Jacob Didas is Able to Rise to the Occasion on Latest Release
By Deuce
Jacob Didas is an artist with many propensities, a fact which is undeniably evinced in his collection of songs entitled Rise.
The most immediate of those is often his propensity for playing piano. Many of the songs on this project are characterized by some significant piano playing that’s not easy to do. The multi-track, lush, layered approach to hitting those keys isn’t that of your typical bedroom producer with Fruity Loops. Those characteristic of Didas’ songs take skill, effort and, perhaps, more than a lesson or two to perfect.
Didas also has a definite propensity for singing. Sometimes it’s in unison—and in harmony—with a female vocalist. Victoria Campbell graces a couple of these cuts with her vocals. Specifically, she can be found hitting a couple of high notes on “Stars” and “Love”.
However, it’s worth mentioning that even when Didas is the sole vocalist featured on his recordings, he still has a predilection for singing. He’s not afraid to harmonize with himself, is prone to hit melodies at least once in just about every verse he runs through, and isn’t just chanting or humming, he’s actually singing.
Additionally, the artist (who very well could be an emcee by trade) certainly has a propensity for rapping. Often it’s with a double time cadence and a deftness that not everyone who raps is able to master. But none of these songs (which also include numbers like “On and On” and “Way Up”) are devoid of a couple of 16 bar verses, although some may be even longer.
Finally, Didas also has a proclivity for production. It’s unclear as to how much of this pastiche of tunes he actually produced himself, or if he worked with someone else as well. However, there’s some motifs for the drums throughout the duration of this work.
“On”, for example, has a definite Latin flare in the way the drums are programmed. The drums on “Stars” are so intricate it sounds as though someone was playing some of them live—although that very easily could not be the case.
The production varies on these tunes from contemporary R&B (that’s those pianos again) to more straight ahead rap numbers. It’ll be interesting to gauge the artist’s development and see where he’s at in the time to come.
