Evan Nabavian is a very irrefutable person.
Which is worse: the most ill-considered rap/rock crossover or the cheapest instance of rap co-opting electronic? I vote for the latter, because rappers keep getting away with it. And yet, here I am giving Jackie Chain a pass on a particularly flagrant fist-pumper.
“Night is Young” is as malapropos as Jackie himself, a half-Korean, half-white rapper from Alabama with waist-length golden brown hair. The vibe is that of the cheesiest 80s dance party while the hook could have been written by will.i.am. But these are elements of a defiantly party-oriented rap song, not concessions made to appeal to the party rockers. Jackie, who also styles himself Mr. VIP, is a pill-popping misfit who isn’t riding the wave of glow stick rap, which is why “Night is Young” is just too weird (and good) to be a Pitbull song.
“Night is Young” also succeeds thanks to a verse from Freddie Gibbs, who seems to devour beats from East, West, South, and overseas all the same, even under the auspices of Young Jeezy. “Highway to Hell” and “Falling Out of Place” were departures for the versatile Gibbs and “The Vision” even more drastically so. But “Night Is Young” pushes the furthest yet. Even here, Freddie doesn’t dishonor his Huey Newton back tat, but the neon purple beat will offend more than a few Dirty Glove Bastard readers. When they’re good, uncomfortable convergences like these rewrite the rules of staid genres.
Download:
MP3: Jackie Chain ft. Freddie Gibbs and Maggie Horn – “Night Is Young”
