“Jealous” – Labrinth

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Taking a rest from his usually upbeat, dubstep, electro collaborative anthems, British 26 year old Labrinth slows it down for a heartbreaking four minutes and forty seven seconds and gives us “Jealous”.

Beginning with a solitary piano that––by the first few seconds––already makes me and my sister cry (hey Petrina), Labrinth soulfully murmurs his way through his heartbreak, accompanied by quintessential romantic jazz components. You got your organs, your violins, your somber background vocals and, last but not least, your gritty, anguished voice that goes anywhere from a low purr to a loud growl. Although not completely without an electronic touch, if you listen hard enough and if you listen past the oscillating organs, you can hear a hint of electronic organ that reminds the audience of Labrinth’s R&B past and electro present.

Tapped by Simon Cowell to be a producer, he eventually signed onto Syco Music as a solo musician. After his debut album, Electronic Earth, he followed up with, Take Me To the Truth, which was just released on March 16th.

“Jealous” makes you wonder who stuck a figurative knife in Labrinth’s heart. Whoever you are, I’d like to thank you. I’m not saying “Yeah, you go. Keep breaking nice, multi-instrumentalist, record-producing, Hackney-born boys hearts,” but I’m pretty sure Labrinth had to go through some stuff to tap into his talent and make “Jealous” as good as it is. Now that’s talent I’m jealous of.