Big Jade [bigjade409] Applies Sonic and Life Pressure On Her Momentous Debut

Words By Miki Hellerbach

Big Jade introduces herself on her debut project Pressure and shows the many facets to her character.

An album I truly can’t help but keep going back to is Big Jade’s Pressure. The dichotomy of being a Beaumont, Texas-bred bossed up bottom of the map emcee with being a bisexual single mother and part-time hairdresser creates a volcanic amount of positive friction that results in a sonic backhand slap. 

Right out the gate, she hits you with a barrage of bars over pumping 808s with no need for a chorus on “No Hook”. She takes the style of the midsong Meek Mill “Dreams and Nightmares”-esque beat flip and cuts in with a full dose Beaumont gutter sass. “Woke up this morning, I did not get dressed/ So I went to the studio, wit shit on my chest/ From this day forward, I’m on and I’m pressed,” is how she introduces her presence and her foot stays on about a 100 MPH for the next 10 tracks. 

The album is perfect for a front-to-back bump in your headphones during a workout, or an ideal play out of speakers for the duration of a raw and intense get-it-out-of-your-system quickie where you dap up the other person on your way out the door. That said, Jade hits you with as many nasty raps and motivational grind mode lyrics as she does with contemplative yet aggressive real-life ruminations. The standout third track “Gucci Bag” jumps out the frame with the hook lyrics, “He thought he was widdit til I threw it back/ Wore that n***a out just like a Gucci bag.” Whereas, on the Jerry Butler sampled seventh track  “I Tell You What” you hear Jade spitting, “Whether I’m in county, or in Texas stressin’ stuff on my probation/ Chasing dreams and chasing money we ain’t never living basic / Watch my brother protest on the internet cause they was being racist.” 

Nothing more than the lyrics themselves give you the full scope of Jade’s expression. No one in the Rap game sounds more like they have something to prove or presents with a more diabolical concoction of hunger and under the surface vents looking for an outlet. 
When Jade raps in a stream of consciousness, it feels much more focused than other rappers in the game. While others, successful and not, use this style and just let it flow, Jade’s bars have an air of zoned-in intention. When taking in her debut, you consistently feel how much pressure she is under along with how much pressure she knows it is her destiny to apply. If she uses Pressure as a springboard to continue expanding by sticking to her core, her rap possibilities are endless.