UK Rapper JWhy Is Effortless On “Ooh”
The budding Camden spitter owns his UK slang with a self-deprecating wink.
Camden spitter JWhy dropped Writing Time earlier this year, a soft-spoken EP of personality raps anchored by the excellent title track and warm b-side, "Where Do You Want To Go?" His latest video, "Ooh," is more aggressive in look and sound. Stone grey and reactor red filters shade a lurching, grime-ish instrumental, but J maintains a cool jokester's tone that's reminiscent of early Luda and Eminem's funniest prank raps. What's most promising, though, is JWhy's deft hop over his most obvious hurdle: the British accent often scans as inoffensive and proper to domestic ears, clashing with rap's traditionally brash antagonism, which leaves many capable London MCs somewhat lost in translation. Grime OG Skepta compensated this year with a loud sound and hard look, but JWhy owns his slang with a self-deprecating wink: I got a basic flow, yeah it's basic, quite a lot of people can't take it. We can just fine.
