“Align” is everything we can appreciate Jaa for!
Josh Amin aka Jaa The Prophet, or simply Jaa, is a 23 year old artist from North Jersey. He has been making music for about 6 years now. Jaa used to work with Janoris Jenkins from the NFL, but sadly their producer (Trypps Beatz aka Roosevelt Rene) was murdered. The artist, who has been through a lot in his life, uses music as is diary. Running through his back catalog, it quickly becomes clear that artistically Jaa has grown. Judging by his new single, “Align” and its companion piece, “Hold On”, released almost a month ago. Jaa has retained his youthful exuberance, but he means business on these tracks.
If you ask us, the track is special not just for what it represents – Jaa’s maturing sense of dramatic narrative – but also for how it sounds. The artist is really good at mellifluously delivering his storyline over the sound of jangling guitars. He sounds alert, focused, and seriously connected to his messages on “Align”. It’s clear that Jaa has continued to find impressive ways of going about his business.
“Girl, you don’t understand the grind, and the time it takes to shine. You don’t understand the life I want to lead, and that’s just fine,” sings Jaa, as begins to describe the experiences he is going through, and the dues his is paying to push forward in his career. And that the girl in his life, just can’t see with the same clear point of view. The track serves as a coherent aesthetic vision for Jaa’s mission.
It’s not just the satisfying verse structures that effortlessly climb down from his brain and fill his music that makes “Align” such an entertaining ride, nor is it simply the unending string of anecdotes, coming consistently but never sounding forced. It’s that Jaa sounds better as an artist than he ever has before, remarkably confident and controlled at the same time.
Moving between a smooth flow and a sing-song style with ease, showing off serious chops and a slick ear for melody. It’s easy to overlook some of his stellar lines, but few throw images together quite like Jaa. His is a vivid world that’s simultaneously easy to fully imagine, and to relate to. No matter his approach, we consistently feel as though we are in the presence of a man who is pouring out his heart and mind.
Many people seriously on their grind, often find themselves in the same position, and have a hard time convincing their partners of the sacrifices that need to be made, as well as the price that needs to be paid, in exchange for reaching any goals. Jaa interprets his role with believability, authenticity, and passion, without overwhelming the listener. His performance is sturdy and workmanlike, ignoring any flexing and sticking to the substance of the song.
This track is much more diverse sonically than one would expect. Its trap and pop music all the way through, but instead of leaning on the sound of synths and pads, Jaa invests in the scintillating sonics of clean shimmering guitars.
“Align” is everything we can appreciate Jaa for. The melody, the flow, the voice inflections and the narrative, are all in play in this song, along with a hypnotizing hook that fits the mid-tempo production perfectly. All of which really showcases the evolution of Jaa up to this point.
