Jay Activist - ATL Artist Making Waves With His Newest Release
Warm Nights, Vol. 2
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Warm Nights, Vol. 2 〰️
Our favorite tracks:
They Watchin
Owe Me
Apart of Me Interlude
Reasons to listen:
Smooth and melodic feel
Catchy flows and ability to glide over any beat
Instrumentals are always solid, range from chill to hard
Variety of lyrical topics
Able to bring energy or stay laidback
Listen to Jay Activist here
Jay Activist has followed up his previous project, 2021’s ‘Warm Nights, Vol. 1’, with a seven track tape filled with hits and his most notable work to date. Each song includes his trademark smooth flow and melodic delivery, but he varies the energy from song to song more than we’ve ever seen from him before. This is by far his most complete and well-rounded project, marking an impressive shift in his musical career. This is a new era of Jay Activist, one in which he sounds more confident and capable as ever. His vocal production and sound quality, something which had previously been an issue throughout many of his songs, has never sounded better and more professional. His sound has never been cleaner. Additionally, the beat selection is much more diverse, straying away from his typical strings + trap drums combination. Some examples include ‘When I’m Alone’, which features his favorite collaborators ONM De’Sean and Anjul Cia, and includes horns and a Latin-influenced tropical drumkit, ‘Trippin’ which heavily utilizes a smooth choir sample, and ‘King of the A’ which consists of an incredible and uncharacteristically dark synth and bass melody alongside hard hitting drums. Overall, this project is Jay’s most professional and most enjoyable, with a song for each and every vibe - the only way to truly break it down is to take a look at each song individually, step by step.
‘Trippin’
Opening the album with a powerful and uplifting track is always a good call, and ‘Trippin’ is exactly that: a mixture of Jay’s impressive singing and rapping abilities that mesh perfectly with a piano/choir melody, all held together by his deft lyricism which covers his progress and persistence. At times he speaks directly to the listener, telling them that “you’re special, your purpose is deeper than what the world tells you.” This positive energy alongside the framework of his journey towards success (which ends with him projecting his near future, stating in the last verse that “I learned from the greats, now I’m close to the finish”) creates a memorable and at times emotional track, hooking the listener in and ensuring they’ll be invested in the project.
‘Owe Me’
The second track is one of the catchiest, with a melodic and rhythmic flow throughout each verse and hook. It’s brief, running just over two minutes, but delivers some of Jay’s best bars and possibly his best hook over. The leading bar/start of the first verse is also my personal favorite opening to any Jay song. He utilizes a more standard rap delivery here, with a slightly gritter feel than the previous track. The beat is incredible yet difficult to describe, with what seems to be a guitar lead over upbeat drums. They set a catchy tone and the slow pace of the melody contrasts well with the faster drums and Jay’s flow. Lyrically, he is demanding the respect he is owed by the “snakes” and doubters in his life, as well as the money and support he gave to fake friends and family who used him then turned their backs on him and his career. The hook, which could also be viewed as an outro as it is only found at the end (repeated twice), consists of him reflecting on his grind and guaranteeing everyone will see his work pay off soon.
‘King of the A’
This is by far Jay’s darkest and hardest track, making an impressive departure from his standard lane. He raps with more intensity and passion than ever before, with an incredible synth/drum instrumental bringing the energy even higher. Perfect for a gym playlist or for turning up, each bar hits harder than the last and the energy doesn’t let up for a single second throughout each verse and hook. While it isn’t as lyrically deep as the previous tracks, his rhyme schemes here may be his best ever. His flow is always smooth and precise but never before has it been utilized in this dark and hard hitting way, and his fast flows and dense rhyme schemes make this track a true standout.
‘They Watchin’
Jay’s most radio-ready track to date, this standout reflects the best of this project and the best of Jay’s abilities. The instrumental is a classic melodic strings + drums, but with a harder kick and bass than his lighter toned music adding an intense edge to the backing track. This is matched by his delivery, which also has a hard hitting and gritty edge. However, this track retains a catchy and melodic feel, utilizing Jay’s classic rap-singing blend throughout the verses and hook. It contains some of his best flows and an extremely consistent quality throughout. Additionally, his writing is on point, with tight and original rhyme schemes and plenty of standout bars. If you listen to one Jay Activist song, make it this one.
‘When I’m Alone’
The most chill track on the album by far, Jay brings in collaborators ONM De’Sean and Anjul Cia to produce a smooth and catchy r&b track. Jay delivers one of his catchiest flows ever with an upbeat and melodic style, once again demonstrating his ability to blend singing and rapping to perfection. Rather than staying monotone like so many rappers do, Jay always utilizes an interesting and memorable melody. This makes his music much more appealing and memorable- this technique of blending singing and rap can be found among greats like Young Thug and Polo G, but Jay puts his own spin on the tradition and creates his own style. Both feature artists absolutely deliver, with a fantastic verse from ONM De’Sean that is subtly complex and obviously catchy and a fantastic hook that has De’Sean and Anjul harmonizing with each other. This hook serves as the centerpiece to the track, marking an extremely memorable point in the project.
‘Hate Me Outta Luv’
This is the most classic Jay Activist song on the project, with a laidback energy and smooth sing-rap delivery over a strings and drums instrumental. However, the writing is his most personal and honest, which saves the track from being forgettable and grabs the listener’s attention from the jump. He covers in depth a toxic relationship that he is still partially involved in, an on-off mess involving cheating, betrayal, and broken trust. Jay goes into heavy details talking about the progression, and degeneration, of their relationship. Ultimately Jay decides to let her go, saying that “I’d rather lose you than the argument”, but he also knows that she’ll keep coming back: “You might’ve left but know I never truly lost you.”
‘Apart of Me Interlude’
The project ends with an interlude, suggesting that it will be continued with a future Volume 3. This is one of my personal favorite Jay Activist tracks, even with its short runtime (2:05) and one-verse structure, because it contains Jay’s best writing. It’s my favorite verse he’s ever released. His verses are tightly constructed and complex, allowing him to tell the story of his journey and goals in a clear and concise way with multisyllable rhymes and impressively layered rhyming.
The instrumental is also a unique one for Jay, with a soft female vocal sample and bass and slow drums. This provides an easy platform for his quick-paced and varying rhyme schemes and puts all the focus on the vocals. One of the biggest mistakes an artist can make is taking away from their words and vocals with a beat that’s overpowering, and Jay knows this. More importantly, Jay knows he has something to say here, and so makes sure to emphasize his bars.
It’s also unique for another reason: Jay strips back his traditional autotuned vocals and uses a much more natural voice. While his typical delivery works very well, this fits the energy of the track and I hope he does this much more frequently in the future- this style of delivery works very well for him on his more lyrical tracks, and I would love to see at least one or two tracks per project utilize this style. This track/verse is a very strong standout and is one of the first songs I’d show to someone to put them onto Jay (alongside ‘They Watchin’, the best overall track from this project).
Overall:
This project marks a notable step forward for Jay Activist, one reflective of his grind and commitment to bettering himself and his music. ‘Warm Nights, Vol. 2’ is his most polished, professional, and enjoyable project yet by far. It’s been incredible watching Jay grow from when I first discovered him in his early days in 2020 (less than a year from when he started rapping)- he is more confident and capable than ever. I strongly recommend listening to this project- with a total runtime of only 17 minutes it has given me hours of replayability.
Don’t forget to check out Jay Activist on Instagram @jayactivist or at the bottom of this page.