Common Sense from young east London rhymer Momodou "J Hus" Jallow is chock-a-block with the good stuff. Here's a debut album with both swagger and substance, a record that moves nimbly from the rough-and-tough swing of grime and hip-hop to a clatter of dancehall, Afrobeat and r'n'b soundclashes.
In the midst of this wonderful framework of sussed musical stylings (the handiwork of quick-witted producer Jae5), Jallow eyes up the good and the bad of his environment and ecosystem with some skill. There's a shade of Kendrick Lamar-like naive unease to how he narrates his badboy experiences on Clartin and Goodies, but there's room too for other moods as Bouf Daddy and Closed Doors show.
While there are occasions when the 17 tracks are a bit of a stretch, Common Sense is most of all about a rapper making his mark and verbalising with boundless confidence.
