Jim Legxacy to the World
Alexander Wolff Reed
I create content across sport and culture 💫 | Work: FIFA World Cup, SoccerBible, VERSUS, Football Manager, Tekkers, Premier League and The Hundred (via TwoCircles)
It’s May, and the UK might have found its album of the year already.
It comes from London’s Jim Legxacy, one of many artists steering clear from the constraints of labels, genres, and expectations.
The playful yet solemn record that is HNPM captures the space UK artists are carving out for themselves, where creativity flourishes amongst the freedom of independence.
You feel that immediately with this release, a genreless project that is a joy to listen to. It’s not an easy task, as Jim admits: “The hardest part of doing loads of genres is being able to make it sound cohesive!” he tells followers on Twitter.
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That was from 2020, a year on from his first project “Dynasty Program: A Metrical Composition Inspired by the Nights Spent as a Raiider” which - as the title suggests - had a lot going on. Naturally, therefore, his early work was a little rough around the edges, but with HNPM, it feels as though Jim’s achieved the cohesive sound he was working towards.
Capable of communicating the good, bad, and ugly of inner-city life, he evidences his ability to be a free-flowing artist on whatever soundscape he wishes to conquer. It’s not hip-hop, it’s not emo, it’s not Jersey club, it’s not rnb, it’s not drill, it’s not afrobeats, it’s instead a fusion of all the above that coalesce into an emotive, energetic, and earnest release.
His creativity is let loose, exhibiting him as someone continually moulded, inspired, and stimulated by the culture that exists around him. From snippets of 67, Unknown T, Rihanna, and Hannah Montana (again, a lot is going on), to his modernised flip of Soul for Real’s ‘Candy Rain’; HNPM is an eclectic mix of all that has made him the burgeoning artist he is - establishing himself as a vanguard for where the UK scene is heading.
At only 25 minutes, it whisks by. But as they say, time flies when you’re having fun, and HNPM will not only be the sound of the summer; but the sound of an ambitious, atmospheric, and artistic generation of UK talent - doing things by their own accord.