In 2009, what makes good hip hop? It can be a tricky question for young MCs who, like most college students, were barely old enough to speak when the genre had its golden age in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. But just as in those years, quality comes down to creating something new. If Radio in My Head is any indication, Jared Evan, much to his listeners’ benefit, is all about the new.
Citing influences from KRS-One and DJ Premier to Radiohead and The Who, Jared gears his medley of hooks, beats and rhymes to anyone who simply appreciates good music. The verdict? His talent is breaking — maybe not yet groundbreaking, but if he keeps this up, it could be soon.
The most striking thing about Radio is how much it sounds like an album in the old-fashioned sense. Even on the weaker tracks, you don’t want to skip ahead and search for the best single, because that’s not what Jared provides. Lyrically, he follows a trajectory, starting out with why he’s a musician, moving into the ambiguity of adult identity and current issues that complicate it and closing with an affirmation of his love of music.
Some topics are handled better than others; on “In the Middle,” for example, references to global warming, the recession and the war in Iraq don’t exactly constitute a news flash. But when Jared focuses on introspection, as he does often, his earnestness lifts the lyrics and gives them simple continuity.
Evan’s flow and occasional use of Auto-Tune will inevitably lead to comparisons with contemporaries like Drake. Don’t be fooled. Though most of the album has the same synth-heavy vibe, the influences are more thoughtful than Drake’s brand of rap. Whether it’s with the chorus chant set to the beat in “They Don’t Know” or the R&B-style hook on “What I Want,” Jared pays tribute to the many genres of music that have shaped the radio in his head. The results can be genuinely exciting on tracks like “The Light,” which forgoes percussion and channels the French electronica duo Air.
Jared’s development as an artist will depend on his willingness to take those kinds of risks and push them further. He gives himself and his listeners the best advice on “Headphones”: “Don’t let your ears become lazy.” With young artists like Jared Evan on the horizon, that directive can be as easily said as done.
