More about: Junglepussy

Hip hop: it's never not flourishing. For decades, artists have manoeuvred in such ways as to reject one single genre. This bombastic thirst for new sound has awarded us many masterpieces of recent years. Junglepussy's JP4 is yet another. 

New York City born Shayna McHayle AKA Junglepussy’s new record JP4 partners indie, jazz and trip-hop with traditional hip hop sensibilities for an authentic and confident soundscape. Album opener ‘Bad News’ sees a smart narrative delivered over the top of a swaying backbeat. Listeners are introduced to the well-trodden theme of individuality before kicking into single ‘Main Attraction’. With it’s memorable hook we are greeted with the subject matter of uniqueness- a theme that Junglepussy also regularly harkens back to throughout the album. 

Track three ‘Telepathy’ kicks off a riff-heavy pattern audible in a number of songs on the album. The unsettling descending minor piano motif of ‘Spiders’, as a prime example, allows Junglepussy to explore a variety of flow styles whilst maintaining a steady swagger. ‘Morning Rock’ highlights an appetite for Blues-groove and offers the ideal platform for an honest outpouring of her double-entendre stricken and humorous musings. 

Album highlight ‘Stamina’ combines a string-led backbeat with sexually charged lyrics which give 'WAP' a run for its money. The honest lyricism is commendable in its ability to illustrate a once taboo subject, specifying details of desire and physical passion from the female point of view. 

There are moments when the complex backing instrumentation overshadows an occasional routine vocal delivery and an injection of sprightliness is yearned for. Nevertheless, with such variation and no-nonsense track lengths (bar collaborative effort ‘I Can Wait’ at just over four minutes) not one track outstays it’s welcome, succeeding in executing its engagement with each listen.

Junglepussy embraces the dismantling of the rulebook, convincing us that the daring, curious and experimental new guidelines of hip hop are exciting as they are dynamic. One can only imagine the next steps for Junglepussy and her contemporaries. While we wait, let us bask in the originality of what we have right now. 

JP4 arrives 23 October via Friends Of/Jagjaguwar.

More about: Junglepussy