Jelani Imani - who tf? (Single)

Yesterday evening, I saw a tweet from @keiopensdoors that stated once labels see artist Jelani Imani blow up on TikTok, there’ll going to say they’ve been hipped to him since day one. Now I have seen these kinds of things happen pretty often, and it’s ashamed these labels take credit when sharp minds and ears have been at the forefront of supporting upcoming talent without receiving any credit. We’ll today; I would like to show my appreciation while giving credit to KEI for introducing us to Atlanta emcee Jelani who I shortly checked out after seeing the previously mentioned tweet. The first piece of art I checked out from Jelani was his recently released single titled “who tf?” which is plastered on with this zealous production that is accompanied nicely with Jelani’s eccentric tone to set you in nicely with his flow’s melody that flourishes from beginning to end. Not long after the single played heavily in rotation, I noticed a video for the release, which gave us the opportunity today to share both on the site and provide more listeners to Jelani’s sound.

I love that Jelani doesn’t let the beat breathe a little since once the record starts, you begin hearing his vocal tone croon in with the chorus right out the gate that already has you feeling the catchiness of the single. Cooking up a fresh feast of bars is a delight to hear, especially how they are pounded into the eardrums with such ease. Jelani’s wordsmith ability is quite sharp & potent, and I’m enjoying how he calls out rappers who buy views for the online hype but in person, they are nobodies. Seeing as many shows & festivals as we have, we understand that most rappers will hide behind the views they get, but once it’s time to hit the stage, the crowd is befuddled with a confused look, asking, who tf is this? Jelani found a way to boastfully make fun of these artists, which I think attracted me to the record in the first place. He keeps you on board with the release with his zestful way of balancing out his comical mannerism mixed with prestigious efforts. The video is also done comically well by showing the exact way these artists search for clout that doesn’t proceed their way; it’s the zany charisma of Jelani that punches through the release of the video that shows his star-studded presence at the helm of what makes him a unique artist. He’s just being himself from start to finish, ain’t no gimmicks and no chasing fame, which when it comes to his artistry, he’s having fun with it all, and I know it’s going to pay off in the slickest way possible for him.

I’ve only had 12-15 hours to sit with his release from Jelani, which I’m sure more time will be divulged into knowing more about his previous work. I'm excited to hear more music from him in the future, and we’ll be paying close attention from here on out. We highly recommend you check out the single & video here while sharing it on all social media avenues.