(J)ournal (O)f (K)1ng (E)ljay – “The Elle Varner Post”
Microphone check, one-two…
To be completely honest, K1ngEljay.com doesn’t cover a lot of R&B (in comparison to the rest of our content) because it’s not our primary focus. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not because R&B is “starving” for creativity (although some could argue that is the case), but more so because of their methods to their music; R&B artists don’t usually take the same approach as Hip-Hop artists concerning mixtape releases. Recently, that’s changed for the better (or worse) as everyone from Trey Songz to Drake has taken the mixtape route.
“Wait a second,” you say. “Drizzy isn’t an R&B cat.”
He’s not a pure rapper either, but I digress.
The bottom line is that R&B mixtapes are becoming more Common than Drake disses (heh), and as the tide changes, you can expect us here to cover more of them, or at least put you on the quality drops. One of the few that we actually got a chance to hear upon its first week of release is Elle Varner’s “Conversational Lush”, a prelude of sorts to her debut album Imperfectly Perfect, which is to be released sometime this year before the Mayans doom us all… if you believe in that sort of thing. No diss to the Mayans, but that’s similar to believing in LeBron to win a game in the closing minutes of the 4th quarter; I mean, it could happen, but I wouldn’t hold my breath or bet any type of financial benefit on it.
I would, however, put money on Elle Varner to deliver a great album after hearing Lush.
I’m picky about Hip-Hop, but…
…I’m pickier about R&B because of how I was raised. I wandered into Hip-Hop in my teenage years and trekked backwards into learning the history of rappers such as KRS-One, LL, Rakim, Biggie, Tupac, Run DMC, and more (completely worth the journey, by the way). I was raised more on R&B, so I have peculiar tastes when it comes to R&B, to the point that when I hear a bad one, I’ll listen to an older song just to purge the eardrums. I do the same thing for some of these mixtape submissions that hit my inbox as well.
It’s not a game.
That’s why I’m so in love with Elle Varner’s project…
It’s just downright refreshing in almost every way. The production reminds me of the old-school Hip-Hop beats that my friends used to (try and) cipher to, and her voice just works for me. The content of the songs are unique as well; she’s not singing about motivating dudes to screw better (hi Kelly Rowland) or anything like that. The topics are relatable, and at times are comically enjoyable. On “WTF”, she simply narrates her day to the listener (that ends with her spilling to a mugger about the earlier events of the day, which included her finding her boyfriend in bed with a mailman), “So Fly” has her coming to terms with her self-worth, and “Ghost” has her just wishing she was invisible for relationship reasons. On top of that, the interlude for “Refill” will have you hoping she turns that into a full song for her debut LP. [UPDATE: 2nd Single's rumored to be "Refill." Different than the slower version on the mixtape, but dope nontheless. Check it at the bottom of the J.O.K.E]
Plus, she can rap. Her clever reimagining of a Jay-Z classic on “EV” caught my attention as a Hip-Hop head to the point where I’d LOVE to hear her spit a rhyme again. Hopefully she doesn’t pull a Faith Evans and only raps one time, ever.
I enjoyed the project, and as we at K1ngEljay.com foray more and more into the R&B side of things, I hope you’ll be cool enough peoples to give some of the posts a shot. Elle Varner’s latest release is the best place to start. Download it for yourself at the bottom, or on the side since it’s my latest [Mixtape Pick]. Expect a formal review by the week’s end.
If you happen to read this Elle…
Hiiii. *waves*
K1ng Eljay
)()(
Bonus Music
“Refill”
“Only Wanna Give It To You” (feat. J. Cole)
