Stephen Jailon is back again with his newest release, Oakwood, an 11-track LP that spans topics of love, fake hustling, idols, clout-chasing, hunger for success, the strife for togetherness, the fear of losing, and ultimately loving what he does.
Oakwood puts the North Carolina artists back in his hometown, and surrounded by his roots, pulling from real experiences and fantasies of future success all within this 24-minute tracklist.
Take a look at our review of the new Oakwood album, on this episode of Music You May Have Missed! 😈
Hippies
Hippies is the breakout single from Jailon’s Oakwood tape, starting off the album on an upbeat note. The production hops and jumps with every inflection of the rapper’s tone and the subtle 808s swelling underneath the infectious hi-hats act as a perfect base for the synth-driven, triple-layered melody. Stephen rides all of this flawlessly, and reintroduces himself to those who forgot, reminding them that he’s “a king, period.” and to “turn it up so these f*ck n*ggas hear me!”
Smashbros
Taking a Latin approach with the production, Jailon shoots out the gate on a lyrical thoroughbred, racing along the beat and missing not a cadence nor beat switch. He alludes to many different topics on the track, from fake hustling, moving like his idols, spending the days in the East, and getting straight to the point. The beat is alluring and keeps you just as entertained and intrigued as the North Carolina artist.
Good Credit
A quietly fast-paced, uptempo track, Good Credit seems to be an endless void that Jailon seems to vent all his frustrations and truths into. Cold-blooded moves, staying strapped and ready at a moment’s notice, never letting his credit sour within the community you’re from, running through Raleigh, spending a rack like its virtually nothing, this is the essence of Carolina, and Jailon is giving us a ride in the passenger seat.
Go (ft. OMGItsBreezy)
An autotune-friendly melody and vocal performance by Jailon and the members of Ali Road Studios paints the foundation for both Jailon and Breezy, another upcoming trap artist from North Carolina, to bring heat as per usual. As if alley-ooping to a teammate, Jailon executes his verse perfectly, tossing up the third act of the track for Breezy to slam down with an autotune-refined finish, letting the instrumentals ride the last seconds out beautifully.
New Circus
On New Circus, Jailon speaks on the trials of living in North Carolina, growing up within the streets and hustling and giving back to his day ones, giving clout to those who don’t deserve it, how the internet has become the new playground for gang activity and violence, these themes are explored quickly, yet punctually and elaborately. Though New Circus is a short track, it slows down the production style of the tape, easing the listeners into Jailon’s next track, Setups.
Setups
Starting out with a Travis Scott-like introduction, the beat transitions slightly, adding the subtlest of harp-like progressions, which float lightly atop a smooth and deep 808, with a nicely-spread beat layered overtop. The melody seems to be carried off by a deliberately, slightly off-tune trumpet which wraps the instrumental up well. Stephen talks about how his lane differs from others, money-wise, female-wise, clout-wise, he rarely lets the beat breathe, not that it needs to, and talks game to those in his way.
Urgency
With an unknown sample being the centerpiece for Urgency, Jailon gets right to the point on this spooky instrumental. Jailon speaks on the familiar themes on this album, hustling, betrayals, fake love, money, drug running, fear of loss and hunger for success, it’s all there, and mixed and mastered perfectly for the listener to bop their head to for a good two minutes.
Body for Body
Body for Body is Stephen’s promise to those who’s been with him since the start that he will be there for them through thick and thin. He implores that they take care of their own and look out for one another. The simple production adds to accentuate what Jailon himself is saying and stays lowkey and supportive towards the end of the track.
Ghetto (ft. Woo$y)
Ghetto is the second track to present a feature on the Oakwood tape. Back to the roots of trap, the dark and brooding production returns as Stephen does what he does best and flows on the beat like butter. He talks his game and spits effortlessly for the duration of his verse. He references the Coronavirus and the sub-sequential quarantine that has taken place because of it, before passing it to Woo$y who picks up where Jailon left off, stating they’re taking shots like a vaccine. After an autotune-swelled vocal-riff of a verse, the two let the track ride into the darkness.
Identical
Identical is Jailon’s hardest flex on Oakwood yet. From boasting about Chanel, killing anything with a guitar beat, waking and baking, ignoring lames, working cash, loving what he does, and riding with his label, Ali Road Studios, Jailon’s confidence is through the roof, as it should be by this point in the tracklist. Having illustrated his life up until now, it was about time the artist spoke on his success.
Chillando
Chillando seems to be a slang-word used by Jailon and may be a North Carolina term, the word could be roughly translated to screaming or shrieking. On the track Jailon mentions this term more than once in different instances, but we deduce that it means “going wild” or “going crazy”. Do not take this translation as fact, as we’re speculating ourselves. Either way Chillando is a chill summer vibe that can rock on the subwoofers at any time of the day.
Oakwood by Stephen Jailon is available all on streaming services right now. If you enjoyed this episode and want to stay up to date with new music from him you can find Stephan Jailon on Instagram as well as Twitter.
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