Hailing from Boston, JAKEWITHSPACES! pushes experimental hip-hop into memorable territory with new album DOPEFUMEMIDI, presenting a bold fusion of eerie synths, twisted beats, and fragmented melodies. Each track layers warped textures and inventive rhythms, blending introspective lyrics with enjoyably off-kilter sound design. The result is a darkly impactful hip-hop sound, reminding of acts like JPEGMAFIA and Shabazz Palaces.
“THE SILENCE” is a gripping album opener, fusing glistening instrumentation and laid-back rhythms with lyrical themes of defiance and self-reliance. The verses oscillate between survivalist pride — “It was always just me, stood ten toes” — and existential disillusionment; imagery of smoke, static, and false idols evoke a fractured modern psyche, invigorating especially as blaring brass elements infuse around the track’s mid-point. Ensuing track “MY SOUL, THE ANTIDOTE” is another standout, feeling delectably eerie in its spacey synth elements. A stirring sense of genuine artistic sentiment is conveyed, both in the “I’d never sell my mother fucking soul” ardor and the drive to “put that mother fucker in an audio file” “before I die.”
An emotively charged success, “REAP WHAT YOU SOW!” is especially haunting with its piano progressions — twinkling yet melancholic — as head-nodding rhythms enter shortly thereafter. This track fuses gritty introspection with vulnerable imagery, exploring ambition, loss, and disillusionment. The refrain “I’m so young but the love grow old” captures a tension of chasing purpose in a world where the grass “ain’t grow.” It’s an artfully accomplished success, ruminating on the modern world with insight and relatability. DOPEFUMEMIDI is abundant in quality songwriting and atmospheric hip-hop productions.
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
