The Up-Bringing 2.0 – J.Nolan

“The Up-Bringing 2.0” is an astounding 21 track album by 19-year-old Atlanta rapper J.Nolan. The album is completely produced by 20-year-old New Jersey producer Yung B.

“The Up-Bringing 2.0” is a mainly un-collaborative album, as J. Nolan opts to not dilute executions he crafted in his cherished writing. His youthful pleasure for video games and comics is obvious in his lyrics, as he makes several references to characters throughout the album.

“Soul Brother Remix” is the first track to get attention, with its mild tempo beat and jazzy melody, which create a base for J. Nolan to display his taste for rhyming. He frequently ends each line in phonetic agreement to the previous one, as heard here during the core of the track:

“Wax all you like cuz you will not em’ back, unless you talkin’ bout’ your teeth, I’ll leave them where they at; in fact, they gonna need em’ when I wipe you off the map, with a track so hard you’ll think I had a gat; I spat into the camera like my name was Pack, I mean Pac”

In “Get Back” Yung B produces an aggressive beat that varies in tempo with which J. Nolan skillfully matches in rhythm with his word play. In the content, he eludes to his upbringing, concreting the album’s title, as he spits “All of my life, I been writing, fighting, exchange citing”, while also highlighting his discretion with girls, declaring “I know a few slick ladies that’d dis’ n’ play me, but I’m way ahead of them criminals like Dick Tracy.”

“Represent” brings a traditional theatric movie style sound, with a simple moderate beat looping and allowing J. Nolan to perform a peaceful, lyrical tempo for his inventive - if not distinctively metaphorical - narratives, as exemplified by:

“No doubt, it’s a Pokemon type of thing; open up the baller, what’s inside, who you bout’ to see…Not between anybody that didn’t reside in Queens; mimic, comparisons can only be Nas’ routine”

“Celebration” is a track in which J. Nolan underlines what he thinks of his progress, while supported by a regular old school melody, he stresses this milestone moment as triumphant. On the chorus, he loops “Open the door, this is a celebration; no need to pause, this is a celebration”.

In verse, he praises himself with “I got it goin’, top of the fresh scale possible, anybody outshining me is improbable, highly illogical, not cuz I’m conceited, it’s cuz I’m tyina’ wend this weekend like impossible.

J. Nolan also celebrates other youngsters that spring to his mind, giving the tour: “Fresh boy on the chicks, Concept by the food, Young B on the tracks, match forcin’ through with my DJ roots, and I just spit Ross, Kudo probably got that 30-60 set up in the hall”.

“Passing By” puts love on the album’s radar, as J. Nolan shows his lyrical range with softer vocals on the subject, complemented by a light and affectionate melody. With an equally invocative play, strong piano based instrumentals in “Vicky’s Secret” stroke the sentiments as J. Nolan’s wordy lyrics tell a theatrical story, chronicling a man’s discovery of his girl having an affair with a man he knows.

“The Up-Bringing 2.0″ was released on December 1, 2008 as a free download and provides a plethora of original content that will wet your appetite for more of J. Nolan in years to come.

Rating: 4/5