Last month Kingston native Vershon released his 3rd project “Only One’ ; this following up “One More Day” and “Nah Stop Hustle”. The project was executively produced by UK production trio The FaNaTiX and also features rappers Trillary Banks and Busy Signal, as well as Chip. Despite the EP only being 6 tracks in length Vershon was able to play with a wide variety of sounds as elements of Dancehall, R&B, Grime and Afrobeats were utilised within the album's production.
The Neo-R&B sound present within “Whisper” features a mid to low tempo backdrop, which makes great use of a soft drum pattern and a looped guitar riff ; this can be seen to immensely contrast to “Original” as the UK Grime sound akin to this track introduces a muted deep bass and trap hi hats to add a pensive and ominous feel to an otherwise mellow and even-tempered EP.
Subject matters like instrumentation differ greatly from track to track as Vershon can be seen to explore an array of themes. From the championing of women and the breaths of confidence he places within them in both “Reality” and “Shake It Up” to the longing for loyalty within “Stick By Me”, Vershon manages to maintain both variety and quality in a project laced in an almost whimsical degree of experimentation.
“Only One” moves to embody an intangible vessel that seeks to bridge the gap between London and Jamaica. Vershon’s cultural credibility and integrity were maintained and strengthened throughout and he managed to do this whilst simultaneously making his content more digestible to a more diverse audience, through the incorporation of subtle pop elements.