“I am ever-grateful for the scene or scenes I support. When you say you are into UK Rap, people immediately imitate an 808, quote some misogynistic bar, make up some wild crime-laden story, and throw hand signs somewhat reminiscent of a gang sign—I cringe even while typing this. But that, for me, is not UK Rap. Central Cee type music is a style I like, but once I started expanding my music taste it changed” says jesi who has been revelling in his new-ish take of Boombap, or the more recently coined Alternative Rap. “Everything I was listening to before was like heavy trap shit, 808’s which obviously people like, but with Boombap you actually have to talk about stuff; you can’t just jump on a hook and repeat that, so it really got me in my writing bag and made me better at the craft”. This approach might not get you onto mainstream radio shows, playlists or nominations at awards ceremonies, but when you look at the explosion of this sound in the US you can see it’s potential. “You’ve got Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, Mach Hommy, MIKE, Superstar Gnarly, Freddie Gibbs like all these people, the way they were rapping it didn’t have to be like hard beats. It was more like beautiful beats with them over the top”. The Griselda boys, of course, are taking this to new heights, but the US scene has shown a true demand for this rap style, ditching the hook repetition and loud drums for poignant societal takes over more jazz-infused soul loops. “What made me fall in love with that type of music initially was one song: ‘Infinity (888)’ by XXXTENTACION with Joey Badass, like I love how good it is but also how simple it is; there’s no auto-tune; it’s barely mixed or processed, but everything lands.” Less can be more, and stripping away studio inflections for true rap-heads is fucking welcomed. I could sit and list endless artists who champion this more organic process, but jesi touts Lord Apex as a slightly less mainstream Knucks whilst I would point to Lee Scott as a true pioneer of this sound, but both their journeys to notability have been long winded. “It’s slowly creeping into the UK scene but I just don’t think enough people understand this type of rap exists”.
jesi has found a home in this sound, his ‘prescribed persistence’ EP a great demonstration of this, but is still always looking for new ways to switch it up and stand out whilst remaining truly relatable. Whether it’s the smell of the Frankfurters his Mum used to make or a consigliere he encounters whilst playing through a Mafia 2 remake, jesi can turn it into art. “You’ve got so many people making music about the most random stuff, and if you dig into the most well-crafted rap songs or whatever, they’re probably about something insignificant” and the meanings we take from them as listeners will never be the intended from the artist, but that is the beauty of this form of rap, it’s not black or white, it’s not even grey, it’s whatever colour it makes you feel in that moment on that day. “People listen to music through a completely different scope to the person who created it; like a song, I turn up to could be a song someone cries to. I don’t like to focus on how my music makes me feel cause that won’t apply to everyone. Ask any artist the tracks that have done well aren’t the ones they expected to”. It’s true. Some of the least marketable tracks have some of the best Easter eggs, if you will, and jesi likes to take his audience on Easter Egg hunts. “You know you’ve made it when people are picking out parts of your lyrics, like most people don’t care about those intricacies”, but again that is the beauty of this scene, people do care about the intricacies. I, as a listener and a fan, want to find a different bar on each listen. No one does this better than Jam Baxter, not only cause of the obscurity of his bars but also how they’re delivered and how they linger in the air, making you miss maybe the next couple, on that listen at least. “Conway the Machine does that so well like you have to dig for almost Easter Egg type shit. I’m happy for you to come up with bars that kinda make sense, kinda don’t, like that’s cool with me. People take different things from it, but both are equally valid.”
We could’ve chatted all afternoon about how we love rap, and for the most part, we did, but I also wanted to get jesi’s take on the UK music scene as a whole, especially for a young person navigating their way through. For all it’s rich talents, the UK scene still appears to be very gate-kept by those inside it, who almost don’t want you to learn of some of the great creatives we have tucked away. “The UK scene is a dark one… Someone who doesn’t know you, but likes your music will not share it simply because they don’t wanna gas that person up. I know so many people who have my songs on their playlist but would never say a word like why, it’s not gunna kill you to motivate me”. People, audiences, individuals like to keep their favourite artists to themselves as they think this gives them some sort of special power, like wielding some unknown weapon and using it to strike down with a dismissive ‘pffft you haven’t heard of so and so’. And then when this person blows up, or gets an increased audience they want to act like they discovered them and somehow their loyalty is worth more than yours. “This crabs in the barrel mentality needs to be shed, there’s enough room for everyone. If you’re gatekeeping a clothes brand, an artist, an actor or whatever, you’re stopping people from seeing that who would love to see it and someone who’s putting their all into something from being seen”. But that is seemingly human nature, fuck I’ve even received friction from artists I want to promote- people don’t want to be seen wanting or receiving help. The UK’s Alternative rap scene is far, far from a cohesive, well-oiled machine, but maybe that’s part of it’s beauty. Stumbling across absolute gems of artists can be so rewarding, but not wanting to share them seems to underline just how gate-kept this scene is. Often it will take another ‘big’ artist showing a smaller artist love which will spark their rise; “you got to do already something to warrant getting the flowers or praise that you get- you don’t get credit for the effort which is fucked”. I call it a Conservative state of mind; I suffered to get to where I am so you must suffer too.
“There’s one thing that has tremendously helped me to keep out of my head, and that’s just forget what everybody else is doing whether it’s good or bad, it’ll fuck you up”. Success is not only a loose term in this industry but also a relative one. It may seem some artists have won a competition to be rappers, immediately getting exposure and coverage from places others can only dream of. “That’s an industry plant bro. I can sit there and feel bad about myself like this guy has done three songs, and he’s opening for massive artists, but he has access to things I don’t have access to, family members in positions I don’t have”. There are other pitfalls with rises like this. Questions around authenticity will always be asked, lying about lifestyles like YBN Nahmir, selling out or throwing fellow artists under the bus; it can be a brutal scramble to the top, but jesi likes to keep it authentic, as that is quite literally priceless. “I pick my words very intentionally. If I say something that can be perceived as a lie then I’ll change the line, like rapping about clothes I don’t actually own, it’s just weird… People can connect with you more as well. When people look into my lyrics, I know they’re true. There’s nothing to be debunked”. And this resonates with true fans who fuck with true artists who make music for nothing more than the love of making music, trust me; it’s apparent. jesi is one of these artists. “I wanna drop a new EP, I just wanna drop projects I don’t even care about views. I’m just getting so much better at it, like really thinking about how I used my voice, working on my delivery and my words and being clever with it, I hate basic shit”.
There’s nothing basic here and whichever style or sound jesi tries his hand at it carries. There are so many little scenes that make up the UK Rap scene right now, and within those, there are many hidden gems to be discovered. We don’t have the audience that the US has, that is simple mathematics, but we do definitely have the creative talent, and these talents are starting to realise their collective worth- it’s all up from here.
