It’s officially J Hus day! Big Conspiracy his sophomore album is finally upon us. It wouldnt be an understatement to suggest that this is the most anticipated album of the year, bar none. Although the album was leaked online, it hasn’t slowed the momentum whatsoever, and one cursory glance at your Twitter feed will tell you just how well its being received across the board.
Amidst all the patter online, we’ve undertaken the impossible task of selecting some of the The Hustler’s finest gems that will undoubtedly be popping up on Instagram captions throughout the year.
“Reckless”
“The wars on you’re gonna know who your friends are/daily offender crazy east-ender/ our last encounter was way back November invade your ends then we spray from the centre.”
Upon first hearing this, you’ll wonder why it sounds familiar. That’s because we first heard Dave’s character on Top Boy, Modie, manically claiming that he’s a “daily offender, crazy east ender”. J Hus braggadocious brilliance is in full effect throughout this track.
“Helicopter”
“Shaitan in police uniform, feds in a helicopter/ I seen pigs fly but I’ve never seen a unicorn.”
Undeniably one of the stand out lyrical barbs that Hus fires in the direction of the long arm of the law. After serving three months in prison last year, the farda most certainly has a bone to pick, and he does it in spectacular comedic fashion with this lyric.
“Fight for your right”
“How you gonna run the world you cant even run your life/im destiny’s child every day I survive/no time to plan I had to improvise/ if you was real you’d recognise/how do you sleep at night when you dont even fight for your rights.”
When we compile these very rarely would we include the hook of the song. J Hus’ hooks are an entirely different breed, so normal rules do not apply. J Hus manages to make a wordy chorus without losing any of its catchiness, something which he does effortlessly too.
“Deeper Than Rap”
“Im just a roadman so why am I preaching? God made you sexy so why are you bleaching? How send your son to school and dunno what they teaching? How you beef a next block and you don’t know the reason. Me I love myself I’m Black and I’m gorgeous why they wanna kill us for natural resources?”
Hus is more contemplative on this album than we’ve seen him before. Pondering on a plethora of different topics. Proving here he’s more than capable of social commentary, and not just women, waves and warring. Throughout the album Hus perfectly blends conscious lyricism, with his genre fluid styles.
“Play Play” Feat Burna Boy
“I had a skin fade like Lil Boosie then I went and gave Lil Mama the Lil Uzi”
Traditionally, attempting to stylistically recount sexual encounters often ends up being cringeworthy. However, J Hus’ pillow talk is legendary. Juju J has many creative ways of detailing his would be exploits in the bedroom, and Big Conspiracy is punctuated with some of his best.
“Big Conspiracy”
“All these n***as selling out but nobodies buying/you can be a jungle lion or a circus lion/how you talk mad smoke but you never bang the iron? The guy he portrays is not the guy inside him.“
The opening track is another incredible production from TSB. Who’s quickly becoming one of the UK’s finest behind the boards. The beat bears all his hallmarks, TSB’s productions tend to be heavy on actual instruments rather relying on synthetic sound effects. Hus uses this beautifully constructed instrumental to gives his opps a scathing character review.
“Triumph”
“He must of lost his head then he lost his head, you’ll turn red if man see red finish them all thats what my Auntie said.“
J Hus has a way of making the mundane sound fresh. We’ve heard lyrics of this nature an innumerable amount of times. But Hus’ choice of words elevates this to a rarefied level, that many rappers never reach.
“Fight For your Right”
“I was a real N****a till I fucked my N****s girl/the only way to repay him is to give him the world/and when I get my own wife he can fuck her as well.“
One of the strongest lyrical displays on the album comes on this track. Each verse is packed with quotable after quotable. Hus explores the complexities he’s faced with by being one foot out of a lifestyle he’s trying to leave behind. After a transgression like sleeping with your friends girlfriend, Hus offers his future wife up in a bizarre form of penance.
“Reckless”
“Reckless Reckless / Stratford not Texas, how they gonna test us we’re handing out testers. You think im a Flexer? You think im a wrestler? Be sure Im gonna press anytime im under pressure.“
This is J Hus in all his braggadocious glory. Pure unadulterated barring!
“Big Conspiracy”
“I left everything red when I came out the blue imma walk by like I aint got a clue/ imma do me you can do you boo/ I’m sick and tired of lying to you.if I’m looking at you its from birds eye view/they wanna judge me from what they heard I do/ its a big conspiracy nah nah nah its not true/ had a black belt but it wasn’t kung fu.”
Another incredible Hus creation, he comes through with another infectious chorus that will be stuck in our minds for the foreseeable future.
“Helicopter”
“They enslaved my ancestor, no remorse I bring knowledge to Europe just like the Moors. The knowledge they needed they craving for more/ left the yard before the jakes kicked in the door/ have you seen a leng man drop his gun on the floor? Say you wanna bang you don’t look like you’re sure.”
The juxtaposition of road and conscious bars within the same breath really brings the duality of Hus’ brilliance to life.