Ever since we stumbled upon Jay Prince, we’ve continually been on the prowl for new material from the UK-based artist. Luckily for us, today he adheres to our impatience, dropping his latest signature, soul-embedded hip-hop EP entitled BeFor Our Time. The nine-piece work contains the already-featured “Polaroids” and seven other pristine tracks with contributions from London-based musicians Fabienne and Richie Saps, and production from the likes of IAMNODBODI, Mozaic, and Jordan James. “Crusin” is our first highlight from the collective effort, and Jay’s nostalgic hip-hop flavor is instantly eminent on the piece as he spits soothingly paced verses reverting to the more callow side of life. Alongside him, a gorgeous, '90s-influenced instrumental inspired by Mozaic helps uplift the ambiance. Our other new selection from the EP is the Fabienne-touched effort, “The Trip”, and alongside IAMNOBODI's polysynth-heavy production on the track, Jay's able to add a subtle dose of aggression on both of his verses—further unfolding his growth and as an artist. The EP does follow a certain consistency—one indicative of the Jay Prince we know—as chilled out instrumentals ride parallel to the mindful rhymes he alluringly sends out. It's a nice body of work to both capture his talents and further progress his set of artistic skills, and all the proof for that is found within our mentioned favorite cuts you can find below. Download the EP for free HERE. [via Noisey]
Jay Prince