#jared wesley

Jared Wesley - Zone 4 (Mu-Tha-F*cka) Song Review

Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/jaredwesley/zone-4-mu-tha-fcka

Grundvattnet doesn’t often focus on hip-hop and rap, but Jared Wesley definitely fits in that underground artist niche that’s so crucial to our DIY sensibilities. Jared Wesley is an up and coming Georgia rapper who has been steadily dropping tracks, one of which is the R&B-inspired song “Zone 4 (Mu-Tha-Fucka)”. Granted, the title sounds like you’re about to get into a grimy gangster rap track, but you’re cheating yourself if you don’t listen to this sick song. Disclaimer: I’m about as white as white gets, and it’s about to become apparent.

The intro admittedly turned me off at first. Jared’s self-introduction is a cliched characteristic of rap songs, and it comes off a little awkward. However, if you just wait 10 seconds, he suddenly goes into an impressive flow that’s relentless but smooth and pleasant to listen to. Jared Wesley has a calm but firm voice, and his confidence shines through without coming across as arrogance. He has the skill to back up what he says. The instrumentals are pure R&B soul, with the drums providing a solid yet fluid foundation for Wesley to spit bars. It’s possible the sax sound is just from a synth, but if it is, it sounds really natural and organic. Nothing feels too out of place, and therefore everything sets Jared Wesley up well to do his thing.

As a white bread geek, I can’t say that I get a lot of the references that Wesley makes throughout the song, and he makes a *lot* of references. Thankfully, it doesn’t really require a comprehensive understanding of all of his allusions to appreciate his style and flow. He’s got this echo at the end of each line in certain sections, which helps create yet another interesting layer in this nuanced song. Jared has a good understanding of dynamics; he’ll start off slow, then slowly build up until he’s going super fast. He doesn’t overdo the fast sections, choosing instead to wisely back off and let the song breathe. What lyrics I can make out seem to be well-done and the sample at the end was a refreshing change of pace, as well as a satisfying conclusion to this track spanning nearly four minutes.

‘Jared Wesley - Zone 4 (Mu-Tha-F*cka)’

 - I found this a while back on a trip through my Soundcloud feed. It’s the kind of track that just oozes effortless confidence.