Snus Summer Soon Come?
A few thoughts on Jim Legxacy’s “idk idk”
Back again! More crap on the way, blah blah blah. You know what this is. Tap in with me when it’s time to tap in with me, and don’t tap in a moment too soon.
As always, tell them where you saw it and just how goddamn beautiful it was.
REQUIRED LISTENING
SNUS SUMMER SOON COME?
Jim Legxacy, the surging upstart from Lewisham, London, is back, and the rap stylist slash art-school dropout slash production wizkid slash snus sucker slash whippit wiffer slash introspector extraordinaire appears to have cracked the code to the vault that holds the secret recipe to success. Wow! God bless him. Jim’s been on the grind since before COVID struck, but in 2022, he realized that, if he simply put his mind to it and became really good at everything, he would make it as a popstar of sorts and amass an army of ardent supporters.
And — surprise — he’s been doing just that by serving up bittersweet banger after bittersweet banger. See, he figured out that the secret recipe to success lies at the intersection of RnB, hip-hop, Afrobeat, and alternative, all served over piping hot grime-y, garage-y instrumentals with a distinctly UK-flavor. And, to be safe, he dusts his songs with just a touch of elder emo, specifically with regard to his naming conventions and sense of anguish and loss — the kind of thing that anyone can enjoy. (I mean, come on! — titles like as 2021’s “I Don’t Like How Star Wars Treated John Boyega” and “tiger driver ‘91” and “new david bowie” would be right on some emo shit from the late 2000s and early 2010s.) It should go without saying, but this is not a bundle of interests and inspirations that can be easily mashed together, yet Jim pulls it off with ease. It really rocks.
Naturally, given our shared forename, I’ve long been a fan of young Jim, but last year’s Black British Music (a wisftfully turnt up quindecalogue that just won’t quit) broke containment and has attracted a legion of new fans who have since been chomping at the bit for any morsel of new music. On Tuesday, just over eight months after the release of BBM, they finally got some new shit to sink their teeth into.
The new shit in question is “idk idk,” and the people are fucking loving it. I mean, people are calling it the song of the summer, and it’s only March! They’re saying that it’s the only thing worth listening to! They’re saying that it is that good, but let’s be real: just how good is it actually?
“idk idk” has all the makings of a Jim Legxacy banger: a soulfully chopped-up and re-animated sample, humongous and crisp percussion, buzzing sub-bass, triumphant 808 slides, downtrodden lyrics delivered with a wink and a smile, a fun guys-doing-regular-shit music video, and, for all my real Jim guys out there, yet another references to snus consumption (the sign of real ponderer and experiencer of life). With all this packed into just under two and half minutes, it’s no surprise that the heads are going ga-ga for it. In theory, they’re right — it is a potent mix! — but, in practice, the dots are barely even connecting.
It’s not that “idk idk” is tired, but it is just another dose of what we’ve come to expect. Maybe this shit would be different if he were rapping his ass off or baring his soul to the world, but he doesn’t do that. Instead, he settles into a weird no-man’s-land between the two modes, and he winds up falling flat. Additionally, the beat is static, especially when compared to his typical output. It wobbles and fizzes along as pleasantly as any other, but it fails to expand upon itself in any sort of meaningful way, hurting the track’s replayability. As with any other medium, simplicity is a goal more easily set than achieved, and “idk idk,” simple as it is, does not meet that goal.
So, no, this is not the frontrunner for song of the summer, but what do I know? People are really loving this shit, and rightfully so. The set-up of “idk idk” is great, but to me, Jim fails to stick the landing. Maybe he’s become too reliant on the recipe, or maybe he’s straight up lost it. I can’t say. To be sure, Jim does land, but his execution is far looser and limb-ier than it should have been. Luckily, given how recently Black British Music hit the airwaves, this song is more than likely just a loosie, and loosies like this are meant to tide the fans over until the world is truly ready for some new shit. As such, I’ll hold my breath and enjoy “idk idk” for what it is: a formulaic Jim Legxacy song that makes people smile when they listen with their friends and bang snus together.
For now.
If you’re feeling that crap, cool! Keep feeling it. If you’re not feeling that crap, check into some Detroit shit from heat-seeking new kids 5atfolks.