.Jmack- Quarter Life Crisis
I feel like I know .Jmack. I know him on two levels. The first is as the “Coolest Kid in Rehab.” I’ve known several of these kids, and I haven’t liked any of them. They don’t treat recovery with the seriousness it deserves because, in the end, they don’t want to get better. Maybe they think they don’t have a problem. There are times on this album when .Jmack seems oblivious to just how bad his problem is, even treating his excessive drug use as cool. Another thing about these types of guys is that they dance along the precipice of burnout. When I listen to parts of this album, I fear that this man, who has real talent, will one day go too far and stop making music, which would be a real tragedy.
That’s all a stereotype based on my own experience, but I feel like I got to know .Jmck on a more intimate level over the course of this album. He paints a picture of a complicated relationship with drugs. He isolates himself from other people to concentrate on his music, and if I may be permitted to go full therapy, I think that’s just as much an indicator of an issue as his drug use. This is a portrait of a man with problems that he chooses to solve with drugs. Sometimes this can feel like the perfect solution, and that attitude comes through at times on the album. Other times it’s less of a solution and more of an end in itself, just doing drugs to do drugs, and that is far more prevalent on the album.
The final track is called “Alarm” and on it .Jmack concludes that drugs aren’t the answer and that people going through a quarter life crisis should keep going. In some ways this feels unearned, but it also feels like one of the most honest parts on the album. He’s moved past the posturing. The entire track is like this, it feels more vulnerable, which makes it have more of an impact. If the entire album were like this, it’d be great. As it is, it’ll have to settle for very good.
I also have to acknowledge that the production quality is amazing. The skits where .Jmack is talking to his therapist are great, though that might just be because it brought back some old memories. There’s also a Boondocks sample that is just superb.
4/5 I don’t think I’ll ever not recommend you support an up and coming artist, but that’s not the only reason for a four here. .Jmack’s lyrics are beyond reproach, his beats are good, and there are moments of, if not greatness, then really-goodness. I’ll be interested to see where .Jmack goes from here. Also shout out to Cougar Beatrice who elevate “Calculated Ignorance Interlude” to something strange and ethereal.