New Music: "XYZ" By Jean Deaux w/ Smino (Prod. by THEMpeople)

How refreshing it is to have a song slow dance you into a room suspended in space. Especially from two artists that you're literally just finding out about. And all credit for that goes to Jean Deaux and Smino.

This song XYZ (produced by THEMpeople) brings me a soothing type of sonic and internal comfort with THEMpeople's beat creating a full setting for the song. THEM's cog-like 808s and delicate drums create palm-sized 3D shapes of sacred geometry with each knock. The random knocking and the awesome sound effect that resembles the switching of stations on AM radio I believe is what suspends me, what suspends this track with Jean Deaux and Smino in that room floating in dead space, leaving these two to materialize their feelings and regurgitate them as words. To turn those words into verses. And that's where the song begins.

I thought Jean Deaux's vocals on XZY were like a lucid dream. Her vocals were strange and airy, a bit like an echoed whisper that immediately brought an unrealistic direction to the song, enhancing my dream sequence. It generated the energy and feelings of human connection, the feelings of being in love with your craft and art that the song explores and takes to a cool new level. I couldn't shake this feeling of being in the cupcake phase during a relationship. Jean's vocals and Smino's completely smitten-sounding verse make the song feel like a complete infatuation with someone or something. An infatuation that gets to the point where you feel lucky and almost stopped in time when you're with them or dong whatever it is you love. It was dope. There was passion in Jean Deaux's singing. I heard an artistic and observational type of interest for the girl Smino's rapping about. It was a dope perspective in the song that I like a lot. It specifically rekindled feelings I've had for people, even feelings I've had for scrapped ideas. XYZ made me long for a fire between me and a specific someone who shall remain nameless. It was so cool. I didn't expect to think this deeply about relationships and my love for things this early, but it's as good a time as any and I'm glad I did.

Listen to XYZ (prod. by THEMpeople) below.