Jeremih came into the music world as a Chris Brown-lite, Pop&B singer. His debut single “Birthday Sex” was exactly the kind of song that all up-and-coming R&B singers would kill to make. Since then, he has shed that Pop image by releasing a couple of very underrated albums and one extremely well received mixtape, Late Nights With Jeremih. He is no longer “that guy who sang Birthday Sex“, he’s a respected member of the R&B community, who improves with every project.
No More is a collaborative EP between Jeremih and producer Shlohmo. It was supposed to come out in February, but label issues prevented this, and Shlohmo decided to drop the EP out of nowhere on July 17th, much to everyone’s appreciation. The chemistry between Shlohmo and Jeremih is undeniable. Jeremih’s voice slinks between the static keys and throbbing basslines. He sounds more at home here than he does on your standard R&B beats. The whole project is very reminiscent of The Weeknd’s Trilogy.
“No More”:
Six tracks make up the project, three of them previously released, three of them brand new. Normally the fact that 50% of an EP has already been released before would be a major point for criticism, but when the songs are this good, no complaining is necessary. “No More” has Jeremih sounding desperate in his pursuit of an unnamed woman, while Shlohmo’s dark and moody production makes the yearning feel even more real.
The “F**k You All The Time” remix improves on the already fantastic original. Natasha Mosley somehow sounds even sexier over the deepened beat. “Bo Peep” was the first collaboration between the two for Adidas‘ Songs From Scratch series, and the song still stands out as the best track of the EP. It’s very rare that a song can make repeating the same lyrics over and over really work, but Jeremih’s voice changes and the nuances of Shlohmo’s beat more than accomplishes this.
“Bo Peep”:
“Dope” is the first new track on the project. Jeremih’s singing about a girl like she’s the only drug he needs. One of the most amazing things about this project is how Jeremih’s voice stands out so much from such brilliant production, yet it still feels like Shlohmo is using it as his most important instrument. When his voice dips and raises, it does this at the most unexpected, yet perfect, times.
“Let It Go” and “The End” finish the EP off. “Let It Go” is perhaps the biggest show off of Jeremih’s stellar voice. He effortlessly reaches higher pitches and rides the beat so well it’s like he’s not even trying. “The End” has a surprising feature in the form of one of the hottest rappers around Chance The Rapper. Chance shows off his rapping and a little bit of his singing chops on this one, making for a nice change and a great finale to a wonderful project.
This is my personal favourite release of 2014 thus far. Jeremih is so underrated as a singer. I have a feeling all that will change when his next album Thumpy Johnson is released. Hopefully this project was so short because there are some more tracks in the vault for the next projects from Jeremih and Shlohmo. Outstanding effort from the pair. You can (and should) download the No More EP here.
Words by Lee-Michael Conway // Edited by Ayo Adepoju
