Track of the Week: This Thing Of Ours

This Thing Of Ours, the featured single from the deluxe edition of Jeshi’s breathtaking debut album Universal Credit, challenges and compels, immersive, raw and cinematic.

It’s been a very progressive year for alternative rap in the UK. No longer does it lurk in the shadows; more and more talents emerge into the light of expression and experimentation -  none more brightly than Jeshi. He has been hotly tipped for years now, unveiling striking and nuanced EP’s like 2018’s BAD TASTE, but this year’s debut LP Universal Credit saw him rise to one of the most respected and exciting rappers in the country. The album provides a damning critique of British society and politics, as well as an inward, honest and poetic journey of self refection. His pulling power highlighted by the inclusion of WESTSIDE BOOGIE alongside Obongjagar on’Protein v2’ it seemed only natural for Jeshi to sustain the hype around Universal Credit by blessing us with an extended LP. 

This Thing Of Ours, the centre selling point on the Deluxe edition, is a typically thought-provoking spectacle. Lyrically, Jeshi spews erratic bars that question his own mindset; self deprecation has never sounded so charismatic. The choppy sample and booming percussion drive forward the unique instrumental, complementing the unhinged nature of Jeshi’s character portrait. The visual, directed by rising director Rawtape, is a superb piece of art, with the ambitious concept portrayed through incredible cinematography and spellbinding editing. 

On the track, Jeshi comments: 

“Been so excited to share ‘This Thing Of Ours’ for the longest time… it was initially going to be on Universal Credit but needed to get the Gabriels sample across the line first. 

Was such a great feeling when they gave it the green light, it feels really exciting for me to now be able to work that and the new versions of tracks I already loved into this deluxe version of the album. The video captured how the song feels to me perfectly… was well worth running around and shooting a ridiculous amount of phone boxes in Preston and longridge for.”