Music
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Diversity is one of the pillars that hip hop has always stood on.
Whether it be variations in style, speak, or ethnicity, the music
manages to transcend it all, not only shrugging off the countless
juxtapositions but welcoming them with open arms. This disc is a great
example, showcasing a multi-racial female MC who is brimming over with verses and concepts, patiently chomping at the bit to break it all
down for you. Fittingly, she does so with force and intelligence,
flaunting a confidence that can't be faked or fronted on. "With every
verse I drop, I live beyond the grave," she spits on the album's
opener, setting a standard for the fearless flows that follow. Making
it clear that her gender is secondary to the fact that she is an
accomplished lyricist, the tracks focus wisely on real life
experience, picking a channel of contention and speaking volumes
inside of 16 bars. While most of the tracks maintain stark intensity
that almost boils over, songs like "Just Wanna Be" focus on a softer side, lending to her credibility as a versatile artist and someone who is ready to earn the respect she deserves.
- CD Baby
As much as we love Baltimore's uncommon surplus of talented female MCs, most of them have yet to drop full-length albums. And among those who have, consistent, well-produced albums are still few and far between. So the relatively unknown Jade Fox quickly jumped ahead of the competition earlier this year when she dropped her sophomore album, Ashes of Another Life, an accomplished 10-song set of eclectic production and long, passionately personal verses. And as Jade Fox notches some 92Q airplay for her single "Got 'Em Like," with its catchy "no no no" hook interpolated from '60s girl group the Shangri-Las' "Remember (Walking in the Sand)," her fellow femcees should start getting anxious about getting their LPs together just to keep up. - City Paper - Al Shipley
[Number 3 in the reporter's list of top local albums for 2007]
3. Jade Fox - Ashes of Another Life (self-released)
Our Best of Baltimore issue's top female MC this year dropped a cohesive, immaculately produced 10-song album on which not one track was wasted, an accomplishment in and of itself in the age of 30-track mixtapes.
- Baltimore City Paper
Meet the Band: Jade Fox
November 15, 2007
(by Sam Sessa)
Style // hip-hop
Influenced by // Bob Marley, Lauryn Hill, Tupac Shakur, Stevie Wonder
Notable // For years, Glenn was a member of the hip-hop group FourWonOh. She set out on her own this year with a new solo album, Ashes of Another Life.
Quotable // Glenn on the album title: "It's me, stepping out on my own, rising from something in the past that doesn't exist anymore and emerging stronger from it."
- Baltimore Sun
Since setting up the Gov't Names MySpace page last year, I've used it mainly to network with artists I'm already familiar with, but Jade Fox was the first, maybe the only Bmore artist that I heard for the first time on MySpace whose music I really genuinely liked and wanted to hear more of. And in kind of a coincidence, a while after that Mic Life Magazine asked me to do a feature on Jade Fox, and I went and interviewed her for the November issue. So I've had a rough mix of this album for a few months, but it was just officially released in January, and I really liked it then but's exciting to finally hear the finished version.
Baltimore's really got a lot of talented female rappers in the scene right now (ShellBe RAW, G.E.M., Ms. Stress, Golden Seal, B-Fly, Silohette, Nik Stylz) and I really think Jade Fox deserves to pull up a seat at that table. The album is just 10 tracks (the title is a reference to her previous MC name, Phoenix), but it's pretty high quality across the board, thanks largely to the melodic, creative production by Tytanium and Dom P of 2 Minds 1 Soul Productions, and Chris Bentley and Sha Bless. She even stretches out for a couple longer songs, one goes for over 7 minutes and has like 4 verses. Go to her MySpace page to hear some songs off the album, including my favorites "Just Wanna Be" and "Get Up," and there's a link to buy the album there, which is also available at the Sound Garden. - Al Shipley
Discography
The Journey (LP) -2001 street release
Ashes of Another Life (LP) 2007- self release; carried in record stores and internet distribution
Got 'Em Like (Single) 2007 - major radio airplay throughout Maryland and D.C.; internet radio airplay on many various stations; XM radio play
Photos
Bio
In a hip-hop game dominated by male rappers, comes a refreshing new sound and look in the form of 25 year old hip hop artist, Jade Fox. The female mc, who is of Black and Asian heritage, proves that intense lyrics and crazy flows aren’t only for the guys. Combining the skills of a lyricist, mc, and a poet, Ms. Fox is able to transform beats into thought provoking masterpieces. Describing herself as “that underground female with commercial appeal,” Jade Fox shows it is possible to create entertaining music with substance, a combination not often heard in today’s pop driven market.
Born as Kimberly Glenn in Southern California, Jade moved to Maryland at the age of ten and has resided in the state ever since. At the age of nineteen she began creating hip hop music with the Baltimore based group Forwonoh (410). It was during this time that she recorded a group album and her first solo cd. Both albums were limited to release on the street level, but garnered much talk among the underground circle. Eventually the group Forwonoh decided to part ways. Jade Fox continued to create music as a solo artist, leading to her first officially released cd, Ashes of Another Life.
Blending hip hop with elements of reggae,poetry, R&B, and rock, great range is shown by the female mc through songs touching on serious aspects of living life to battle rhymes for all who doubt her. A wide range of influences which include Bob Marley, Tupac Shakur, Lauryn Hill, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix have provided a foundation for Jade Fox to create a refreshing and universal sound that is hard to place in a box. Immediately evident through her songs on the new album Ashes of Another Life, is the evolution of Jade Fox as an artist. Combining hard hitting and diverse hip hop beats, produced by 2 Minds 1 Soul Productions, and live instrumentation from musician/engineer Chris Bentley, Jade eloquently spits universally appealing rhymes through a variety of flows. Jade Fox is generating a dedicated following with her intense and highly energetic live shows that captivate the audience whether it is just her and a hypeman on stage or performing with her band. Ms. Fox offers a different look and sound than what is presented in today’s market. With her music speaking for itself as an honest form of self-expression that is entertaining and related to by many, Jade Fox is poised to become one of the top artists of hip hop.
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