YRN 717 (casually known as just YRN) and JNR deliver the afro swing summer banger you never knew you needed with the upbeat and funky single Havana.
YRN is a very new up-and-coming UK rap artist who has released just two songs to date. Cap, a drill cut released back in June 2022, was our first taste of what YRN could bring to the table. With his second release, Havana, he has linked up with JNR, another UK rapper, and decided to go in a slightly groovier direction.
The song opens up with a very Pharrell-inspired production choice of looping the first beat of the track a few times, then letting the rest of the beat play out. The vibe they’re trying to give off is clear from the get-go: summer anthem with a twist. This isn’t your generic summer anthem, this is a mixture of afro swing, dancehall, R&B and other styles of hip-hop such as drill.
After the intro plays out, we hear the first line of a very catchy chorus; “va va, voom voom, van van”. Although I’m not quite sure what “van van” is referring to, it’s still a fun and relaxed way to start the song. After this, we hear many UK street terms like “gang” and being in the “trap”, which gives us that reminder of the lingo used in YRN’s previous effort Cap. The first verse is very smoothly rapped and matches the beat perfectly. Within it, there are some minor brags about how our lead MC may have to take your girl if he sees her, and how other rival gang members are indeed not as hard as they make out. The lyrics sound quite harsh or even nasty in nature, but the way they’re delivered mixed with the lush instrumental make for a rap verse destined for mainstream radio. In fact, the whole song is. The choruses and verses are delivered in such a way that they would resonate with fans of other artists in this genre like J Hus or NSG but are set to such a warm beat that pretty much any modern music fan would find it hard not to sway to it.
Overall, YRN 717’s switch from drill to afro swing summer bops is a nice change of pace, and one that suits him well, if not better.
Havana is out now.