- Music
- 01 Jul 01
A mixture of singer-songwriter narrative and hip-hop savvy, courtesy of Milk D (of Audio 2 fame), the single and album opener serves as a perfect appetiser for what is to come.
Jason Downs has already produced one of the feelgood hits of the summer in the form of the glorious title track to his debut album, a wonderful, funny, semi-autobiographical tale about a country boy’s experiences among the hustlers and bustlers of Noo Yawk City.
A mixture of singer-songwriter narrative and hip-hop savvy, courtesy of Milk D (of Audio 2 fame), the single and album opener serves as a perfect appetiser for what is to come. Milk’s breakbeats and streetwise rapping also work as a perfect foil to Jason’s resonant, wordy vocals, on tracks like the shimmering summery vibe of ‘Girls’ or the doomed romance of ‘Trouble’.
Jason wrestles with his part-Native American past on tracks like the cinematic ‘Cherokee’ and the brilliant ‘One Of Those Days’ (“These are the days that I’d like to beat someone/ And mister, it starts with you”), but thankfully they stop short of preachy.
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White Boy is not without flaws, however. The cloying ‘Revenue’ and the cringeworthy ‘Hey’ are a little heavy-handed lyrically, when more dextrous wordplay would be welcome.
That aside, Jason Downs has conjured up a stunning debut.