Jewel Usain unveils the album “Where Boys Grow Up” in October 2023, featuring some prestigious artists, including Tuerie, Béesau, Hedges, Saintdoss, and Prince Waly. Following BEN Plg, Jewel Usain performs on the YouTube channel Colors with his track “Navy Blue”, taken from his latest album.
Jewel Usain in “Bleu Marine” !
Amidst the noise of borrowed rhythms and easy punchlines, Jewel Usain has crafted a masterpiece. The album “Where Boys Grow Up” is complete. Focusing on quality rather than chasing hits, the artist navigates through all styles, from Boom bap to more contemporary tracks, all while maintaining his caustic pen. The project is a call to urban poetry.
The instrumental composition of “Navy Blue” was crafted by the trio of beatmakers Béesau, Edouard Monnin, and Kozbeats. The first two have contributed several times to Jewel Usain’s latest album, notably on tracks “Complicated” and “Blue Pill”. Kozbeats is a multi-platinum beatmaker who produced the hit “Water Drop” for Ninho. This track paves the way for the rapper’s album “Destiny”, which marks his peak with a diamond record.
Jewel Usain: the circle of vanished rappers!
The composition for Colors is gentle with some piano notes. In the track, Jewel Usain has sharp words. He notably discusses a debate in music: “They’re the ones who put us in boxes / A street artist does the same thing as painters.” Gims was the first to address this issue, suggesting that the term “urban music”, for example, now encompasses very different styles, from Afro to Drill Music. Must one be from “the street” only to be considered “urban”?
Additionally, the ever more committed rapper references the George Floyd case, which sparked the “Black Lives Matter” movement, with the punchline: “There will be fences / As long as there are cops out on bail.” The police officer who suffocated him was initially released on bail.
Jewel Usain unfolds with disconcerting ease. A master of creativity, a king of rhyme, he effortlessly transitions between styles.