It has to be tough trying to break into the rap game when you're in a state without a widely recognized Hip Hop scene. When there’s not a ton of precedent you can either move to a more established state or blaze the trail yourself. Oklahoma rapper Jabee (pronounced Jay Bee) chose the latter. He forged his own path coming from a lost land of sorts (OKC) and has released a handful of albums, mixtapes, and EPs. He parlayed this into playing at SXSW, getting co-signs from Chuck D, El-P, and Murs, and creating a buzz and fanbase along the way.
A recommendation from my homegirl Malika got my attention but a track produced by one of my favorites really sparked my interest. Exhausted was laced by Statik Selektah, who needs no introduction. Jabee proves lyrically worthy of the beat and stakes his claim as “Fred Hampton with a sag, Langston Hughes with a pad.” Going the introspective route serves him well and meshes well with an instrumental that has a heavy air to it but also functions as a head nodder. Check Exhausted after the break and check out Jabee’s Bandcamp for his past discography for sale.
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