Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Howling out of the silence with a stiff tonal presence that sounds more like a rhythmic call to arms than it does anything deliberately melodic and instrumental, we find the opening bars of Jor’Dan Armstrong’s new single “MIA” waiting to crush us with indulgence and textural presence both underexploited by the vast majority of his rivals on the east and west coasts. Here, he’s unfurling a somewhat groove-powered crusher of a track that brings 1k Phew into the studio for a little extra fun, and though the instrumentation backing his up is perhaps just as provocative an element as any of his actual lyrics is, neither component of this song are quite as powerful as his actual delivery is. If confidence is the cornerstone of all true success in the hip-hop genre, Armstrong is an indie rapper who needs to be considered one of the most elite players in all of his scene if not the country at the moment. He doesn’t back down from the challenge of sounding fresh, original, and quite agile with the mic in this performance, but instead offers us some insight into just how profound an artist he has undisputedly become.
Jor’Dan Armstrong’s wavy vocal delivery near the climax of “MIA” is quite alluring and unsubtle in its ultimately understated demeanor, and in more ways than one, I think it can be credited for maximizing the tension of the backend here. 1k Phew’s contribution to the verses adds some necessary catharsis at a point in the song where it feels like the bassline needs some depressurization from the vocal to keep from ripping through our speakers entirely, but at no time does he ever attempt to steal the thunder away from his star counterpart in this piece.
Despite the rather curious running time given the time signature utilized for the most danceable moments in the track, everything in “MIA” flows smoothly and teases us with hypnotic attributes most rappers would leave on the sidelines in a single as beefy as this one is. It only makes things more interesting when this master rapper is in the booth though, and that’s undeniable no matter how you look at his new single.
I just heard “MIA” for the first time a couple of days ago, but if it can pick up a little bit of steam online and make its way onto a few credible hip-hop playlists between now and the start of the New Year, I have a feeling it’s going to bring a lot more praise and hard-earned attention to the music, artistry and growing brand of Jor’Dan Armstrong. He’s a multi-hyphenate in a time that is starting to become dominated by the rise of sophisticated rappers around the underground, and with the skillset, he demonstrates in this all-new release, it’s clear he has plans on scaling the hierarchy he’s joined no matter what gets in his way. I like his willingness to push the boundaries with his work, and I feel like he’s teasing us with a lot of newfound moxie in this piece.
Matthew Johns
