A wise man once said, "Timing is everything." So it's only right that 2019 is the time the world to get to know Chicago's Jarred A.G. From his upcoming project Midnight on Western, "Hyperspace" is the engine starting up for a trip into his sharply divided city: "The EP is meant to capture a moment of uncertainty, the push and pull between different worlds. For me, growing up Puerto Rican in the US feels like occupying two places at once, both colonizer and colonized, insider and outsider. This dissonance is boiled down into a snapshot of time on the EP. I wrote it to cover the course of a day, as I try to grapple with identity and difference between who I am and who I want to be, knowing that every choice come with a price."
As for the destination on the Jordan Lumley-produced track, Jarred hasn't set a course and is focused more on the trip itself. In an email, he stated, "I’m not sure where it’s ending. In a way it feels like I just started. I’m along for the ride, embracing the uncertainty and enjoying the process."
While the sonics are relaxing, the lyrics speak to a general sense of anxiety triggered by local crime and the cops who are supposed to serve as a buffer to it: "I was writing with this feeling of escape. There was a lot going on in my life at the time and it was hard to shake the feeling of being watched. There were a lot of close calls, a lot of paranoia, and I had to be really conscious about who I let into the circle. Once the wheels are in motion it’s hard to stop."
I can't help but think that John Singleton would entertain the idea of shooting a music video for this song, or even incorporating it in a soundtrack to one of his films. Rest In Power to an OG. Look out for Midnight on Western later this year.