Phoenix

Spawning from the ever prolific hip hop label Elefant Traks, Jimblah’s debut offering places itself as a collection of sincere story telling coupled with a listing of stimulating production and emotive vocal expression.

Not following the norm usually associated with local hip-hop releases, Phoenix offers an array of musical styles, with elements of acoustic instrumentation, refined electronic production and remnants of ’90s hip hop flavours evident across the 13 track release, intelligently diversifying the LP.

The lyricist cleverly combines the use of conventional folkesque singing with a display of clever lyricism, displayed early on in the release in ‘Brotherman’.

This flavour radiates through Phoenix, with ‘Sing With You’ continuing on with the laidback, left of centre hip hop approach.

The release however does hit its mark as a conventional hip hop release, especially in ‘Park Bench’, which features as one of the harder hitting additions. The heavily beat driven production works harmoniously with the lyrical flow and breakup, providing a contrast to earlier tracks on the release.

A heavy feature of the release is the themes in which Jimblah translates into song. The Emcees modern day indigenous experiences narrate a large portion of the listing, retelling, and introducing listeners to an unconventional vehicle for self-expression.

These themes stand out cleverly in ‘Cannot Buy My Soul’, which enlists the vocal support of Jada Alberts, adding an empowering touch to the simplistic yet effective production.

Jimblah’s Phoenix provides an unconventional hip hop offering, providing a sincere and heartfelt collection of diverse stories to form a larger picture of what the lyricist is all about.

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