That sounds fancy. Think of J Words as a fly individual with a giant keyring. On it is a key to open the door of any genre you can think of House, Salsa, Hip Hop, Ambient music, etc. Living up to the tradition of the sounds isn’t really a consideration. J Words understands the feeling that the right music elicits and chases it no matter what the mixture needs to be. I love when she is interviewed and people call her an innovator. She looks at them like they said something boring. “What else am I here to do?!” written on her face. Here are the five artists I would love her to do a full album with:

1.Dave-Generational talent also known as Santan Dave hasn’t had an album since 2021. As he plays piano and guitar his songs have been based on slow tones and personal journeys. When he has opened his sound up its worked well. Thinking of the 2019 song Location with Burna Boy off Psychodrama. J Words sound would push Dave away from his pre-existing format. Smart, personal rappers sometimes settle into slower production that is a comfortable fit for that style of storytelling. I don’t want Dave to develop without the ability to shift gears successfully into faster speeds and warmer flavors. While J Words would challenge him the heart in the music would remain a fantastic guide.

2.Psalm One-When Psalm did our massive 2 part 2023 wrap up show of State of The Game I got to joke with her about everyone diving into dance music when she was doing fast paced dance hip hop ten years before them. Psalm is the easiest pick on the list. The Chicago emcee is a perfect match for J Words. She crafts delicious hooks, never pulls punches or suffers nonsense, has fun on tracks while editing and getting songs finished. Not only would this album sound amazing they would have a ball making it.

3. Vince Staples-One of the most fascinating artists in the world right now. Sincerely brilliant humorist with an insane flow that can adjust to any speed or tempo and fit. The humor and style in general is DARK. Not sure how J Words would feel about soundtracking a world of paranoia and violence but if the trust was solid the outcome would be amazing. Vince has shown the ability to not just outrap everyone but make hooks that live forever and write stories that haunt us like ghosts.

4. Danny Brown-Always one of my favorites I love artists that are equal parts gross funny and talented. Danny Brown is one of the few MC’s on earth who wouldn’t bat an eye at working over a J Words beat. Detroit is sonically connected to all things: soul, hip hop, house, you name it. If he can sound great over the sparse, jagged, off kilter production of Raphy he would get along swimmingly with J Words. The other important thing to note here is that J Words production has life and joy in it. At this phase of his career this is something Danny Brown is much more interested in, having logged his years of dusty grime.

5. R.A.P. Ferreira-Formerly known as Milo this is an artist who has made bones in hip hop exploring different directions for his poetry. Nothing ever sounds the same. R.A.P. Ferreira is at peak form when given a new sound to adapt to. After so many years in peak form it can be harder to find new sounds to push and challenge you. J Words might give us the best R.A.P. Ferreira we’ve ever heard cruising over high BPMs with Ferlinghetti style.