Artiste – Jesse Jagz
Album – Jagz Nation, Vol.1. Thy Nation
Come
Features – Lindsey, Brymo, Wizkid & 9ice
Producers – Jesse Jagz, Kid Konnect,
Samklef, Shady, Phaze Hop & Guilty Beatz
Running Time – 01:20:44
Record Label – Jagz Nation (2013)
Ever since Mr. Jargo announced his
migration from ‘Chocolate City’ to ‘Jagz
Nation’ guarded by two lions; we have
been anticipating the album he promised
like it was the pathway to salvation and
the producer did not disappoint us
thankfully…running naked is now
understandable as Jesse Jagz has
unleashed his musical brilliance packaged
in a sophomore album titled ‘Jagz Nation,
Vol.1. Thy Nation Come’ on an
unsuspecting audience. Housing 18 tracks
(including an intro and skit) and boasting
guests like Wizkid, Lindsey, Brymo and
9ice; Jesse Jagz has magnificently grown
and evolved and shows this as he takes
the music into a deeper realm compared
to his debut offering ‘Jag of All Tradez’.
Although it might be too soon to tag the
LP using the word ‘classic’, we can
confidently use it’s synonym ‘tour de
force’ and crown Jesse Jagz the hottest
mainstream MC in Nigeria at the moment.
‘Thy Nation Come’ in one word?
Revolutionary!
Digest our track-to-track review and
familiarize yourself with the album’s
hottest points:
1. Intro: The 1:36 seconds intro sounds
strange, heavy, raga-ish, solid, and strong
and sets the mood for a mind-blowing
musical adventure.
2. Burning Bush (In Memory of Hadiza
Aboki): Opening the album properly with
an emotive yet inspiring piano chord
before transcending into the rich
instrumentation, ‘Burning Bush’ is
dedicated to Hadiza Aboki. The former
afro-pop act bares his vulnerability as he
sings lyrics like; ‘Early in the morning,
when she feeling lonely, she say Jaga pray
for me, Keep my enemies away from
me…’, the depth of this number can
hardly be over- exaggerated.
3. Bed of Roses: A hustler’s prayer? A
clean hip-hop cut! Affirming the fact that
his rapping skills are over-looked, Jesse
continues engineering this musical garden
(Jagz Nation, Vol.1. Thy Nation Come)
with ‘Bed of Roses’.
4. Desire: Already proving that he is a
musical chameleon, Jagz forges deeper
into the raga genre with the inspiring and
oriental influenced ‘Desire’. Perfectly
fitting into the musical identity of the LP;
Jesse wails, ‘Jah protect me when the evil
man come and me don’t have a gun’…and
after the superb guitar riff at the middle
of the track he continues with ‘everyman
will run away, if day never came and no
sun again and we only got the moon to
stay’. ‘Desire’ might be mistakenly for a
gospel number by virtue of the
momentous message.
5. Where You At? : Jesse Jagz wears his
‘Jag of all Tradez’ skin while trying to
retain his lyrical depth on the banging yet
tiring fifth track. Targeted at the clubs,
dance-floors and behind-closed-doors,
‘Where You At?’ might not pack the punch
but it is a pretty decent offering.
6. Mamacita: Just like its predecessor
Jesse confesses his libidinous wants on the
magical fusion of rap, raga and pop
christened ‘Mamacita’. Brilliantly divided
into two; the erotic part and the section
where Jesse excretes hot un-sexual rap
bars, the complex track is one of the
Nation’s focal points.
7. Sex & Scotch : Unlike ‘Mamacita’ and
‘Where You At?’ Jesse holds nothing back
‘Sex & Scotch’. The track title or ‘Bestial &
Boozed-up’ (like we like to call it) says it
all; ‘S&S’ may not be about chains and
whips however its carnal content maybe
be censored as being not suitable for
individuals under 21 in some states.
8. God on the Mic: Ibn Abaga has his
Kanye West moment with ‘God on the
Mic’. Digest these lines – ‘Hurled from the
sky like a discus, A god has fallen from
Olympus, Dethroned from high, Thrown
from the sky…formed from the remnants
of Optimus Prime, In the darkness words
formed in his mind-blind, Double edged
sword state of rhyme, so a nigga got
resourceful with his time…’, Jagz serves a
jaw-dropping song worthy of the ovation.
9. International: Jesse brags about his
flow on ‘International’.
10. Steady Going: Rapping obviously one
of his strengths, Jesse flexes this muscle
again on ‘Steady Going’. Stellar hip-hop
production solely sold this number, then
adding the brilliance of Jesse.
11. Jargo (Feat. 9ice): Jesse enlists the
iconic 9ice to deliver one of his best
hooks in recent times on ‘Jargo’. Drawing
inspiration from Chinese music mostly
Taoist music and Yayue and Yoruba
indigenous music, the emperor of Jagz
Nation assisted by 9ice tell(s) an epic tale.
Jargo is a testimony that 9ice still has the
X-factor and can make a massive
comeback if the cards are played right.
12. Pedal to the Floor: Jesse soars as
usual on another deep rap number.
13. Sativa Skit: A slight hilarious skit
where Jesse is being interrogated by
officers over ‘a little green’.
14. Sativa (feat. Lindsey): Arguably
celebrating the world’s most popular herb
is ‘Sativa’. Project fame finalist and
seasoned vocalist Lindsey joins the
Rastafarian movement by employing her
soothing vocals and the leader Jagz rants
on moving instrumentation.
15. After Party (feat. Brymo): Brymo
brings his signature voice to join his
former label mate in the new nation and
the result is ‘After Party’. We cannot say
we are screaming about the breezy
collaboration still the track has some high
points; for instance Jesse still keeps the
lyrical content on check – “Locked up
niggas found the key” that’s a line in
reference to their Chocolate City
departure, then Brymo’s captivating
chorus. We love this nation!
16. Redemption: The project’s haunting
lead single is intoxicating as lead singles
get. Despite announcing the organic
sound the album possess, the game-
changing ‘Redemption’ reassured
followers of Jesse Jagz that his sophomore
album would be worth the wait.
17. Bad Girl (feat. Wizkid): We are
gladdened that Star Boy Wizkid finally
decided to challenge himself lyrically and
soulfully when called upon by Jesse Jagz.
‘Bad Girl’ is a bad banger, with a steamy
hook
credited to Wiz and Jesse leading the way
we did not expect any less.
18. Selassie : Saved the last for best?
Selassie closes the musical journey in
grand style. Kudos to the brains behind
the arrangement of ‘Selassie’, the
production and especially the refined
background vocalist who drove the song
home towards the final seconds of the
album; before it changes to the hidden
‘outro’ which is very similar to the intro.
We would kill to see this number served
live.
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