Musicians who learn instruments before genres hear differently. The piano teaches harmony through the body. The intervals are learned through the fingers and the weight of a chord is felt through the wrist. The trumpet teaches breath as a principle: a phrase lives exactly as long as the air holds. Percussion establishes rhythm as a physical reality: before it enters dynamics, it passes through the hands and the body. Jaz Vernon, a native of Far Rockaway, Queens, went through all three instruments before finding his path in R&B. This sequential musical education is heard in his work at a level that is hardest to describe in words and easiest to feel.

R&B, Rising artist, Nostalgia

-PurpleMistress

Since 2015, Vernon has been working with producer Gamal. Ten years of creative partnership is sufficient time to develop a shared language of one’s own: notions of ‘space,’ ‘warmth,’ ‘restraint.’ In ‘YKTV,’ this hard-earned precision is exactly what you hear. The track appeared after a two-year hiatus from releases. Placement on Hot97 in ‘Hit My Line’ by DJ Saige, the conversation surrounding Vernon’s name alongside Brent Faiyaz and Bryson Tiller: all of this was building on one side of the pause. ‘YKTV’ is on the other. The title itself implies a stable identity, a voice with sufficient grounds to speak to its audience directly.

‘YKTV’ operates on two temporal planes simultaneously. The 90s, but the instrumentation belongs to the present. Airy synths with enough space to breathe, a rhythm sitting clean and precise, the distribution of space in the arrangement: everything is structured so that Vernon’s voice occupies the center, allowing the arrangement to build around it. The perfect track showcasing a rising artist. Absolutely recommend!