If an artist fails to take risks, it’s hard to imagine innovation being possible. Still, the thirst for progressive art can come with a price. At times, an artist tries to jump into new waters but plunges to defeat. Khujo Goodie and Jneiro Jarel created Willie Isz [click to read] as a group set to take risks with music in a genre that’s been, perhaps unfairly, chastised with criticism for uniformity of late. With Georgiavania, Willie Isz drop a record unlike most you will hear this year, one chock-full of those risks.
From the outset with “Blast Off” through the album’s outro, Khujo ensures fans that his spit-kicking is in gear, revved by a rugged voice that can flow over any beat Jarel dishes out. To better showcase range, Khujo is able to serve vulnerability (“I feel so insecure just being myself. I feel so alone.“-“Loner”) and bravado (“U Want Some?”) with balanced potency. In the end, the lyrical peak is reached with “In the Red,” which closes the album off with a dose of social commentary (“We know talk is cheap and closed mouths don’t get fed. But, we’re starving down here. Can you spare some bread?“). Though simplified at times, Khujo can deliver a message-be it to strive for change or start a party.
In accord with the lyrical range, Jneiro Jarel is willing to experiment incessantly with instrumentation. Whether he is pairing Irish-influenced musical elements with down South-drum patterns (“The Grussle”) or electronic beats with gothic vocals (“Prepare Fo It”), he yearns to traverse through the uncharted. Able to go up-tempo (“U Want Some?”) and to slow down (“In the Red”), he often challenges the listener with twists and sonic turns. Jarel is also able to rewind us to the ’80s new-wave-inspired “Loner” and push us forward to the more instrumental-based “Shine.” Some may find the instrumental backing somewhat odd or spaced out, which at times can be the case. Take for example, the psychedelic distortions in “Violet Heart Box”and find that some things just don’t work. Often times, that’s the way experimentation pans out.
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“I’m not saying it’s the greatest record in the world, because we most definitely got some improving to do,” Khujo told HipHopDX back in May [click to read]. “Expect the record to be jamming if you a Hip Hop head and you don’t like music where every song sound the same.”
He’s right. There’s room for improvement but its versatility and its willingness to take risks is refreshing. Georgiavania is a record that reaches throughout genres and musical styles while maintaining a distinctly Southern Rap feel. It may not be for every one and the risks may sometimes fall flat, but sometime’s it’s worth the jump.
