The Open Heart Project by Jah9

"The Open Heart Project" by Jah9 [VP Records]

So Jah9 has a new piece of work. It's an EP and I gave it an initial spinthrough and my original idea was to add it to the next edition of What I'm Listening To but then I came back and had another listen; and what little common sense I do have kicked in. It was better than I was thinking. UNSURPRISINGLY, Jah9's latest set, "The Open Heart Project" from VP Records, gets better and BETTER the more you listen to it and while I'm going to attempt to refrain from reviewing it in the traditional sense... IT IS EXCELLENT. So, we do what we do with such releases around here - track-by-track, LET'S GO!

1. 'Open Heart'

The EP's title track and best known tune is kinda ridiculous and I do mean that in a great way. I've always taken 'Open Heart' to be a song about POWER. It is a testament to the power of things like thought and aspiration and inspiration and not in the lamest "you can do anything you put your mind to" (...you can't. You are not The Almighty) sense. This is eons beyond cliché and tired rhetoric. 

"I can bring my own damnation if I judge and doubt what I do

OR I CAN BUILD A WHOLE DAMN NATION AND MAKE ALL OUR DREAMS COME TRUE

With a focused mind"

The song, literally, sounds like it took YEARS to write. Like she detailingly (might not be an actual  word) scrutinized every single syllable for months and months before committing them into the final version. What did make the cut is, from a purely "lyrical" standpoint (and I hesitate to say "lyrical" because the next thing I write on will be about.... shooting someone or smoking something and I may give the writer praise for their "lyrical" creativity on that topic (and deservingly so) but this is MUCH different), MIGHT just be one of the best songs that I have ever heard. 'Open Heart' is ultimately a CHALLENGING piece of inspiration and motivation. If you don't have an idea in your head, it ain't for you. I can't imagine it's going to jumpstart that engine. HOWEVER, if you're brewing on and idea or a hundred ideas and you need a kick to maybe push you in the right direction, 'Open Heart' may just be one of the most powerful pieces of music that you will ever come across. 

2. 'Mind Ripples' featuring RoryStoneLove

I'll spare you the specifics but not too long ago, I told you about how such moments could go wrong or unnoteworthy at best, but here's a situation where a VIBE works to near perfection. 'Mind Ripples' is just GOOD MUSIC. It comes through as almost Neo-Dub (SURELY such a thing exists), with minimal vocal contributions from 9 (from 'Open Heart') and longtime collaborator, RoryStoneLove. Portugal based producer Shaka Lion (who we'll hear from multiple times today) takes the title track and streamlines it to an infectious degree and one which really highlights a sound (including  those BEAUTIFUL, subtle (Dubtle???) horns) which gets comprehensively overwhelmed in their original form due to Jah9 going insane and losing her mind with words. 

3. 'Match'

'Match' was a very rare ilk. It is a bona fide BRILLIANTLY written love/romance song. Think about it. There are many a FINE songs on the topic but how many of them do you listen to (I mean really listen to) and come away impressed on the word side of the tune? It isn't frequent even when they're really good. 'Match' is in the stars somewhere.

"I seem to have a little strain from you putting on my back

I know that are strong but I never know you could do that 

You made yourself available to me at he drop of a hat

Staying in my flat

Playing with my cat

Invited yourself over but you always ask permission

You come to dominate and let me know it's my decision"

Something that really stands out here -- PROBABLY in direct relationship to the name of the song -- is the EQUALITY that Jah9 is dealing with. You think of a "match", in this sense, and you think of an equal. You've 'met your match'. You've found your equal. And Jah9 speaks it PERFECTLY when she says:

"You take up so much space but yet you know your place. You're never in my face"

That's what a good relationship is. You put up with my shit and I'll put up with yours but... damn it almost never sounds this good. The riddim behind it is minimal but it's there and it's serving its role as well as could possibly be imagined. 

4. 'Big and Serious'

And speaking of riddims, once again, just as on 'Mind Ripples', the music of 'Match' takes center stage on track chasing it, 'Big and Serious', courtesy of Shaka Lion. Unlike 'Mind Ripples', however, this one takes things in a decidedly more old school route and does so DIVINELY. 'Big and Serious' is HEAVY and, it is the single finest tune of its kind on "The Open Heart Project" in my opinion. There's something so familiar and comforting about 'Big and Serious' to the degree where I can confidently say that, as an entire tune, I've probably listened to it more than any other on this release. Take a listen. You will know why.

5. 'Hurricane'

Where do I even start with 'Hurricane'?? I had to listen to this one several times in order to get even my first idea of where I thought it was ultimately going. Where I would arrive (at least for the moment) is how we cope in relationships and I'm probably the only one who comes to that conclusion but I will explain myself. The idea of that "hurricane" is the... shock, the explosion of that comes, particularly in the initial stages of the relationship. It's powerful. It's fascinating. It's exhilarating... It's stressful. It's annoying. It's potentially DANGEROUS. It's all of those things and it's also a most natural occurrence over which we all have very little/no control. It's like a hurricane.

Musically, 'Hurricane' is well on the minimal side but I'm sure Shaka Lion will have something to say about that....

6. 'Category 9'

... and he does, with 'Category 9' (I must be psychic or something!). I know that I said that 'Big and Serious' was the best piece of music that you'll find on "The Open Heart Project" and I stand by that (at least for the moment) but not too far behind it is 'Category 9'. This thing is SYRUPY, SUGARY sweet and it fits somewhere between the old school comfort of 'Big and Serious' and the new school forwardness of 'Mind Ripples' (with a slight lean towards the former, for the most part). What sets in is almost kind of Reggaefied R&B type of vibe that does not drift very far at all from 'Hurricane' and accompanies it sublimely. 

7. 'S.E.X [Sacred Energy Xchange]'

If you had the same questions in your head that I had in mind when I saw this title then you were mightily damn curious as to how a tune named 'S.E.X' coming from JAH9 could possibly sound. On top of that, you add to it a subtitle/explanation like 'Sacred Energy Xchange' and I  think that I was expecting something downright mystical. That is not REALLY what 'S.E.X' is and it's also not exactly... carnal and you knew that it wouldn't be. Musically, in its first form, 'S.E.X' is delightful and it's another one that kind of blends something that is more traditionally R&B with Reggae. Probably my least favourite of the lot but a solid addition nevertheless and, of course, I'm still working on it.

8. 'Set The Stage' featuring RoryStoneLove

Turned over to Shaka Lion, 'S.E.X' becomes 'Set The Stage' and it also becomes undeniably fantastic. What goes on here, musically, rivals any of his work on "The Open Heart Project" and bests most of it. Though you will find a lot of different sounds on this one (and it almost seems to level up with around a minute left), what really stands out for 'Set The Stage' for me is its simplicity. That's not something that you typically associate with Dub because of the dozens and dozens of little sounds that you hear added on to the original but, even within that, there's something very straightforward and CENTERED to this one, making a genuine highlight and an excellent way to end "The Open Heart Project".