B.A.B.Y. flaunts Hus’ best qualities with added understated maturity. In genre, Hus is a chameleon, in lyricism a lion.
My personal favourite, ‘Masculine’, airs how subtle intonation changes can mark a successful rapper. Often a good beat or clever wordplay can overshadow the effect of delivery – yet emphasis changes the whole feel of a verse. It brings a sung element to the song, in this case complimenting the warm, filling guitar-based beat.
Harking back to his 2015 album The 15th Day, with ‘Cream’ and ‘It’s Crazy’, Hus defines the more creative direction drill should go. While drill beats are at risk of being boring and repetitive, Hus adds a unique hook in woozy guitar licks. It’s the Hus stamp which we see on tracks like ‘No Denying’ from Big Conspiracy. Exploring violent themes without glorifying them, Hus acknowledges the burden of darkness.
Hus bounces between this rawness and cheeky innuendos. ‘Alien Girl’, ‘Fresh Water/Safa Kara’, and ‘My Baby’ give an interlude of overt sexuality, with humour characteristic of Hus. On these three songs though, particularly played in sequence as listed, the vulgarity becomes somewhat jarring. But the comedic element poses less of a problem than the album’s overall lack of a storytelling flow. When sexual themes are interspersed, an album can be thematically succinct, as Big Conspiracy showed.
This does not overshadow the musicality of B.A.B.Y. by any means. Features were cleverly selected to create a strong contender for a summer 2023-defining album. The hype around ‘Who Told You’, despite an unimpressive verse from Drake, has been inescapable. Jorja Smith (featuring on ‘Nice Body’) and Popcaan (on ‘Killy’) are also both defining in their respective realms of R&B and modern Jamaican reggae.
On this vein, the album brings another collaboration between Hus and Nigerian star Burna Boy: their incredible catalogue of ‘Cloak & Dagger’, ‘Good Time, ‘Play Play’, and ‘Sekkle Down’ is now expanded by ‘Masculine’. It pulls Hus back towards Afrobashment and dancehall sounds, with a swaying bassline complimenting Burna Boy’s melodic chorus. Naira Marley on ‘Militerien’ furthers the West African influence. Any homages to Hus’ native Fula and Wolof heritages produce beautiful results, synergistic with his distinguishable east London accent.
All combined, dub/reggae/African influences on Beautiful and Brutal Yard (B.A.B.Y.) invite warm weather listening. I think the album will go further, and provide a soundtrack for all seasons. J Hus’ welcome return reminds listeners of the pioneering creativity that cements him as a simultaneous loyalist and trailblazer on the UK scene.
“J Hus Don’t Say Militancy poster” by duncan cumming is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.