Jessie J is an amazing singer/songwriter known for her powerful voice as much as her intelligent, well-written, and catchy lyrics. Off her first album, she achieved six top 10s in the UK for songs which varied in tempo, mood, and singing style. Clubs were treated to solid remixes of the pop hit “Domino” as well as quite a few bootlegs of her collaboration with the masterful David Guetta. It was pretty obvious that she was going to launch her second album with a dance track, and her performance in “Wild” gives you everything you could possible want in a pop song – a multidimensional vocal ranging from rough and aggressive to fragile and pretty singing of a well-written, expressive song over a track that seamlessly blends a powerful, staccato marching band feel with a soft-and-sparse yet pretty and uplifting chorus. This could well be one of the best pop songs of the year – except that someone made the horrible misstep of featuring not just one but two raps that add absolutely nothing to the song. There is nothing wrong, inherently, with adding a featured rap if it brings a new different feel, an extension of the song’s meaning, or even a strong counterpoint to the song. For “Wild,” Big Sean’s rap is sloppily written, haphazardly performed, and just a lazy addition that feels like it was thrown on in the last minute. Dizzee Rascal, one of the most insightful and talented rappers (who is woefully underexposed in the US) contributes the typical (though atypical for him) bragging lines. The two raps literally add a minute of dead weight to what is already an incredible strong with a powerful message. Rather than these raps, a “Do It Like a Dude” flavored-rap by Jessie J herself would be so much better and even more empowering to women that they can hold down the fort on their own, rather than calling in a man to save them (and fit the message of the song so much better). Here’s hoping that if remixes are commissioned that rap-free versions are included (which, of course, would not be a bad idea for the new Jennfier Lopez “Live It Up” song, either).
Image Courtesy of Republic.
