South African rappers and singers A-Reece and Blxckie have reunited for the official drop of their long-awaited collaboration “Baby Jackson”. Produced by Herc Cut the Lights, the single marks a third meeting between two of Mzansi’s commercially viable and acclaimed musicians after “sneaky” (2022) and “One Time” (2023) from A-Reece’s sophomore album P2: The Big Hearted Bad Guy.
Brief as it may be with a playback time of two minutes and ten seconds, “Baby Jackson” is a minimalistic hip-hop song with the framework of threadbare piano keys, a bouncy bass, glitching hi-hats, and a warped lute floating in the background.
Sparse as the beat is, Pitori’s finest and one of Durban’s prominent representatives trade quickfire verses (five in total), infusing each contribution with energised rap performances predicated on punchy one-liners (“Six figure deal like the mark of the beast”), entendres (“I’m coaching you n*ggas, I’m feelin’ like Carter”), and wit relatable only to those with inflated pockets (“Now I’ma get me a Urus, I can’t even drive now”).
“Baby Jackson” is the work of two young rappers who understand cadence, rhythm, the subtle art of trying to best one another on the record without attempting to hog too much of the spotlight. Their chemistry, over the past three collaborations, has been similar to the ol’ school Cordae-Anderson.Paak connection and the Kanye West-Jay-Z telepathy, only without the solipsism and the presumptuous glitz.
On the song, they show a musical understanding for each other’s ambits, seasoning each other’s verses with ad-libs and knowing just when to interject without being possessed by fits of lyrical gluttony (“I stay away from the (haters and bloggers)”). Reece does what he’s best known for: flexing his gift with impeccable word selection and barred-up lyricism while smoothing out his lines with polished confidence similar to Drake’s in the early 2010s. Blxckie doesn’t compete with his colleague on a words level – narrowly escaping the fate of getting barred to death – instead he matches him with his presence and personality, breathing his laidback vibe into the song to complement the lax production.
“Baby Jackson” would be a lackadaisical record if not for the energy and the finesse the pair invested in the songwriting. The linkup between the duo is an amusing spectacle, each song they do a prototype of archetypal rap-sung music. In this case, they’ve proven the Shakespearean quote true: brevity is the soul of wit.
Listen to “Baby Jackson”:
