The readers who follow us on the regular know how much we appreciate anything leftfield, anything that explores outside of popular music’s boundaries. Well, ‘Why won’t you abandon me ?’ is the perfect match. Unfolding as a dystopian and otherworldly listening experience, the piece brings Cambridgeshire-based creative Jonathan Kamara (aka JayKay on Spotify) to our attention. From a sonic standpoint, we are in experimental hip-hop territories, an evocative stream of consciousness laid over a beatless, melancholic production.
Clocking up at a whopping five minutes in length, ‘Why won’t you abandon me ?’ feels strikingly sombre and nostalgic, with choir-like synth tones setting a highly ethereal mood, gracefully contrasting with the crushed and distorted skeleton of a beat. Kamara’s rap flow is then wrapped in reverbs and delays, something that makes the lyrics stand out even more.
Delving deeper into the vulnerable and personal ethos that propels the piece, Kamara explains: “It relates to how I felt at that time… moving away to uni and feeling alone at times, but still smiling through the pain because of my job”. It’s clear that the composition functions as a cathartic release of sorts for the British creative, a way to process a difficult and challenging reality. That’s what art is for, after all, and ‘Why won’t you abandon me ?’ strongly reflects that.
Recommended! Discover ‘Why don’t you abandon me ?’ now: