2013 is shaping up to be the biggest year yet for independent powerhouse label Funk Volume – and Jarren Benton, the label's newest signee, figures to play a major in those plans. Brought into the Funk Volume fold last year, the Atlanta rapper has been steadily building his name over the past few years, most notably with fan-favorite mixtapes Huffing Glue With Hasselhoff and Freebasing With Kevin Bacon. Now, Jarren, who clearly has a penchant for amazing album titles, is excited to announce his forthcoming Funk Volume debut, My Grandmas Basement, which will be released this June. Today, accompanying the album announcement, Jarren is unveiling the album's rather amazing album artwork, along with the lead single from My Grandmas Basement, "Razor Blades And Steak Knives."
The song, produced by SMKA Productions in-house producer Kato, is built around haunting organs and strings and heavy, off-kilter drums, a perfect fit for Jarren's weaving, frenetic flow, as he takes shots at naysayers with lines like, "My wife say she's sick of my behavior/ You fa**ots, stop comparing me to Tyler, The Creator/ I been on this shit since you was allowed in the theater... You were just a little bitch before you morphed into a hater." About the track Benton says, "It's just me getting my shit off as an MC, me taking some shots at the anti-Jarren Benton critics; it's just me being completely ignorant and having fun with it."
Accompanying today's single, Jarren and Funk Volume are also unveiling the official album artwork for My Grandmas Basement. Taken with Jarren's actual grandma, in Jarren's actual grandma's actual basement, the photo features Jarren, donning a raccoon hat, standing next to his sitting grandmother, a rifle laid across her lap. For Jarren, the inspiration for the artwork, and the album title, runs deep. "She's always been supportive of my music, and showed me the true meaning of unconditional love," says Jarren. "My grandma will give me some real inspirational advice – and she'll also kill any ni**a that fucks with me the wrong way."
