Jimi Tents: "Landslide"
“This shit feel like Waikiki,” Jimi Tents says with a laugh on the opening of “Landslide”. He’s right. There’s something about the shuffling piano loop that sounds tropical, almost like a steel drum. Jimi appropriately borrows an inappropriate “Big Pimpin’” bar to start and then dives in. He’s having fun.
It’s a rare light-hearted moment on the 19-year old rapper’s debut EP, 5 O’Clock Shadow. “Elmer Fudd”, a dustier, more somber track that hints at the rest of the songs, was released first and gained Tents his initial ground in 2015, but “Landslide” is the smart pick for a true lead single. The song is 5 O’Clock Shadow’s literal and figurative centerpiece, a laid-back winner’s anthem full of quirky little flourishes and enthusiastic ad-libs. Kof of The Vamp’s production builds unpredictably: it’s not a live hi-hat you’re expecting a minute in; the once-tucked away bass synth sneaks into an open space for a surprisingly funky breakdown halfway through. Tents is good enough a rapper to drive the ship and not end up a passenger on too-dynamic a beat. “Landslide” is a carefully plucked introduction to that fully-formed talent. And after three minutes of him hitting you over the head with it, there’s a charm to watching Jimi Tents take an extended victory lap.
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