Jimmy Jitsu, a member of the Peoples Army along with UK Hip-hop stalwarts Lowkey and Logic, has just dropped his first mixtape entitled ‘The Lightbulb Revelations’.
Like his peers Lowkey and Logic, Jitsu manages not to get caught up in ‘gun talk’ or the battle rap style lyrics that so many UK rappers are prone to, and makes sure all his songs have a strong concept, sometimes on a conscious tip. Still, you may be thinking this isn’t anything too groundbreaking in UK Hip Hop as there is a lot of quality out there if you know where to look, the difference with Jitsu is, he’s a mere seventeen years old.
Throughout the mixtape Jitsu shows a maturity beyond his years, with complex rhyme schemes on a wide variety of subjects ranging from graffiti on ‘Criminal Damage ft. Logic’ to a homeless alcoholic’s history on my own personal favourite ‘John Doe’.
Incidentally ‘John Doe’ is the track most likely to get Jitsu’s voice heard, over a minimal guitar-laden beat Jitsu tells the deep and dark story of John Doe. John Doe is an alcoholic who used to be “just an average guy” who used to “have a coffee” every morning. I won’t ruin the reason for his transformation for you but the inspired storytelling is a trait which he shares with hip-hop heavyweights and not many other seventeen year olds, this could really set him apart from the rest of the scene.
Jitsu's mentor, Logic, features heavily on the mixtape too, making appearances on four tracks. His deeper vocal tone contrasts well with the younger, passionate tone that Jitsu adopts. This makes for a very effective partnership, which, as exhibited sublimely in ‘Criminal Damage’, could be strong in further Peoples Army releases as well as other projects.
Overall Jitsu shows maturity beyond his years and a lot of promise on a strong debut that I highly recommend to anybody.
To download the mixtape, click HERE
