Local Review: Erasole James – Tawa’s Nephew

Erasole James
Tawa’s Nephew

Self-Released
Street: 08.15
Erasole James = Blu +Eddy Baker

Erasole James, aka Harrison Montgomery of Dine Krew fame, is one of the more prolific artists in the Salt Lake area, releasing Tawa’s Nephew, a 20-track album with well-polished beats and lyrics on pretty much every subject imaginable—from Pokémon to being a struggling musician fighting for an audience. His voice is deep with an almost morose-yet-sarcastic quality; his lyrics contain those same half-biting, half-joking elements. In “Bare Feet,” he raps, “I got hours of music—you all tryin’ to fill a ringtone,” capitalizing on a stream-of-consciousness style of rapping that never runs dry. There is kind of a dark humor that shapes Tawa’s Nephew—as if James is not the kind of person who takes himself too seriously—and yet, this album is seriously satisfying. –Ali Shimkus