Rapper Jah Fiinesse stands for a photo and looks down at his watch. Photo by NickRoseMedia
THE BRONX – “They want me dead, I can’t let them/ Get to my head ’cause I know I’m a genna,” Fiinesse raps over a beat with heavily distorted 808 basslines, moody synths, and skippy hi-hat drum patterns. “Big Dawg” by Jah Fiinesse encapsulates sinister sounds and dark lyrics, the style the drill genre gained a reputation for, but he does something slightly different. He delivers a catchy lyric in the middle of the darkness. He gives us a one-liner similar to the nuggets of encouragement we give ourselves during pep talks when met with opposition.
Drill music is a subgenre of Hip Hop that started in Chicago during the early 2010s. It spread quickly to New York and other cities and towns. Since then, the genre has entered the mainstream music scene with the assistance of artists like Pop Smoke from Brooklyn, and Ice Spice from the Bronx.
Fiinesse, a first-generation American born to Jamaican parents, hails from the north Bronx. From an early age, he demonstrated a profound interest in music, a passion deeply influenced by his Jamaican heritage. His musical journey began when he first encountered Sean Paul’s hit record, “Temperature.” This initial exposure marked the beginning of a lifelong fascination with the art of sound and rhythm. Although his interest in music came early in life, it was not until his senior year of high school that Fiinesse took the leap into creating music.
Rapper Jah Fiinesse poses in a relaxing position at night. Photo by NickRoseMedia
Harlem View caught him at a pivotal point in his career. Outwardly, his cool demeanor remains, but internally he has begun to understand the versatility of his artistry. During a one-on-one sit down, Fiinesse gave us the full scoop on his creative shift, the highlights and setbacks of his career, and what is in store next for the Jah Fiinesse brand.
The music he has released, including his 2020 collaboration with prominent Drill Rapper Sheff G titled G Code, solidified his place in the genre, but Fiinesse has new ideas for his sound.
“I can be a drill artist, but I would not identify myself as just a drill artist. Drill is a hot genre. It’s like popcorn right now. So, if you can add your edge to this genre, even if that’s not where your heart is with music, it can get you buzz or recognition that you can use,” he said.
That is indeed what he has done. He fell in love with the drill sound at an artist showcase at SOB’s, a New York City lounge famous for its live and DJ’ed sets of world music and hip-hop, where he performed and met Sheff G. He considers that show one of the highlights of his career.
“I remember when Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow got on stage. I paid attention to how the crowd started reacting to this type of music because of its high energy. A lot of times, some of the stuff they are talking about is negative. But a lot of times, people are attracted to certain kinds of energy because it’s raw and it’s real. It’s what’s going on,” Fiinesse said, reminiscing. It was almost as though he went back to when he realized he wanted to create and rap and stand out in the drill movement in New York.
Fiinesse separated himself from the mold by placing smooth melodies over drill beats. “My love for music will always start from melody, melodic sounds. That’ll always be number one to me. There’s just nothing like melodies. There’ll be times where I listen to a song, and if that person melodizes a certain part perfectly, I’ll dead get goosebumps,” he said.
This approach was also supported by his choice of lyrical content, heavily influenced by his experiences growing up in the North Bronx, which he refers to as uptown. “Uptown, we just do things a little different,” Finesse said as he struggled to find a word to describe the uptown essence that gave him a differentiating “it” factor. He landed on the word “class.”
A lot of his content proved that true. Fiinesse, like others, wants to make money and enjoy the finer things in life. He channels that into his lyrics, throwing in references to luxury to create what he describes as lifestyle music. He captures the hustle and grind to which many people working to create generational wealth can relate.
Authenticity is essential to him. “I’m not going to be talking about one thing or get caught up on one thing because people have to be able to relate,” he said. So far, that tactic works.
He has accumulated almost 100,000 streams on Apple Music. That is a significant milestone for an independent artist still in the early stages of his career. “Apple Music is a platform where it’s not as easy as Spotify in playlisting. So, it’s just your core fanbase playing your music,” Finesse explained. For him, that serves as a confirmation that people are listening and relating.
Even with his accomplishments, Fiinesse is no stranger to obstacles. His first Instagram account experienced a hack at 20k followers. It forced him to start over and rebuild his presence on the platform. Several of his early song and video releases were deleted from the online world with no chance of recovery because of copyright issues. That was one of his first lessons on policy within the music industry. However, he is ready to make the challenges a thing of the past with his upcoming releases.
“I want to drop a live performance and another music video before the year is over. And in 2024, for sure, I’m dropping an EP in the first quarter. I have no projects out. I’ve never dropped a project yet. That will be my first one. I’ve been dropping straight singles since I came out.”
