As far as introductory singles go, you could do a lot worse than West London rapper Jevon’s “Paranoia”. The track isn’t mining a particularly unusual topic – we’ve heard Aubrey Graham pen around 200 songs on the feeling of not knowing what’s up with your girl. But there are some twists and turns on this record that make it stand out.
The first is its slinky beat, featuring the kind of zappy, plucked electric guitar that Timbaland once made a staple in R&B. It even features the kind of croaky, auto-tuned sample “do-do” that wouldn’t sound amiss on Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds. The beat – produced by Jevon himself – is so good that the rapper drops his vocals in the last minute and lets it play out. It’s as if he knows how great it is.
And Jevon is a sharp writer. If you’ve ever stressed about a fraying relationship you’ll feel some of the lines well (“I can sense the distance/energy been way off/reality just check me/hope this shit gon’ pay off/who you on the phone with, who that I don’t know him”). He’s one to watch.
Jevon’s EP Judas comes out September 21.
THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL 