Mention a new Black cat who sings, writes and plays all his instruments, brewing up a sound that effortlessly blends rock, soul, funk and pop, and you're bound to think that he must have engorged himself on a diet of Purple Rain, 1999 and Around The World In A Day while growing up. So who's the latest graduate of the Prince School of Performing Arts? Leon Jean-Marie, an East London talent (who's slightly reminiscent of fellow Paisley Park devotee Terence Trent D'Arby) who has been generating some heavy buzz overseas for months now.

On "Bed of Nails", the first single from his summertime-set debut, Jean-Marie teams with always in-demand producer Mark Ronson (a sure sign that even if you don't wanna like another overly-hyped newcomer, the track will be too addictive to ignore). Avoiding the dense soul attacks Ronson tends to favor, the song instead rides a pop grandeur-edged, stately piano bounce with LJM bemoaning the seemingly dead-end trajectory of his everyday existence. "What am I doing/ Reading this junk/ Everyday of my life?/ What am I doing?/ Burning off skunk/ Sittin' here in this dive?", he self-inquires, finding diminishing satisfaction in his routine of on-the-corner music playing and nighttime cartoon-viewing.

Life might not be at the most ideal these days, but his dreams of one day breaking out of the Ramen-chewing, struggling musician role continues to ignite a flicker of drive within him. "Behind the rails/ Is a bed of nails/ And I if I ever get out I'll never slip back again," the chorus notes half-sleepily, as if the oft-repeated mantra has begun to wear thin over time. But Leon shouldn't worry any longer, cause if "Bed of Nails" succeeds as it should, his frustrated, penny-collecting days are over.



DL: "Bed of Nails" (YFH)