JimiDaKilla [@jimidakilla] gives us first visuals from Cognac Arcade EP

Having dropped his project Cognac Arcade, JimiDaKilla gives us a two in one video for ‘Cognac Arcade’ and ‘This Ones For’.

JimiDaKilla is the frontman of the Local Geezers, a rap collective based in Derby. On ‘Cognac Arcade’ and ‘This Ones For’ Jimi links up withe fellow Local Geezer, Ted Loco who has also produced for Leicester based MC Kamakaze. The visuals are tracks taken from his debut EP which released last week after what looked like a complete vibe at the listening party for it.

On the two tracks, you get a sense of who Jimi is and what his style is about – he’s not your typical rapper. He leans into what he calls being a “British Chav Rapper”, which is a very apt name for it. There’s a street twinge to it, but it’s not the typical – it completely bypasses the criminal aspect. On top of that it’s much more light-hearted and less intertwined with the narrative of struggle we expect from up and coming rappers. Jimi definitely leans into the humour element of things and it’s refreshing because it feels organic.

On top of that he doesn’t stick to any particular sound, there are so many elements drawn from multiple genres that go into his overall sound. There’s Grime, Pop, Hip Hop, and more all melding into it. It makes for an interesting soundscape and arguably one that would appeal to a wider audience as it doesn’t require background knowledge of any one specific genre. The sound Jimi makes really is standalone, the closest comparison that comes to mind are The Streets but even they don’t quite touch the exact same notes.

Visually we get a treat. Director Rufus Wilson does a great job at balancing getting across Jimi‘s personality whilst keeping an engaging visual narrative. It helps that he got to work across two tracks so that allows for a drastic change in tone as the tracks transition. But even the transition is handled well, rather than leaving the changeover of the music to do all the work the visuals do their share of the lifting.

This is an interesting release, it should do well in the more underground scenes and amongst those looking for alternatives to the current mainstream sound. It will be interesting to see what Jimi and the Local Geezers have to come for the rest of the year.

You can stream ‘Cognac Arcade’, ‘This Ones For’ and the entire Cognac Arcade EP here.