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In an industry full of East coast rough necks, West coast riders, and dirty South players, it's a relief to hear someone with an unbiased view speak from a neutral corner
Je'Ri has traveled from New Orleans, to Atlanta, to Chicago, back to Atlanta, and finally to the big apple in search of that oppurtunity that will open up the door to stardom. You can definitely hear the influence from the East, South, and mid-West in his lyrics, and it comes out in a beautiful collage with an East coast flow, Mid-Western wit, and dirty South grit on his debut underground album, "The Awakening".
Je'Ri is BossandFamily records first act, and he may just hit the lead off home run that will carry this label to victory. Je'Ri has a very solid rhyme scheme, a smooth delivery, and a somewhat monotone but clear and easily understandable voice. He's an ambitious young rapper hoping to crack the safe of this rap game, and he speaks on his determintation on "Can You Feel" it, a heartfelt anthem with beautiful strings and very sharp lyrics. Though the chorus on "Can You Feel it" is a little bit sappy, with children singing in choir fashion, it actually works well, and adds to the inspirational vibe of the song.
On "My Life", the self produced gem, Je'Ri shows off his talent behind the boards as well as behind the mic. In "My Life" Je'Ri beats you down with flawless rhymes about his own personal struggles, sounding alot like a post-'92 Rakim, with lyrics like "Doin' my thing,workin' hard, payin' my dues/ but it seems like them other cats iswearin' my shoes/ used to see the fly whips while I was ridin' the train/ crackin' a smile but the whole while just hidin' my pain", very nice. The very intimate "Infinite Love", produced by Warlok, comes through nicely, as Je'Ri speaks from the heart to his other half, and let's her know why she's so important to him.
The most radio-friendly song on the album, "Get Busy", is an infectious party jam, equipped with a beat that will snap your neck and a catchy chorus. Je'Ri gets deep with the wisdom on "Supreme Mathematics", a real laid back track, with very soothing and thought provoking lyrics. "New Orleans" and "Redrum" are hardcore bangers that suffer from a bad chorus. "Raw" and "Fairyality Tale" are both very strong lyrically but were poorly produced.

Je'Ri has the skill to do much more than hold his own over a spanof a whole album, thats why guest appearances on this album don't work well. I found myself waiting for his guest's verses to be over with so Je'Ri can bless the mic again. "Realness", a colloabo with Latin Bronx MC "El Profesor" does not work well, even though the beat bangs, the chemistry just isn't there. The very eerie "Killer Instinct" is appealing, but doesn't fit the vibe of the album, and rapper/producer Warlok should have let Je'Ri handle the lyrical side of things. Je'Ri's
labelmate, Female MC Keatana comes through with a less than stellar performance on the "Beg to Differ", and Je'Ri outshines his counterpart so bad that it brings the actual song down a few notches. "Format" is less than impressive, and labelmate M-Zae comes off sounding like an MJG ripoff, and doesn't merge well with Je'Ri's vibe.
All in all it's an average album from a far above average MC. It is comforting to listen to an MC who doesn't fit the stereotypes of a moet popping mainstream MC, or a backpack wearing underground MC. Je'Ri is his own Man, and you won't hear any references to gun clappin' or ice rockin', just a Man with a goal, speaking on his life experiences. He's a rare species, and he posesses all the tools to make it big, the charisma, the drive, the substance, and definitely the skill. It ain't hard to tell that he's a seasoned veteran that has been around the game for quite some time. You can hear the Rakim, LL Cool J, and the late Notorious B.I.G.'s influence in his lyrics, and your end result is a well rounded MC who has the potential make something much better than just a solid album like "The Awakening".

EMCEE DARTH MALEK wrote:it's obv him 2 mins into listening, why did anybody ever doubt MB?



....... well, he did briefly consider whether that white ukrainian dude was actually nas...

EMCEE DARTH MALEK wrote:Wack beats, couple cool verses. Particularly fairyality tale and supreme mathematics. You can see the seeds of him developing into a dope mc.

Real question is how u manage to put together an album then and then not another one in 15 years you directionless pondering failure.

b.radio wrote:who even cares at this point

Mindbender Futurama wrote: I wonder what Jay-Z thinks when he sees Jay Electronica now

Kace wrote:About the stuttering thing. When I met Jay Electronica on his first tour in Europe he talked about his stage fright and how he usually needed to down at least half a bottle of Jack Daniels right before his rap performance.