Dan Tha Jeweler: “Fijis & Forties” – the very upper echelon of alternative rap

Dan Tha Jeweler hit a home run with his latest album release – “Fijis & Forties”. This is one of those albums that drops at the perfect time, at least for me. I’m not hugely into experimental or alternative rap as a whole, or at least it’s not a selling point for me. Mainly because a lot of it is just disparate music forms thrown together and rapped over as an excuse for art, as anybody is allowed to do anything. Dan Tha Jeweler is different.  This album is dark with little rays of light shining through, and at times extremely atmospheric and mood-inducing, both sonically and lyrically.

Production is superb, and even though I gravitate towards more traditional styles, these songs challenge you with really intriguing and thought provoking instrumentals. I love it when an emcee dares to put out something that is the opposite of totally approachable – something that might stun the casual listener and challenge the heads. And I believe “Fijis & Forties” achieves just that.

I’ve been following Dan Tha Jeweler for a couple of years and have enjoyed almost all of his work. With that being said, this has got to be his best work. It’s the most well rounded album he’s released yet and genuinely, one of the best alternative underground rap albums I’ve listened to in a very long time.

The library of music I have gathered is rather impressive with some very “weird” and original rap from the past 25 years. This is honestly in the very upper echelon of rap. The production is a tour de force and compliments Dan Tha Jeweler’s deep, sulky and thought provoking vocal style. He’s honestly one of a kind and anyone who’s heard his voice knows what I mean.

Listen to his unusual delivery on “Just Another Night”, where he is both urgent in the verses and melodic on the choruses. Savor the stunning, spine tingling spoken word tones on “Mother Earth (Interlude)”. Many will also be attracted by the vocoder effects on “Cold”, which is perfectly executed on the RnB and Trap induced ballad, “Peace Of Mind”.

Also impressive are the tracks “Pink Beard” ft. ReXx and “King” ft. Jay Jones. Both showcase how well Dan Tha Jeweler’s moody croon plays off against ‘regular’ rap deliveries.  I, however, am a sucker for his more melodic tracks, which I feel suits his eclectic style to a tee. Hence I easily fell for “Sunshine”, but the cinematic album closer, “Linda”, really stands as one of the best tracks in this collection.

In a time when mediocrity is seen as a norm and widely accepted as music, “Fijis & Forties” is a clear upsetter of such a trend. Dan Tha Jeweler certainly used the sounds and samples to his advantage as he showcases exactly how much of a lyricist he is. This is without a doubt Dan Tha Jeweler’s most mature effort and showcases so many emotions that I personally can relate with.

Life’s crazy, unpredictable, happy and sad, and Dan demonstrates that by having content covering all aspects of the living experience. Dan Tha Jeweler actually explained that: “The album is called “Fijis & Forties” because it is about the positives and negatives growing to a new level: Fiji water being the life giving positive and Forties being the tempting negative that can destroy life.”

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