For any DJs playing in urban pockets of South Florida for the first time: Please don’t queue “Take a Step Back” when you feel like you’re losing the crowd. Put on DJ Chipman’s “Beam Ahhh” instead—a fast-paced staple anchored by a genius flip of Eamon’s “On & On.” Its chipmunked refrain and plucks of guitar hit like spoonfuls of epinephrine; within seconds, everybody’ll start sticking and moving like those tall ass car wash floaties.
From Homestead to Palm Beach, “Beam Ahhh” was a dance music touchstone for Black babies coming of age in the 2000s and beyond. Naturally, when that classic Eamon sample appeared on ST6 JodyBoof’s new tape, UW6, I stopped in my tracks. “On and on and on/On and on and on,” it goes, cycling under seismic kicks and a woozy MIDI flourish. Jody’s version, titled “Over and Over,” is murkier and heavier, punctuated by the bullish jabs he throws at whoever he’s beefing with. “Ain’t really been slidin’ ‘cause the opps been hidin’/Nigga it ain’t nowhere to go,” he chirps. Thematically, it's a far cry from Chipman’s sugar-coated euphoria, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t crank.
ST6 JodyBoof has climbed the ranks of DMV street rap since late 2023, dumping iron-fisted disses over twitchy, bass-heavy beats. As sprawling as the DMV scene is, it’s so insulated that researching artists like Jody can feel like butting into conversations not meant for anyone else. The realness of his music paints vivid enough pictures, though. JodyBoof regularly addresses dudes by name in his lyrics, whether he’s calling his opps out, throwing dirt on the deceased, or demanding somebody’s freedom.
On camera, Jody likes to conceal his face with shiesties and COVID masks, injecting an air of mystery that plenty of rappers strive for nowadays. Of course he’ll get on Instagram Live to talk shit, but you won’t find any interviews or much biographical info online. In turn, hyperlocal YouTube pages and forums compile evidence of any signs of life, new or old: pictures, videos, beefs, snippets, macabre origin stories.
On UW6, his lyrics are cold and dour, unflinchingly firm in the face of violence—the beats he raps over are the complete opposite. The ten-track, 18-minute suite is full of arrangements that twinkle with Project X-type ecstasy. Listen to the ultraviolet synths of “Marty” flood out like they were shot from a confetti gun, or the cartoony glee fizzing out of “Madbudz” and “Nowhere to Go.” It’s the kind of dynamic that makes modern drill music so accessible for the casual listener: carnal, out-of-body fervor is dressed up in alluring, glitzy textures. Either you separate yourself from the calls to violence, or you channel them into emotional release. Jody’s tight-knit cabal of producers—particularly DMV labrats SJR and forest milan—handle the bulk of the instrumentals, equipping him with some of the most buoyant beats I’ve heard this year. As “BTA” sees JodyBoof take off on a high-speed chase, the spacious rhythm of its blown-out 808s sound like something that'd make SheLovesMeechie hit them folks about a decade ago.
Despite very slight changes in form, none of Jody’s verses on UW6 feel phoned in. They aren’t flawless—in true DMV fashion, he emphasizes the last syllable in literally every bar—but it’s never boring. The cut-and-dry emphasis on guns and drugs would feel more redundant if UW6’s frantic energy weren’t so meticulously controlled. Jody’s motor-mouthed frenzy on “Nowhere to Go” is relentless, and the scrappy verve of “Know Bout Me” makes up for a beat that sounds like a Ken Carson b-side. When he slows the delivery in his signature pocket, like on the tape’s first two tracks, his words start to permeate the membrane. “Told Driz just ride/We gon’ catch one, all you gotta do is just float,” he imparts on “Over and Over.” He’s coaching his homie through a drill like a man would teach his son how to fish. It’s unsettling, but I can still see myself in a crowd with this song playing, allowing the rhythm to take hold. Suddenly it all sounds like dance music.
