We might be demanding too much of ourselves. That seems to be the crux of “idk idk,” the newest single by Jim Legxacy, and his first since last summer’s world-beating Black British Music. “I was livin’ on the floors, didn’t stop,” feels ecstatic with hindsight, but “idk idk” points to the unrelenting economics that keep trend cycles churning and tobacco stuck in overworked jaws around the world, the pressure to produce no matter our physical or emotional exhaustion.
“Nearly two years since I lost you, wanna cry,” Legxacy swoons, and for a few bars, a crowd of metronomic handclaps appears, as if to carry him on before he can break down. The allusion to the artist’s late younger sister seems to date “idk idk” to the late summer or early fall of last year, not too long after the release of BBM. It seems natural that a hard-earned professional milestone would be dwarfed by the labor of grief, and it’s to his credit that Legxacy’s tremulous vocals carry so much emotional weight without collapsing into the maudlin or trite.
But Jim has never been given to self-pity, and so the trepidation of “idk idk” hits like cold water, an acknowledgement that no matter how talented, diligent, and unrelenting we may be, victory is handed to us mortals by the gods. Laced with an analog sample beat and twinkling harmonies courtesy of Natanya, the track’s airy jerk instrumental highlights his delicate, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it chorus. Even standing amidst the spoils of success, on “idk idk” Jim Legxacy is more concerned with what he has left to give.
The single artwork for “idk idk” by Jim Legxacy.