- Until just a couple of days ago, twenty-something, Chicago native Jeremiah Jae was just some dude I'd never heard of, with a name that failed conjure up much excitement in my loins, even in my wildest of dreams. After kicking' it online for several minutes, I must admit I wasn't all that more informed than I had been when I had nothing but a name to go on, but for some reason the illusive nature and relative ambiguity only proved to titillate me something fierce- I knew there was going to be something at the end of this turdish rainbow. Thankfully it turns out Jeremiah Jae is actually pretty darn interesting, a combination of the zoned out, otherworldly noise mosaic that Gonjasufi wallows around in, mixed with Shabazz Palaces spaced out, almost hypnotic jams- music that entrances you and takes you to a different place- most likely a better one. Raw Money Raps is what I believe to be Jae's first proper LP and arrives from the always worth-a-look-at-label, Brainfeeder, one of the premier homes of genre bending, mind melting, mostly experimental electronic music, with a little left-field hip-hop thrown in for good measure- a label founded and run by Flying Lotus, a dude that has had a pretty untouchable musical run and also happens to be one of the most interesting purveyors of electronic music actively working. With this firmly in mind, when I found out that Flying Lotus had taken a personal interest in Jeremiah Jae it was the last straw- when a dude that impresses me, is impressed by you, I'm probs gonna check out your record fella. So I did, and the resulting aural reward was well worth my questionably valuable time- Raw Money Raps has the pieced together samplings of more beat-driven, instrumental hip-hop, but Jae's ability to weave sampled voices, guest vocalists and often his own part-rap, part deadpan delivery, give the record a real human quality. The record feels alive- heaving and throbbing throughout, bolstered by live instrumentation and thick haze, both of which are supplied by Jae, a relatively well-rounded human being in the scheme of things. The record plays out with a mixture of succinct interludes, short experiments of tracks that, despite being their own beasts, are primarily used to link the albums more flushed out ideas, songs that are solid enough to be dragged out of context and thrown into the fray. One such track, the aptly titled "Greetings", is definitely one of the more upbeat and cohesive cuts from Raw Money Raps, a track built around a Squarepusher-esque bass loop and deceptively simple drum sequence that, paired with vocal back-up provided by some seemingly capable enough accomplice called Tre, equates to a good time and just a glimpse of some of the magic which oozes freely from the records core. Raw Money Raps is a truly interesting and rewarding record, a real pleasant little treasure that came outta nowhere and whomped me something fierce right between the eyes.

- Jay Edwards.