Norwegian hip-hop is not dead. It is alive and kicking, and that, Jesse Jones is living proof of. Since the man from Groruddal (in Northern Oslo) was “discovered” by Ken Ring almost six years ago, he’s worked exclusively with Swedish rap legend and Norwegian hip-hop’s surrogate daddy Tommy Tee. The link up has resulted in a handful of hot mixtapes and guest appearances on a number of Norwegian rap releases, amongst them underground single “Tyshar” which he recorded right after a short holiday at Club Fed. His first official release, the street anthem “Drabant”, which featured the aforementioned Ken Ring and New York’s own Saigon, created massive anticipation around Jesse. Jesse Jones has an extremely direct approach to getting his message across. And in terms of the music, you could say that it sounds un-Norwegian, at least in rap terms. Jesse Jones is a man who’s music captivates people. Notable recent live shows have included appearances both at home and in Sweden with alongside names like Ken, Tommy Tee and Lars Vaular. He’s recently inked a record deal and in September released an E.P. followed by a single with Vinni entitled “Gategutt” in November and same month, mainstream Norwegian network TV2 broadcast a documentary about Jesse. The record “12 blokker, 1 vei inn” is slated for release in Spring 2011 and is is a fly on the wall story chronicle of the most heartfelt effort by any Norwegian musician since Espen Beranek Holm told Norway to “Go to hell”.
http://bylarm.no/nor/artists/8986
