Jai nitai lotus acknowledgement
Right in step with the cold air and brutal wind that's bearing down on much of the country, Montreal MC/Producer Jai Nitai Lotus has dropped a snowy and somber clip for his latest track "Ends In Transition."
Over the marching bass drum and gliding bass lines of Thundercat's "Return to the Journey," JNL's new track is an extended verse that slowly builds, gaining force with every bar. The target of his rhymes are both personal and political--Lotus spends equal time self-examining his place in society as he does criticizing the powerful people in command, the ones who "can't move a blade of grass without affecting our pockets." Much more than a string of clever insights, the lyrics careen off one another as they race toward their goal--a resolution. The rapping Lotus is searching for a kind of end, even if it's only a new transition.
The cut is the final installment in Jai Nitai Lotus's Acknowledgement series, an album-length project that's become his own personal mission to pay tribute to the artists that inspire him the most. Gratitude aside, Acknowledgement is also a sonic conversation, and on "Ends in Transition" Lotus has made the perfect aesthetic match. "The music I make is very emotionally-driven, and this tapped into that space," Lotus said of Thundercat's original track. " I'm a huge fan of the progressive music that Thundercat puts out. For this particular song I was in love with the musical changes and the arrangement."
Although we see none of the 'cat in the video, the bassist's dreamy personality is clearly at work in Lotus's visuals. Glimpses of album covers including Songs in the Key of Life and Things Fall Apart provide additional acknowledgement and set an artistic tone before giving way to snowy skies and nostalgic footage of young children at play. Is the meaning clear? Not at all, but neither is life.
In the coming year Jai told Okayplayer that he has plans for a new full-length original album, which will come as a follow-up to his 2012 Something You Feel release. The video productions will continue as well, we've been told, so stay tuned for more audio-visual excursions in the coming months.
>>View more videos from Jai Nitai Lotus's Acknowledgement series here.
