Jovan Smith was a child of the crack-blighted urban 1980s, born in the Cypress Village housing projects of Oakland in 1983. His family was profoundly impacted by crack's tragic presence, from his older brother's death to his mother's decades-long addiction and his own drug-related conviction. These facts aren't intended to push his "authenticity" or to reduce him to the product of outside influences. Stalin is, importantly, an MC whose vocals bleed the earned confidence of a man for whom insecurity is an impediment to survival. Vibrant and exploding with personality, J. Stalin is a knowing, mischievous wise-ass whose charisma hangs between unapologetic cockiness and the ability to cut through rap's fantasy-addled drug fetishism and provide sobering reality.
His poignant backstory does explain how seriously Stalin takes this subject matter, particularly because his attitude could otherwise be perceived as arrogance. As a rapper, J. Stalin is not particularly concerned with wordplay, preferring directness; his verses are to the point and uncluttered. The Prenuptial Agreement's primary missteps come from poorly conceived hooks and beats (the unfortunate waste of an E-40 cameo, "Get Off Me", in particular). At its best, which is an impressive bulk of a 22-song running time, J. Stalin is a boisterous "Neighborhood Star" whose uninhibited exuberance is as effective at capturing the tragic heart of urban drug culture as he is just spitting game to the girl he met on the block. He epitomizes an all-too-rare characteristic in street rap: an ability to entertain without trivializing the significance of the tragic underpinnings that give his songs their power.
Although street-oriented tracks like "D-Boy Blues 2010" are the most lyrically invigorating, it's the hollering-at-the-ladies anthem "Don't Front"-- an up-tempo anthem whose crackling guitar lines give the entire track infectious electricity-- that jumps from the record on first listen. Production on the LP comes from a group of deft hands, including Mike Rimzo, the Mekanix (former Digital Underground DJ Dotrix and producer Tweed), and Traxamillion, all of whom follow a similar blueprint. These beats carry the heft of hyphy's hi-definition 808 bangers, married to a pristine musicality that the subgenre largely bypassed. These expansive, expensive textures of well-engineered, modern production are redolent of glossy, aspirational 1980s electro-R&B, Jam & Lewis' bourgeoise sophistication re-purposed as the sonic atmosphere for the children of the crack-soaked slums. This maneuver is only incidentally political, more obviously a fresh aesthetic move because it exists in such marked contrast to the cold, lo-fi bedroom production that defines much of Southern gangster rap.
J. Stalin's M.O. is so effective because of a similar philosophy: He has no concessions to empty technical exercises or "statements." The album's peak is the dramatic tour de force "Red & Blue Lights", in which Stalin captures the eerie paranoia of drug sales without glorification ("I sold it out the house/ Forgive for my sins but I never got to be a child") over searingly dark, atmospheric production that recalls Wendy Carlos' A Clockwork Orange Moogs. Alongside the hook's evocative imagery, "Lights"' powerful resonance comes from Stalin's personality; his unwavering stoicism in the face of the long odds against the corner dealer makes for universally compelling drama.
As with so much rap right now, the album gives only a partial picture of J. Stalin the artist; this is his third official solo record, but there's a plethora of mixtapes (with original material), collaborative albums (like his The Real World series with DJ Fresh), and guest verses that help paint an even fuller picture. To hear an artist establishing himself as a writer of trunk-rattling anthems you have to cop his debut; to hear him perfect them, you need his The Pre-Nup mixtape. That's the same place you'll find him willing new life into an familiar archetype. To observe his strutting charisma in action, you might check his sophomore record, Gas Nation. But track-for-track, Prenuptial Agreement is Stalin's most fully realized record, a comprehensive and rarely disappointing album that captures an artist who isn't emerging, but has arrived.
