Criminally, it’s been nearly six years since SoulTracks.com has written extensively about young indie soul star Jesse Boykins III. The formerly NYC-based artist has even changed coasts since then! While we were early adopters and promoters of the now L.A.-based artist’s first two projects and we’ve covered quite a few tracks he’s featured on in recent years, we haven’t formally reviewed a JBIII project or song in an age. In 2014, his Love Apparatus was even chosen as one of our “Best of the Year,” the project being a welcome return to more accessible progressive soul after a few experimental forays that we were less here for (*looks at the Melo-X duet project*). Still, after listening to this six-minute, four second work of pure beauty, we realize that we’ve gotta do better. Clearly, JBIII is still a force to be reckoned with.
Criminally, it’s been nearly six years since SoulTracks.com has written extensively about young indie soul star Jesse Boykins III. The formerly NYC-based artist has even changed coasts since then! While we were early adopters and promoters of the now L.A.-based artist’s first two projects and we’ve covered quite a few tracks he’s featured on in recent years, we haven’t formally reviewed a JBIII project or song in an age. In 2014, his Love Apparatus was even chosen as one of our “Best of the Year,” the project being a welcome return to more accessible progressive soul after a few experimental forays that we were less here for (*looks at the Melo-X duet project*). Still, after listening to this six-minute, four second work of pure beauty, we realize that we’ve gotta do better. Clearly, JBIII is still a force to be reckoned with.
Joining forces with Stockholm, Sweden’s dynamic production duo, Jarami, Boykins is the star of a cut that has us crossing both fingers and toes at the thought of a Jarami produced Jesse Boykins III EP, LP, or even just a few cuts on Boykins’ next release. There is such an exciting chemistry among Jarami, Boykins, and New Orleans’ own, Jared “Pell” Pellerin that you can’t help but want more. With a seductive lyrical invitation, supple vocals on leads and backgrounds, and a mid-tempo groove ripe for summertime two-stepping, hand dancing, and just head bobbing in the grown folks club, you hope this autumn 2015 banger is one that DJs will still remember this summer to get the party started. Hopefully, this reminder will help them out. It certainly helped us to remember why we became #TeamJBIII to begin with. (Free Download: http://bit.ly/20OA7BH)
By L. Michael Gipson