The appeal of Chattanooga rapper Jason Rayn isn’t immediately evident – whether he is trying to be as clever as Bun B or as witty as Biggie, beginning to approach the charisma of a T.I. or the eclectic talent of Lil’ Wayne, is not really what matters here. Rayn’s shtick, quite simply, is that he’s sounds like a very real dude.
Sure, authenticity is a slippery notion, but it is integral to the appeal of Zone ft K$NG and is at least, in part, explainable. Much of it has to with Jason Rayn’s voice – a smooth, resonating baritone that is both relentless and melodic – but it’s also because his rhymes are three dimensional.
The hooks are big and memorable, and regardless of how you feel about them personally, Jason Rayn and K$NG are great studio collaborators. The track allows Rayn to stretch out and tighten up depending on his mood, testing out new and more disciplined flows that allow him to show off different sides of himself when he feels like it.
The result is the freshest Rayn has sounded since his release “Live It Up” ft. T-Sounds.
This is the Jason Rayn that sticks out and stays with you, and the one that’s the most similar to his older, wilder flows on tracks like “Grind” ft. Kato and “2 Rings” which also featured K$NG. He speaks frankly and is proud to tell you that he is the ‘best one in his zone’.
Overall, Rayn sounds confident and revitalized, whether it’s because he’s trying new things or is able to stretch out comfortably with his feel-good braggadocio rhyme scheme, either way it works.
Hopefully it’s the first of much more to come from Jason Rayn throughout the rest of the year, which is another thing to look forward to in an already jam-packed hip hop release calendar for 2017 which promises a long list of summer bangers.
OFFICIAL LINKS: TWITTER – INSTAGRAM – SOUNDCLOUD
