Every week, the Milwaukee Music Premiere sponsored by Density Studios connects the city’s artists with our listening audience. If you’re an artist with a track you’d like us to debut exclusively on Radio Milwaukee, head over to our Music Submission page to learn how.
You don’t need to eat an entire meal to satisfy your taste buds. Sometimes, all it takes is a little bite-sized something, and you’re good to go.
The culinary metaphor works on a couple different levels for “Jerk N’ Turf,” today’s premiere from Milwaukee artist Emmitt James and collaborator Mjanja. First off, the 77-second runtime is much more slider than double bacon cheeseburger. Secondly, the always-intrepid James has food and drink tie-ins for his new track so you can pair some unique tastes to go with the sounds.
As James put it in a recent video, “I don’t want you to just listen. I want you to experience it … as a song, a seasoning and a sip.”
Let’s take those three in order, especially since the song is the star of the show. In a little more than a minute, James pours in a spoken-word intro, one verse with Jamaican Patois flavor and another that’s all trap. While the verses switch up styles, James’ delicious wordplay is present in both, including the final lines:
Oh you want a little bit of trap?
Chef Boy R Em, baby I’m back
We can do the courses
Or we can just snack
Trust me I got it like that
That ain’t nothing far from a fact
You know if I cook it, it smack
Yeah, they got the sauce
But I make it from scratch
That last line isn’t just talk. As we mentioned at the top, James has two tie-ins ready to go: a Jerk N’ Turf dry rub to spice up your cooking and a Discourse collaboration that resulted in a latte featuring dehydrated plantains. You can find the former on James’ website and the latter as a special at both Discourse locations, including right here at Radio Milwaukee HQ (for proof, check out the Instagram post below).
The song version of “Jerk N’ Turf” is available for your listening enjoyment via the player at the top of this page and on 88Nine throughout today (6:30 and 10:30 a.m.; 2:30 and 6:30 p.m.). The track will officially be out in just a few weeks, along with the rest of James’ new EP, We Got Food At Home. Just before the release, he’ll play the entire project with a live band June 22 at Anodyne, with special guest dak duBois in support.
