Rob’s Album of The Week: Jesse the Tree’s Not Fade Away
There’s a lot of things I love about the music Providence hip hop artist Jesse the Tree puts out. To name a couple of them, he gives off a rapid stream of consciousness style that seems like every rhyme he’s spitting out is completely improvised. He also has a knack for creating his own niche within the artform, which is rare in a day & age where hip hop can come off as polarizing. His latest album Not Fade Away that came out January 19 continues this artistic journey with various psychedelic & jazzy samples coming into play. It also has a few fresh collaborations taking place as well.
Philadelphia rapper Andrew, who is also part of the duo SleepingDogs with Jesse the Tree, handled the producing with the recording process taking place at The Boiler Room Studio on the Providence/Cranston border. This resulted in a record that has a similar quality to Jesse’s 2022 full-length Pigeon Man that came out via Strange Famous Records. At the same time, the vibe is completely different with the lyrical delivery being more cerebral and low-key. I do like how this shows a different side of an artist’s creative output. No matter what the endeavor is, no one should put themselves in a box while pursuing their craft and Not Fade Away proves that taking a slight shift in direction can have its benefits.
Since the latter half of the 2010s, hip hop has had quite a resurgence within the Providence music scene. This movement has caused an intertwining within the community where musicians from other bands and projects will come out to a show to see a handful of rappers do their thing. It does need to be mentioned that Jesse the Tree is one of the folks who has led the charge for this revival, even if he probably isn’t aware of his role in doing so. I have welcomed it with open arms and I’m know a few other folks involved in the city’s nightlife have as well. With this being said, here are my top tracks off of the Album of The Week:
I don’t know what the sample is, but I seems like some Steely Dan or some other ’70s jazz-rock act was incorporated into “Mr. Elevator”. I love how the keys and saxophone contribute to the musical arrangements while the song relays a wild cannabis-driven experience. Andrew lends his talents to “Big Star” with the song having a similar vibe to the previous one I just mentioned. The main difference is that this has a more harmonious tone coming across. “OMC” has IL. Subliminal bringing forth his poetic approach with the track being another example of how great the samples are, and the overall structure is within Not Fade Away.
As of press time, the only show Jesse the Tree has lined up is one at Auspicious Brew in Dover, New Hampshire on February 24. He’s going to be joined by the harp and hip-hop fusion of Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise from Philly and the New York soul/hip hop artist Adrienne Mack-Davis, so it’s going to be an experience that no one in the area should miss out on. There’s probably going to be a ton of other gigs that he’s going to be taking part in throughout the year, and the best way to keep tabs on that is by following him on X. In the meantime, grab a copy of Not Fade Away and give it a listen. It’s an exemplary take on beats, rhymes and life itself.
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