Emcee of the Month: Jean Grae

Here's Jean Grae's video for the track "Love Thirst" from her Jeanius album.

I knew I wanted to highlight one of Jean's music videos today, and in my search for an appropriate clip, I was disheartened to discover she hasn't actually done many.

It's an unfortunate reality of the music industry that artists who reside on independent labels don't have truckloads of financial backing to create projects like music videos. However, when these artists do rustle up enough resources to get a video together the result is usually quite inventive and provocative. Such is the case with "Love Thirst".

Jean's playfulness and variety in this video is quite enjoyable. I'm a fan of multiple personality-type stuff, and the play on religious contradiction at the end is a nice touch. I would have, however, liked to see her spending some time out of the cab in her various personas engaging with people on the street. I feel that would have made the video a more well rounded.

Nevertheless, it's pretty dope. I hope to see another on from her soon!

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Jean Grae

I've been listening to Jean Grae interviews on youtube for about an hour now and honestly, I could listen to her all night long. Really. Rarely have I seen an emcee who can converse with such a balance of wit, intelligence, humility, insight, and confidence. Most stick to their shtick and have limited ability to communicate the subtleties and nuances of their personalities. Perhaps it has something to do with a fear or apprehension of seeming vulnerable or weakened.

Not Jean.

She invites us into the frailties and idiosyncrasies of who she is just enough to keep us wanting more. We get a sense of how she observes her world and what drives her. It's actually incredibly enticing. Since the business of hip hop music is such a male driven industry, the usual pattern of women emcees is to mimic the way the dudes navigate the culture. But Jean embraces her femininity, which allows her to seem much more grounded in life and work.

There is a lack of recent interviews featuring Jean on youtube (I wonder why.) but I was able to find clips from what seemed to be many different moments throughout her career. I was fascinated to see how she's evolved in the way she talks about her art and life. Here I'll be posting the most recent video I found, but I encourage you to scroll back and check out some of her earlier words. She's a sophisticated person and her journey is wonderfully colorful.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Jean Grae

I'm excited I have an opportunity this month to discuss and highlight an artist whose work I've checked out before now. This is a track of off Jean's 2008 album Jeanius. Titled "The Time is Now", the production is handled by 9th Wonder with Phonte of Little Brother making a fantastic guest appearance.

This is my favorite jawn (Philly word!) on the Jeanius album, primarily because it exhibits Jean's sense of humor and spontaneity. Her verse on this track harnesses an energy that feels much more like free association or stream of consciousness than the more meditative lyrics she offers in other moments on the LP. But the verse doesn't seem sloppy or misshapen in any way. As the listener I'm able to follow the progression of her thoughts easily and clearly, even though the imagery makes significant shifts at times. Jean is very good at finding a balance in her writing that suggests an illusion of performing the verse for the first time while guiding us on a journey with her through the exploration of the text. And judging from the ad-libs that open and close the song, it's evident she's having a ton-o-fun.

Also, she's kickin' with the home state boys, Phonte and 9th Wonder (NC!). I'm always down with that!

peace.