Jaz Kahina – “School Run” (EP Review)
This is the long-awaited solo debut extended play from East London, England, United Kingdom emcee Jaz Kahina. One of the most recognizable names in the UK underground hip hop scene with a career spanning over 2 decades, she’s made numerous guest appearances across several projects despite never hunkering down for an entire body of work that she could call her own until now refraining from having guest appearances & bringing some interesting producers on board for a School Run.
“Round Eere” poses the question of why these individuals are in her parts of town over a boom bap instrumental with some strings & after “Worth” produced by Beat Butcha embraces a more vibrant approach talking about understanding your value, “284” over a trap beat from Danny Wolf to end the 1st half of the EP letting us know the kinda shit she’s on compared to everyone else.
Micall Parknsun gets behind the boards for “Fatal Attraction” leaning more towards a futuristic yet cavernous trap sound to kick off the 2nd leg of School Run calling out a guy for dating a basic bitch while the penultimate track “Quitter” talks about all love surviving by the time the sun comes up. The outro “Carry On” spends the final 3 minutes on a jazzier yet soulful tip explaining the inevitable truth of people having to eventually move forward with their lives.
Intended to showcase Jaz Kahina’s ability as a skilled & versatile artist across the board, School Run’s production ranges from boom bap to grime & trap for her to rip apart for 20 minutes. I’m fairly confident a full-length studio debut LP could surpass this if she gets the right producer or producers & maybe a guest appearance or 2 from some UK veterans, but it’ll hold well enough for anyone eager to hear something bigger coming down the pipe whenever that may be.
Score: 7/10
