New Jersey emcee, singer/songwriter, producer & music video director Jerry following up his stylistic departure of a sophomore effort lovemesooner by releasing his 4th mixtape 6 months later. You may know him for coming up as 1/2 of the duo MellowHype alongside Left Brain in the mid/late 2000s under the original moniker Hodgy Beats prior to helping I Smell Panties, Casey Veggies & The Jet Age of Tomorrow form the impactful albeit now defunct alternative hip hop collective Odd Future. He was also the first person in the Wolf Gang to put out a solo effort, dropping his debut mixtape The Dena Tape only 9 months after the crew put out their 1st tape as a unit The Odd Future Tape. Higashi Miyagi would go on to expand his solo discography with 2 more mixtapes & 3 EPs prior to his full-length debut Fireplace: TheNotTheOtherSide a day before my 20th birthday which to this day, I still think it’s possibly the most criminally overlooked offering that we’ve gotten since OF’s disbandment due to how much growth was shown on that album. Entitled was a solid comeback EP a couple years ago experimenting with contemporary R&B on top of a predominant west coast trap sound, lovemesooner was ok aside from moments that felt like a Frank Ocean bite & remained optimistic ahead of No Receipt.

I found the acoustic instrumental throughout “Resist Facts” to be pretty rapping about a woman who is so focused on him that he needs the analytics & “Of the Feeling” keeps things stripped-back instrumentally expressing his desire for wealth. The acoustics get blended with synthesizers for “Logic Lacks” asking if you feel like it ain’t yours to keep or it not being the time to speak just before the briefly minimal “What Truth’s Revealing” starts singing about a woman who called him a bad influence.

“Perform in Pattern” keeps the bare guitars rapping that he ain’t gonna be begging please if he gets down on 1 knee referencing marriage proposal leading into “Mars Saturn” hopping on a boat in the evening maintaining hope that he stays on & being the vehicle that drives his girl nuts. “Jupiter Returns” acoustically keeps it rolling telling his lover he loves her smile & the time they spend, but then once again stripped back “2 the Tavern” sings about wanting to party & bullshit.

Moving on from there, “You’d Rather” hops over summery guitar passages to rap that he’s having the dream of his dreams while the acoustic “Hype Die Down” sings about mixing addiction & obsession in a bowl of emptiness. “Nervous System” maintains the stripped-back vibes discussing a vampire while “Lie Down” acoustically asks his lover to give him what he can’t give to her in return.

“Wind Down” minimally pushes towards the final moments of No Receipt to talk about feeling colossally great hoping to teach all the lessons he ain’t even learned while the song “Like You’re” acoustically sings about being treated as if he’s garbage. The final track & subsequently closer “Tied Down” rounds out the 31 minute listening experience having an epiphany that he’s a fool for love.

lovemesooner was a decent attempt at singer/songwriter & indie folk with additional elements of west coast hip hop, emo rap & contemporary folk as is No Receipt although to a lesser extent. I respect that Jerry’s matured so much since the Odd Future era & I don’t have that many issues with his songwriting. The biggest problems I have with this tape are the repetitive production & most importantly, the Frank Ocean pastiche from last time carrying over.

Score: 2.5/5

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