Jefe - The World Is Yours

Pitchfork 69

As Shy Glizzy, D.C. native Marquis King has become the face of the rap crew Glizzy Gang, and one of the most consistent artists in the nation’s capital. He raps in a needling whine about gunfights and authority and the spaces where they intersect: neighborhood turf wars, exchanges with law enforcement, being strapped as a symbol of manhood, and using gunmanship as a means to gain control over one’s own life, to overcome poverty and unbalanced systems. Last year, he released his most compelling work yet, Young Jefe 2, a blueprint for his particular brand of confessional tough talk, half chest-beating bravado, half emotional plea for understanding (“I promise you that you gon’ feel my pain bitch”). The tape was the most comfortable he’s ever been, proudly taking up the mantle of local street benefactor and willing brand ambassador for his crew. Perhaps sensing a shift, King has dropped the Shy Glizzy moniker in favor of the mixtape persona: Jefe, which is Spanish for ‘boss.’ “I’m just rebranding myself. Reinventing on a whole higher level,” he told the Fader. “I earned the title Jefe ... From the get go I’ve been putting on for the city.”

His first offering under the new name is an EP called The World Is Yours. The eight-track project continues to explore the same ongoing themes in King’s music—using success as a window through which to reflect on humbler beginnings. Its message is encapsulated in the hook on “Love Me”: “How the fuck could you hate me when I came up from nothing?/I just want you to love me.”

This isn’t King at the peak of his powers. When he’s at his best, he can string several devastating phrases together to create complex models of what he’s seeing and feeling. Here, he mostly seems content to roll leisurely through verses, as on “Over the Hills.” There’s no sense of urgency, and, outside of declaring his city a war zone, the stakes are generally lower for Jefe than they are in most Shy Glizzy songs. But that doesn’t mean the songs are without consequence. On “Congratulations,” he assesses the envy of those close to his success. The cautionary tale “Give It Up” is an instruction manual for young street soldiers, ending with an inspirational testimonial, tracing a bleak journey from juvenile corrections to six-figure tours: “14 years old, I went to juvie for an O/16 years old, I stuck my dick in my PO/18 years old, I was whipping up the dope/ By 20 years old, I was getting 20 for a show.” The World Is Yours seems as much a personal memo as it is a Nas-ian aphorism.

For much of the EP’s running time, Jefe provides glimpses of what can, at times, make him a truly special rapper—as has been exhibited in the past on songs like “Funeral” and “Awwsome.” He’ll go through an entire verse only using one scheme (as he does on “Congratulations”), but other times he’ll take big cuts at syllables, at one point rhyming “fuck,” “New York,” and “Marshall Faulk.” Over one of the most vibrant Zaytoven beats in years, on “One,” he mixes off-balance slant rhymes with brief moments of criminal introspection. It’s a reminder of what he’s capable of. The World Is Yours is a fine introduction to Jefe. But it’s still worth getting to know Shy Glizzy first.