"Youthanasia": As Told By Jez Dior

If there is one artist that I will list without fail when asked for music suggestions it is Jez Dior.  As of today, I haven’t met one person who has hasn’t fallen in love after the first listen.  Son of 1970’s punk rocker Steve Dior, Jez’s influences range from Kurt to Kanye and has resulted in what he has coined as “grunge rap”.  After a collaboration mixtape with The Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford and his solo mixtape “Scarlett Sage”, Jez really seemed to find his sound with 2014’s “The Funeral”. 

The distorted guitar riffs and a Smashing Pumpkins lyric placed in-between Eminem and 50 cent references found on the opening track “Heroin” set the tone for the rest of the release.  The EP was dark and revolutionary, yet Jez never seemed to gain the attention he deserved. 

I fell in love with Jez Dior's music because of his unapologetic love for creating a sound that others had never seemed to consider.  The cornrows and painted nails that he so often flaunts mix magically with lyrics involving death and addiction to create a persona that pays homage to both the darkest streets and brightest lights of Dior's hometown of Hollywood.  The artist has created an image that is both iconic and relatable and combines it with a sound that matches.  

Considering that it's been two years since his release of "The Funeral" I was beyond impatient for the release of "Youthanaisa" on September 16th.  The first track “Separated” opens with a reverberating guitar and melodious vocals before the beat drops and Dior’s raspy rhyming takes over with full force. Jez continues this blending of sounds over the rest of the five song EP to create a sound that transformed his “grunge rap” style into something new entirely.

Jez told Complex Magazine that “this project embodies everything I've been feeling this past year. The reason I called it Youthanasia is because I was in a place in my life where I really felt like if I didn't start changing my ways and growing up, my youthfulness was going to overcome me. So it was either grow up and kill off my youth or be killed by it.” 

A song by song description of this EP is absurd because it could never do the music justice.  Just listen.  Please.  You will thank me later.  I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Dior’s release of “Youthanaisa” finally lands him in the limelight.  One day I'm sure I'll see "the star on the boulevard" he swears will one day be his on the last track of the EP

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