Review: Kirin Teleports Us Back To Rap's Golden Age On 'JAM' From 'Love And Happiness' Featuring Qim Isle, Hoody [AUDIO]

There is a big difference between citing the early era of hip-hop and the R&B that came immediately after it and creating music that embodies the musical sensibilities of that period.

South Korean rapper Kirin is strongly in the latter camp, creating jams that seem teleported directly from the era of Adidas with big laces and ghetto blasters.

Every song on Kirin's album "Love And Happiness," released on Thursday, has a foot planted firmly in the late 1980s to the early 1990s, paying homage to the artists that started the musical revolution that brought rap to the suburbs.

But the most musically satisfying track on "Love And Happiness" has to be the song "JAM" featuring Qim Isle and Hoody.

With nods to the hip-hop pioneers of both the east and west coast (two obvious influences being the soaring synthesizers of then N.W.A. member Dr. Dre's production and the tambourine-driven rhythm tracks of Eric B. & Rakim), JAM can really get your pulse pumping.

There is also a distinct touch of the early material of the most innovative female R&B artist of the early 1990s like TLC and Mary J. Blige and even the New York dance acts that preceded them like Lisa Lisa And Cult Jam and Salt-N-Pepa.

Sometimes, like a great work of art, music looks better from a distance. Jazz artists from Louis Armstrong to Miles Davis found an audience in Europe far beyond their wildest expectations in the states.

With "Love And Happiness," Kirin shows a clear understanding and reverence for the history of hip-hop far beyond what a lot of rappers living a few train rides from the South Bronx confess to know.

For a kid from South Korea to be this moved by a recording from the South Bronx made before he could even walk, that displays the true power of music.

That spirit is alive and kicking on "JAM."

Listen to the new song "JAM" featuring Qim Isle and Hoody RIGHT HERE

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kirin
Love And Happiness
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