''Beautiful and Brutal Yard'' (also abbreviated ''B.A.B.Y''
) is the third studio album by British rapper
J Hus
Momodou Lamin Jallow (born 26 October 1996) known professionally as J Hus, is a British rapper and singer who has been credited with pioneering the genre Afroswing. He is currently signed to Black Butter Records. He gained popularity in 2015 f ...
, released on 14 July 2023 through
Black Butter Records
Black Butter Records is a British record label based in London, England. Founded in 2010 by Olly Wood, Henry Village and Joe Gossa, the self-funded start-up went on to become an established tastemaker label, and one part of a camp of music-rela ...
. The album includes collaborations with
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
,
Naira Marley
Azeez Adeshina Fashola (born 10 May 1991), known professionally as Naira Marley, is a British-Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper.
Education
At the age of 11, Fashola moved to Peckham, South London, England. He graduated with a distinctio ...
,
Jorja Smith
Jorja Alice Smith (born 11 June 1997) is an English singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Walsall, West Midlands, she has been writing songs since the age of 11. In 2012, Smith's friend uploaded her cover of Labrinth's "Earthquake" to YouT ...
,
Burna Boy
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He gained recognition in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album '' ...
,
Popcaan
Andrae Hugh Sutherland (born 19 July 1988), known professionally as Popcaan, is a Jamaican Toasting (Jamaican music), deejay.
In 2008, Popcaan joined Vybz Kartel's Gaza Music Empire. In 2010, he released his breakthrough international hit "Cl ...
, CB, Villz and Boss Belly. It was preceded by the singles "It's Crazy" and "
Who Told You" featuring Drake. J Hus will tour the UK and Ireland in October and November 2023 in support of the album. The album was shortlisted for the 2023
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
.
Background and promotion
In May 2023,
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
-sponsored billboards appeared in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. The billboards were labelled "Don't Say Militancy" and included a phone number. When called, a voicemail would play that confirmed an upcoming J Hus album. Shortly after, the album's lead single "It's Crazy" released. On 8 June 2023. the second single "Who Told You" released.
The album's announcement on 29 June 2023 was accompanied by a trailer in which J Hus walks through his own mansion before being delivered a vinyl copy of his album and before he is transported "in front of a beat-down neighborhood". A voiceover by
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...
states, "No matter what's going on around me, I'm still myself. And now my eyes are open and I can see the beauty of everything. I always calculate trying to challenge destiny and test fate. Welcome to my ''Beautiful and Brutal Yard'', may peace be onto you."
Critical reception
''Beautiful and Brutal Yard'' received a score of 83 out of 100 on review aggregator
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
based on seven critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' named it his album of the week and noted, "that its polarities hold together for more than an hour is partly down to J Hus's famed adaptability, his facility to ride any beat thrown his way".
''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
''s Niall Smith described it as "a scattershot burst of brilliance" as well as "an elongated, yet joyous return from J Hus", who "channels his lyrical potency, struggles and romantic pursuits into one unified portrait".
Hayley Milross of ''
The Line of Best Fit
''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music.
It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...
'' stated that the album "shows Hus display his greatest quality – his music" and "displays both the beauty and brutality of the world", calling it "an album that connotes the essence of home, and his home is his music".
''
Clash''s Dwayne Wilks wrote that while the album "remind
us why
Hus isso adored", he found that there is "less of his story" and it does not reach the heights of J Hus's previous two albums, but concluded "no other artist commands rhythm and rhyme like Hus, and it's patently clear that the Stratford rapper is enjoying making music again, which is a blessing for the rest of us".
Will Pritchard, reviewing the album for ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
'', called it "the record of the summer" along with "thrilling, hip-twisting,
ndunsettling", on which "Hus still leads the pack with his pitless charisma, linguistic inventiveness, and musical curiosity".
Pritchard, writing for ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'', described it a "carnal and philosophical investigation of masculinity against lush, robust beats that evoke a distinctly Black British take on
G-funk
G-funk, short for gangsta funk, (or funk rap) is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the early 1990s. The genre is heavily influenced by the synthesizer-heavy 1970s funk sound of Parliament-Funkadelic (aka P-F ...
".
Year-end lists
Commercial performance
In the United Kingdom, ''Beautiful and Brutal Yard'' debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 17,260 album-equivalent units.
The sales consisted of 1,722 CDs, 557 vinyls, 294 cassettes, 305 digital downloads, and 14,383 sales-equivalent streams.
Track listing
Charts
Certifications
References
{{J Hus
2023 albums
Black Butter Records albums
J Hus albums
Albums produced by P2J
Albums produced by Sammy Soso