North Texas Hip-Hop

Ed. note - This review is written by NTXHipHop writer Alex Byrd. You should follow her on twitter. 

Jmil Kly aims to press the refresh button on hip-hop with the NEOTokyo EP

 
Jamil Kelley of Dallas, Texas, not to be confused with the Olympic medalist, Jamill Kelly of the Dallas Dynamite Wrestling Club.
 
The two have different spellings, but the concept is the same. Both men are both champions of their domains—one wrestles men literally and the other wrestles them musically.
 
Jamil Kelley—The University of North Texas student, poet, great debater, philosopher, and avid headphones sportier—goes by Jmil Kly on the stage. Jmil Kly has cultivated yet another successful EP entitled NEOTokyo, released December 15.  Kly’s last project released in May, Flomogenic , was breathtaking—overflowing with historical spoken word, original beats, and poetry. Skepticism clouded my expectations before initially listening to NEOTokyo due to the success of Flomogenic.
 
Kly wanted to land new and old fans into his conceptual idea of NEOTokyo through “a new -school approach to lyrical depth and concepts, as well as an old-school approach of tenacity and rawness,” he mused. He continued to explain the meaning behind NEOTokyo to be “the apocalypse, which equates to death and rebirth in order to press the refresh button on hip-hop.”

 On the record’s first track, “The Advent ft. Alpha,” Kly urges that he is here as a musician and “plans on staying and making waves as long as [he has] hands to write, and lips to spit.” This song sets the mood for the entire EP—a dark, captivating reflection of an articulate man encroaching on his direction in life.
 
Kly sings, “I’ve been crawling through the caves in my brain.” repeatedly on the hook of the second track, “The Renaissance,” which further explains his longing for self-discovery. This track is reminiscent of anything by Kid Cudi in a darker, uncommercialized sort of way.
 
If beats intrigue you, I suggest listening to “Street Statix,” “Hurry On,” and  “The Rapture.” Let’s be clear, I could do without the yelling at the beginning of “Street Statix,” but once that pulsing beat drops 15 seconds in, instant head bobbing commences. The wordplay is titillating, especially 40 seconds into the song when he flows about Joe Jackson and Lauryn Hill. I appreciate the fluid way Kly connects thoughts without confusing the listener.
 
My favorite songs are “Tastes Like Suicide” and “The Rapture” for different reasons. I was curious about the title, “Tastes Like Suicide”—simultaneously hoping that the record would not be an obnoxious overflowing emo “woe is me” type of expression. Instead, “Tastes Like Suicide,” gives insight on a relationship gone wrong in an edgy, relatable fashion. Yes, Kly allows for vulnerability through his articulation of thoughts and basically allows the listener to have a front row seat watching his heart bleed. Kly’s other songs illustrate strength, but it was refreshing to listen to an honest interpretation of raw feelings.

“The Rapture” is indeed a bonus track. The “old-school approach” mentioned earlier by Kly is apparent on the record with the soulful layering in the background. There is no extra interlude or fluffy and unnecessary introduction; he just jumps right into the music with aggressive lyrics. Brilliant.
 
NEOTokyo overall gains my appreciation due to the melting pot of artistry, soulful sounds and blunt lyrics embedded in originally created beats. I am interested to see how Kly will perform tracks that are somewhat complicated and not what you would call “ready for radio.” That is not necessarily a slug at his music seeing what daily tragedies cross the airwaves of Dallas radio especially.
 
Everyone will not be fan of Jmil Kly due to his intricate style of music. The average, ignorant Joe Schmo that never uses words that contain more than two syllables will not be interested in challenging his mind musically. However if you can allow yourself to surrender your heart, thoughts, and ears simultaneously through sounds, then Kly will have a chance of winning you over.