Break Free From The Past With Jelani Blackman’s “Repeater”

At times, Jelani Blackman's new song sounds like TV On The Radio—if that group was raised on a relentless diet of boom bap hip-hop. Live band textures (including a saxophone solo) sit easily next to a powerful, crooked beat. We're moving at alternate paces, Blackman sings. I'll be damned if I stick to the plan.

The artist encapsulated the song with a pithy description via email: "'Repeater' is about not depending on the past for comfort." Listen below, and revisit his debut, "Twenty//Three."