Jersey City rapper Jae Claude dampens musical ideas with disclaimers, tired conventions Published: Wednesday, November 23, 2011, 7:40 AM By Summer Dawn Hortillosa / The Jersey Journal Jersey City rapper Jae Claude doesn't really know who he is yet, but he doesn't admit that on his latest release, "Die Hater 2.0: The World?s Most Dangerous EP 2011," since being self-assured is key in the rap world. When Jae Claude is genuinely bold, he's great - he puts an interesting explosive emphasis on the last syllables of his lines and has some other good musical ideas. A lack of variation and conviction, however, cripple even the strongest tracks. The rapper takes too much time explaining himself - literally. He gives long disclaimers instead of expressing himself through his music and owning his lyrics. Jae Claude often seems to forget he's a rapper, not a talker. For example, several of the tunes have offensive racist, homophobic and sexist lyrics, especially "Hip Hop is Gayz," which is being promoted with bright pink stickers all over Hudson County. The song is preceded by a 30-second disclaimer that basically says, "I'm using the word 'gay' like it means 'lame.' I don't really hate gay people," albeit in a rather clumsy way. But then he gets into the song and says, "Mad haters trying to tag me homophobic/'cause I want my ass---- to stay 101-year-old virgin/f--- that, I got mad gay friends/mad female gay friends/and when they feel cold in December/they come over with they lovers." He then says he has sex with the lesbians, implying that he only befriends gay women willing to be part of his two-girls-one-guy fantasy. That sexism resurfaces in the track, "That Face is Ugly," which degrades an unattractive woman which has lines like, "She makes Precious look like Halle Berry." The "EP" (which, let's be honest, at 12 full-length tracks is basically an album) falters when Jae Claude falls into the rap conventions of "I get girls, I get money, I'm so much cooler than you" instead of focusing on where he can be more musically innovative, like on standout tracks like the refreshingly humble "Liquor Wasted." The tune features his melodic lament, "I keep forgetting/Damn, I keep forgetting/All the things I already know," and his vow to rise above adversity. Check out a mini-movie for the opening track of "Die Hater 2.0," called "Drop That S---."

WHO?

Jersey City rapper making music in Chilltown Friday, September 02, 2011, 8:44 AM By Summer Dawn Hortillosa/ The Jersey Journal Rapper Jae Claude is working hard to make a name for himself. With a mix-tape entitled ?Die Hater? and an upcoming project called, ?Die Hater 2.0: The World?s Most Dangerous EP 2011,? Jersey City rapper Jae Claude may come off as being at least a little dodgy. But Jae Claude says he is nothing but an artist. ?My music is different,? said the songwriter. ?I switch it up to the point where I?m not exactly like everybody else.? He pointed out that his mix-tape, which he has been selling on Chilltown streets in an attempt to connect personally with his fan base, is more structured than others? work. ?It has an album feel to it,? said the Lincoln High School graduate. ?It was executed and produced like an album with all the songs well-structured beyond the format of freestyling that you are used to on 99 percent of regular mix tapes.? Jae Claude, who is signed with the Jersey City-based ABC Jam Records, has been aggressively promoting his music, even producing music videos for his songs with as little as $5,000 dollars. On ?Die Hater,? the rapper experiments with different forms freestyling, inserting rap verses into popular songs like ?Bad Romance? by Lady GaGa, or sampling ideas and musical phrases from other songs like ?Shawty Like a Melody? by Sean Kingston. He says response so far has been positive. ?The verbal response has been big and pretty encouraging now it?s up to us to flip that into monetary response,? he said. ?Jersey City, believe it or not, has provided 75 to 80 percent of our financial support. We were expecting more support form bigger hip-hop cities like New York City and Newark but Jersey City came out stronger and I greatly appreciate that.? He says his hometown has also influenced him artistically. ?Being from Jersey City, Hudson, close to the epicenter of the birthplace of hip-hop makes me more radically lyrical and more musically potent but my philosophy goes beyond locality. I?m trying to be as versatile as possible as deep, interesting and entertaining as possible. ?It requires a broad look at what music is supposed to sound like,? said the 23-year-old. ?If it sounds good but not corny whether it comes from the West Indies, from Africa, from Brazil, from Europe I?ll try to flip it the hip-hop way.? Jae Claude said he hopes he can influence local artists as well by working hard and accomplishing his goals. ?One of the things I learned in this game is not to go out and trying to save the world, even if that is your intention. The only argument that no one can deny is success. I plan to let my success do all the talking. What better way to inspire than let people see the fruit of your sweat and blood??