Egyptian/Irish 22-year old rapper, Malik Polo, has dropped his latest EP, JOMO (aka Joy of Missing Out). The South-East London-based talent has collaborated with a global selection of artists and producers - between Dubai, London and New York - to release his latest body of work, out on his own label Yout Dem Records and on New-York/London-based label, Abu Recordings.Conceptually opposed to his previous EP FOMO (aka Fear of Missing Out), JOMO is about learning how to live with oneself amid the daily chaos of the urban matrix, that is London. Indeed, Malik's latest creation is a sonic expression of the ways in which he has overcome the FOMO-induced angst he experienced upon his arrival to Concrete Jungle from Dubai, at the age of 16.Despite the conceptual discrepancy, musically, both EPs bear significant resemblance; featuring mellow rhythms over smooth basslines, JOMO's "Different", "Safe"
(featuring Filipino, UAE-born Seki Supervillain) and "London St8 of Mind" (a collaboration with London's grime MC Hermz4k) encompass a similar feel to FOMO's melancholic and slowbeat-meaty "Dungeons" and "Jealousy." At the same time however, the lyrical input throughout JOMO from like-minded accomplices who seemingly share its precepts - as heard in the EP's final track "Riding 4" (with New York-based experimental jazz artist Julian Soto) -, bestows the album with a hopeful spirit reasonably lacking in FOMO.While JOMO does not outwardly express a triumph vis-a-vis surmounting the structurally-induced FOMO sentiment, what it does reveal is the artist's thought-out reflection of what ought to be prioritised; none other than family and friends - the Joy Of Missing Out itself.
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