Media WriterGenre-bending Jamaican artist Tessellated has released “Me and My Lady,” the second single from his forthcoming EP Tropics Vol. 1 (November 6 via Independent). “Me and My Lady,” an ode to modern-day 21st Century love, is the follow-up single to the critically-acclaimed ‘’No Ansa (feat. Crayon).” On the brand new rhythmically hypnotising track, Tessellated lives up to his name, as he flawlessly glides through the beats to weave a mesmerising tapestry.
“The inspiration for the song was the reality of modern-day romance”, he says. “I remember watching ‘Queen & Slim’ and being inspired to write a song about a powerful couple, a classic story. Then I started thinking about the fact that even for people who aren’t on the run from police there’s so many things for partners to navigate and so many distractions out there. The message of the song for me is, sometimes things are great and sometimes they are terrible, but it doesn’t matter if we can go through it all together, ride or die energy.”
Co-produced by Tessellated himself and Rotterdam-based (by way of Curacao) Tera Kòrá, “Me and My Lady’” carefully stirs together many different musical styles. From the distinctive Caribbean beat that drives the track, to the Latin jazz horn line that takes center stage for a raucous solo midway through the song, it is clear why the SXSW festival organizers recently dubbed Tess the “Modern Reggae Intrigue.”
Renowned UK DJ Seani B world premiered the track on his BBC Radio 1xtra program on Thursday evening before the song was released to all digital services. “This man is full of creativity!” shouted the award-winning selector, as Tessellated’s colorful lyrics hit the airwaves:
Quite crazy, streets is wild lately
For safety, please nuh try play we
Don’t rate we, me nuh watch face
Just need my lady
Me & my lady
The single release was complemented by a sexy lyric video that features a gallery of beautiful women, including popular Jamaican songbirds Lila Iké and Naomi Cowan, taking over the lip synch duties for Tess.
It’s a golden period for the young talent. The 23-year old multi-instrumentalist was recently nominated for a prestigious Emmy Award for his work on the Apple AirPods advertising campaign, which featured Tessellated’s Billboard chart-topping single “I Learnt Some Jazz Today.”
The success of his first EP single ‘”No Ansa,” which also featured emerging Afrobeats star Crayon, saw Tess undertake promotional activities from London to Lagos and beyond. He premiered the official lyric video for “No Ansa (feat. Crayon)” with Boomshots, the official Reggae and Dancehall platform of Complex Media Networks. The new visual, co-directed by Tessellated and Randall Richards, was shot with stylish simplicity. Tess is found couch-side, delivering his vocals to a non-responsive phone receiver, while Crayon rings in his featured verse via Facetime from his hometown of Lagos, Nigeria. Tessellated told Boomshots, “For the video, I really just wanted to capture the situation of the song in a whimsical kind of way. The place we’ve all been, calling with no answer, and the monotony of trying again and again with the same result”
With influences that span from jazz to R&B to hip hop, and a foundation in his island’s native reggae and dancehall, Tessellated’s artistry reaches far beyond his Jamaican roots. His ear for music lends itself to experimentation with different soundscapes, and his releases so far attest to his worldwide appeal. He first made major waves in 2018 with “Pine and Ginger,” drumming up over 22 million total streams to date and landing on the pages of major media outlets like Pitchfork, The FADER, and High Snobiety, among others.
Already making fans of industry heavyweights such as Camila Cabello, Lily Allen, Diplo, Major Lazer, and Jorja Smith, it speaks to the gravitas Tessellated commands, while he still has yet to reach the peak of his powers.
