Jesswar
Today, proud Fijian-Australian, Yugambeh/Kombumerri-based artist Jesswar (they/them) shares their long-awaited forthcoming debut mixtape, LIFE’S SHORT, LIVE BIG, out today, September 23 on [PIAS] Australia, replacing the unapologetic braggadocio of their TROPIXX EP (2021) with a new tenderness, honesty, wholehearted self-acceptance and carpe-diem ethos.
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LIFE'S SHORT, LIVE BIG lands alongside triumphant focus track 'WAVES' and a cinematic coast-side video directed and edited by Jesswar and Nicholas Stevens. “I wrote this at a time in my life where I was working myself down to the bone and pondering life. These verses feel like a dairy page for me, I used this track as therapy to get all my thoughts out and translate it into music. I felt I was riding the waves of life," says Jesswar of the track.
Uncovering surprising new dimensions to their artistry, the mixtape represents a pivot towards the emotional, embracing a multi-faceted approach across the entire project. The multitudes of this debut serve to prove that to live big is to live with honesty and openness, and that, when harnessed correctly, living in softness is just as radical as living with fearless confidence and pride.
The mixtape was originally announced earlier this year in tandem with the release of ‘FELL IN LOVE’, an unexpectedly vulnerable love letter that marked a rebirth of sorts for the artist. In contrast, recent cut ‘HEFTY’ veered boldly back in the other direction, an audacious, bumping, sub-two minute New York rap cut featuring stark, staccato strikes of piano over a pared-back beat, with Jesswar’s boastful, chest-heavy lyricism delivered with a knowing sneer. Like the tape's lead single, ‘BAD LIKE RIRI’, also added to rotation on triple j, it’s the kind of hip hop that subwoofers were seemingly made for.
Emerging into the scene in 2017, Yugambeh/Kombumerri based artist Jesswar has quickly established themselves in the industry as a blended powerhouse, weaving lyrical genius and effortlessly merging genres. Their sound is constantly evolving; fusing hip-hop, pop, and bass-heavy production into an all-encompassing sound spectrum. Strong in their identity, Jesswar has created their own path to success with a relentless work ethic for going after what they want.
Stylistically, Jesswar’s debut mixtape, LIFE’S SHORT, LIVE BIG lives out the bold, carpe diem-style ethos implied by its title - apt for an artist whose sound is constantly evolving, always coming into itself. Thematically, the record is no less ravenous, carried primarily by Jesswar’s undiluted charisma. One of two collaborations on the tape, lead single ‘BAD LIKE RIRI’, featuring viral Texan rapper Erica Banks, is a trap-laced celebration of strong, unapologetic voices and the self-possessed mindset of a baddie. Meanwhile, the low-slung ‘SWEET’, featuring producer and vocalist DVNA, places fierce declarations of romantic devotion and dedication in its verses up against honeyed, love-drunk gratitude in the chorus.
On the raucous ‘ANTISOCIAL’, Jesswar offers an impassioned screed against social injustices, drawing the line between their lived experiences and generations of preceding trauma, a melee of sirens, growling sub-bass and industrial percussion swirling around them. Elsewhere, they effortlessly switch into new and at times unexpected gears, as on the warped, club-ready bounce of ‘THROW IT IN THE AIR’ or the sweltering, carnal longing of ‘CANDY’, backed by pitched-up R&B vocal samples and delivered in a borderline whisper. ‘CARAMEL BARS’ is yet another potent, one-and-a-half minute display of Jesswar’s technical abilities, their steely flow riding a tough and immediate minimalist beat.
