Style 43

So we’re only into the first few weeks of 2009 and already I have found a contender for album of the year. Jyager is the name and murdering verses is his game. The name might ring a bell in a few heads out there as he did a guest spot on Jehst’s “Mengi Bus Mixtape”, a couple of years back. Well once again it’s the High Plains Drifter who is responsible for this formal introduction to Jyager, as YNR Productions are the label representing and from the moment the first beat drops you can tell why.

We may be being slightly premature here because the album doesn’t actually drop for another two months, but when I hit up Google for anything Jyager related, the results were scarce and there was fuck all for the album, so I thought “Oh snap! We got ourselves an exclusive!” And what an exclusive it is…

Jyager has already had time to build up some lyrical skills through his time on the North London garage scene but thankfully for us, he left that behind and came to the YNR stable. They got him hooked up with Cee Why’s immense production force and his debut LP, “Encrypted Scriptures”, was born.

The album kicks off with the first single to be released, “Eyes Open”. A simple but filthy beat backs up Jyager’s very distinctive hazy drawl, a hazy drawl which in the same verse can be switched to a rapid fire flow, probably more reminiscent of his garage days. I like emcees to be able to mix it up a bit, in terms of their flow and Jyager doesn’t disappoint (Check the single for a respit featuring all the YNR big guns…)

Ever heard of a trilingual emcee? Jyager’s got that covered too. Hailing from Portugal helps, but he also knocks verses out in French as well as his native tongue. As you do. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard anyone spitting whilst switching between three different languages, with such fluidity that you don’t even notice he’s doing it, but that shit sounds impressive with a capital I.

Did someone order a posse cut? Well who better to get involved but those cheeky so-and-so’s the Foreign Beggars, as well as soon to be a national treasure, Kashmere. The combination of these highly skilled wordsmiths working together over another dark and grimey beat goes down a treat. But the guest spots get better. J-Star had to make an appearance somewhere and he offers up a sick verse or two on “The Session”, juxtaposed with Jyager’s flow, where his words seem to be glued together so they just slide out of this mouth in one long torrent.

The trilingual skills get brought out in full effect in “Actors in the Frame” and that could be my contender for track of the album. But wait… there’s more! “Yellow Brick Road” starts out with an obscure reference to girls in little red riding hoods and some dream like sequences being conjured up. The beat reminds me of one of those story raps that Ice Cube and Slick Rick used to kick back in the day, and it’s nice to hear that style again, especially on a UK release.

As you’ve probably guessed from the 500 odd words I’ve written already, this album has so much good stuff going on, I keep thinking of other bits that need to be shouted about. But with another two months until it’s released, I think I should leave it there and let the momentum build of its own accord. Trust me you will be hearing about this cat non-stop in the run up to March and you need to believe the hype - Jyager is here to stay.

www.myspace.com/jyagermak

Review by Fyshh

Tags: hip hop, Jyager, YNR Productions