The New LoFi

A Heart Breaking Work of Swagger & G-ness

Yes, he looks like a cross between my butcher and a grizzly bear, but this dude knows how to lay down a fucking dope-ass track. He goes by the name of Jimmy JAMS or Widows and alongside Bobby Evans (formerly Brother Reade) he is one half of the rap duo: Jams F. Kennedy.

I’ve had their mixtape A Heart-Breaking Work of Swagger & G Ness on repeat for three weeks. The mix combines storytelling and Southern hip hop in a way that I don’t think I’ve heard before. Curated and mixed by the British team Patchwork Pirates, the 29-track mix has the fingerprints of Evans, but finds Kennedy himself at the center. 

Based on the novel ‘A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius‘ by Dave Eggers, the mixtape takes you on a journey from the deep south to some fantasy world which has been play-written by Widows. The mix culminates in shoutout section where Widows thanks his LA crew of Nosaj, Robots, TokiMonsta, the actual internet, Smithfield’s Chicken & Barbeque and the entire town of Smithfield itself. “If I keep going I’d have to make one of those exhaustive lists where you might get mad if you were left off of it,” admits Widows at the end.  

“Rap, since the beginning, has never been a sound,” explains Jams “It was always a method. It never requires more than two steps. 1: Listen to the wildest new music where there are people there to hear it. 2: Interject vocally.”

01. Intro – Jams F. Kennedy
02. Drama – Widows
03. Jams vs. Gemmy – Jams F. Kennedy
04. Don’t Start None (Boom Bip Remix) – Widows
05. Jams vs. Hudson Mohawke – Jams F. Kennedy
06. Find Your Way – Superisk
07. Jams vs. Guido – Jams F. Kennedy
08. Issey Miyake – Salva
09. Move – devonwho
10. Jams vs. Dizz1 – Jams F. Kennedy
11. LAX – Widows
12. Jams vs. Bobby Valentino – Jams F. Kennedy
13. Live & Direct – The Works feat. Jams F. Kennedy
14. Jams vs. B Bravo – Jams F. Kennedy
15. Us – Nosaj Thing
16. Room Temperature Liquid Plastic – Mushen
17. Jams vs. B Bravo – Jams F. Kennedy
18. Oil Fields – Mono/Poly
19. Orchid – Widows
20. Jams vs. Juice Aleem vs. Si Begg – Jams F. Kennedy
21. Orion’s Belt Buckle – Free The Robots
22. Mahjongg – Charles Trees
23. Jams vs. Flying Lotus – Jams F. Kennedy
24. Why Like This? – Teebs
25. Unsigned Hype – Widows
26. Glut – Ramadanman
27. Step 2 Funk – DVA
28. 7.62 – Widows
29. Outro – Jams F. Kennedy

Jams F. Kennedy – A Heart-Breaking Work of Swagger & G Ness

Jams F. Kennedy