RATING: 10/10 Reviewed by - Kurt Loder
July 1st will forever be remembered as the day Jalen McMillan released "Genesis"
The demand for a debut tape from a nobody crashed not only the internet, but the whole universe for the night. Singer, songwriter, producer & actor Jalen McMillan instantly rose to global pop superstardom
Beginning with the ever so dreamy soft synthesizer in his opening track "Give It To Me" the instrumental instantly showcases Jalen McMillan's beauty & brilliance as a record producer
"Give it to me"
Jalen repeatedly gossips displaying his desperate desire for fame & fortune. The minimal instrumental built with a low pitched snappy snare continually rises before the chorus, where his reversed reverbed voice faintly echoes between your ear, creating a psychological trance like sensation in your brain. The lyricism & vocal abilities of Jalen kick in strong during the second verse, with the end practically blowing the listener out their seat for an adventurous ride
"All Over You" & "Lust" also showcase the absolute dazzling songwriting,producing & singing of Jalen. With "Lust" the seductive synthesized intro completely grabs the listeners soul & Jalen's high falsetto takes you by sheer surprise & absolutely flutters your imagination. The song ( which meaning is quite obvious ) tells an imaginative story of a girl Jalen lusts for, but the melodies could never be so utterly hypnotizing & enchanting
During the second verse, Jalen takes a flight to her "Castle" and introduces Jalen to her "pony". With lyrics younger children will enjoy while older lovers can enjoy while actually understanding what he is saying, it could not have been delivered more brilliantly
Then comes the finale to the 3:52 second orchestration of Lust, the synthesizer & jalens falsetto join forces & the pinnacle creates a similar climax to God creating the universe with the Big Bang. Dare I say it? It just might be the greatest climax to any song in the history of music. PERIOD. & The remaining 8 kicks to transfer to his next song "Happy & Bad feeling" defines glory
Now with these songs alone, "Genesis" will already be considered a legendary project, but the song that puts it at #1, the song that will be remembered for billions of years to come "Until The End" comes in. From the start of its low-fi hi hat punches, drawn in from the "Give It To Me" ending to the vocals, to the actual meaning of the record blows me away. After the ear popping hi hats I was memorized by the absolute mastery of the bra** ensemble. Then those chords, those chords of the dominating synthesizer that magically possesses you through the song come in, and this.... this is the SINGLE GREATEST SOUND that has ventured into human existence
The lyrics of Jalen are so over obsessive, as he moans "Until The End Of Time" through the opening hook, which is a titanic statement considering his young age. Shortly after the pulsating kick drum beats at every 4 steps morphing the original dominating synth tune to a instant pop smash hit. The obsessive lyrics continue during the first verse, as jalen beautifully sings he would do anything, including cross the sea just for the love of this un named girl to continue forever. After a couple elaborately placed hand claps & beat stutters, the hook times in perfectly. The second verse continues the lyrical dominance, with jalen taking complete control over the girl & using his God like powers to capture her soul. A synth rise transfers the song into the once again mystifying hook
The third verse takes a major similarity from Beyonce's "Drunk In Love" ending verse, with low pa** filters & effects to generate a completely different, spacious & foreign sound. Upon completion of verse three, Jalen's promise is concealed & nothing will change it. The greatest song of recoded history euphorically continues to move through various transitions & drum patterns, captivating the human mind. Transition to the hook, & the song reaching a time of 7:42 slowly sadly fades away......
This is my first perfect score, and I mean of all human existence. It is mind boggling to think this guy is only 19 & he produced, wrote, arranged & performed every song. Half of which were completed at 18
If this is the first review you read of this project ( which I'm sure there are thousands more to come ) just know I told you first, Jalen McMillan - "Genesis" will forever be remembered & regarded as "The Greatest Debut Project of Recorded History" -Kurt Lodger