Not enough can be said about Jean Grae though a great deal has already been said about her ranging from the Village Voice to Vice magazine. Most focus on gender while glossing over class–one reason why her across-the-grain expression stands out. Her values are intuitively progressive and brilliantly reflected on her independently released debut Attack of the Attacking Things.
Take the song “Block Party” for instance. The strident, critical tone strikes a self-determinate lyrical note in “Niggas get off your block and travel/stop action like your flesh is metal/and your hoods are magnets.” “Love Song” sheds light on a more tender side of the enigmatic artiste’s psyche related in third person with a fierce force of self-awareness. “Knock” is a gritty reflection on the pervasive and constraining brand of materialism that consumes all Americans to varying degrees. Taking a parting shot at one A&R hack in a clique of gatekeepers, the poem highlights the constant struggle that true independence demands. “Live 4 U” is Pac personified in the form of an eloquent lament on the harsh vagaries of life in transition with its attendant ambitions and frustrations, as is the closing number “Fade Out” which reads like a personal letter to a loved one lost in the whorl of internecine warfare.
An underground artist to the core, Grae has collaborated successfully and internationally with a bunch of notable underground producers like The Herbaliser, Masta Ace, The Beatminerz, and Mr. Len–who played a large part in this production–as well as artists like the outlandishly multi-faceted freak Kool Keith and the Apani B. Fly, just to name a few. The overall production is laced with groovy synths and rich emotive beats complementing Grae’s level poeticism. She drops more dimes than Magic dished on the daily in downtown El Lay. The production, and sound, clears the way for the inherent social import. For anyone claiming to rep down under who hasn’t copped this essential now available everywhere: Now is the time. There’s nothing inferior about jumping on the bandwagon when the means justifies the ends.
