Before I knew who Ronald Jenkees was, I was shown a video of his. It started out with his trademark “Hello, Youtubes!” This may catch you off-guard at first, but make no mistake, you’re about to witness something amazing. This man demonstrates a passion and unique talent for creating hip-hop beats that you’re unlikely to hear anywhere else. After sitting slightly stunned in front of my screen for some time, I did some research and found out he put out an album, which, depending on where you check, is called either Derty, or, Ronald Jenkees. I’ll tell you what, it could be called Strawberry Cupcakes With Ms. Muffet for all I care, cause this album is GOOD.

The album starts out with the song Derty, an uncharacteristically complex and intricate crunk-esque beat that comes at you like a fuckin’ slap in the face. It then grooves its way into Neptune, a relaxing foray into what I can only call elegant hip-hop, relying on mellow piano and soaring violin, taking you up and up, and keeping you there for Jenkees’ Canon In D Remix, in which he successfully reworks Pachelbel’s classic masterpiece that really takes off about halfway through with a bluesy piano section that displays Jenkees’ musical talent in full force. After Canon, we’re given a mysterious lesson in atmospherics, via Clutter (which was recently covered by some guy on a saxophone — it’s on youtube). Jenkees remixed another classic on this album: The Rocky theme song. No, not Eye of the Tiger, the one where he runs up the stairs. I’ll let you check that one out for yourself, but it’s quite an interesting take. The Sunfish Song, one of my favorites on the record, is a very watery sounding song that at times is very reminiscent of the Phendrana Drifts theme from Metroid Prime, which is unbelievably awesome. Loui is a haunting piece that forces you to wonder who exactly Loui is, and what might’ve happened to him, given the gloomy tone of the track. Gold Spinners is a soulful organ-tinged piece that demonstrates Jenkees’ lightning fast, magical fingers, and Remix To A Remix is the first song to successfully capture that elusive Victorian-Gangsta sound that so many people have strived to get right. Then, a funny thing happens: he starts to rap. But it’s strange, because he has two songs where he raps on this album, and one is actually good, but one is a bit off. 56k seems slow and uninspired, while Ain’t No Thang finds him with a good flow and rhymes that work well.

At first I couldn’t imagine an album of only hip-hop beats, thinking it would get stale and boring, but I couldn’t have been any more wrong. This man strolls across musical genres like blocks of concrete in the sidewalk. In fact, Jenkees has basically started a new genre for himself, which I can only call Electrip-hop. Jenkees never lets it get boring by always going down a different route than you’d expect, and the fact that his arsenal of instruments and sounds is seemingly endless does a lot to vary the music on the album. Jenkees demonstrates an uncanny ability to know exactly what sound or instrument should be applied where, what effects to use, and how to emphasize the tone of the song to its fullest potential. While he’s an incredible musician, I can only imagine how far Ronald Jenkees would go as a producer, given these talents. This is an album I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable recommending to absolutely anybody I might come across. In fact, because of the songs Snap, Almost Undamaged, and 56k, I was considering giving this album 6/7. These are by no means bad songs in absolutely any way, but the rest of the songs on Jenkees’ debut album are simply of a higher caliber than these three. However, I can’t bring myself to give it only a six. I know it sounds insane to give an album full of only hip-hop beats a 7/7, but that’s seriously how good it is. I highly recommend that you find some way to get your hands on this album, even if you’re a 90 year-old grandmother with Alzheimer’s. Hell, that’d just make it better; it’d be brand new every time! Ronald Jenkees simply amazes me, and with his second album on the way (supposedly due late this summer), I find myself giddy at the thought.

Ronald Jenkees