
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Making it through the day can be easier said than done sometimes, and the challenge is even steeper when measured against the compounds of anxiety and depression. j.aaron&#8217;s &#8220;Ah Lyke It&#8221; approaches the realities (inside and out) of this state of being within the infectious scope of an unexpectedly catchy song.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://rockthepigeon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Screen-Shot-2021-05-04-at-10.02.40-AM.png"><img src="https://rockthepigeon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Screen-Shot-2021-05-04-at-10.02.40-AM-1024x1015.png" alt="" class="wp-image-13183" width="548" height="543" /></a></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">j.aaron intro&#8217;s casually- &#8220;ok hello,&#8221; he offers, setting the scene for verses that feel just as welcome being spoken softly to oneself as they do over the deviously straightforward beat he employs here. The repetition of his chord progression is offset by the dynamism of his melodies and emotive delivery, his vocal range in full view between verse and chorus. And talk about a chorus: &#8220;Ah lyke it / always askin&#8217; me / why I&#8217;m like this / instead of who I became / despite this living in the world you made / I&#8217;m not fucking with the world today.&#8221; Those lines are what reached out and shook me, and their pure catchiness is the perfect contrast to their depth. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>&#8220;On the journey to discover my “Black Boy Joy” after a life of a violence and homelessness is the crucial step of acknowledging my mental health and depicting my struggles in the only way I know how &#8211; laugh at the world that made me.&#8221;</em> &#8211; j.aaron</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Indeed, &#8220;Ah Lyke It&#8221; is a testament to not just making it through the day, but to acknowledging the stakes as they stand: making it through the world means making it through a world that was manufactured outside many of our control. Appropriately, the refrain that ushers us to the exit is all too grimly relatable: &#8220;as long as my rent gets paid by Friday.&#8221; </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;Ah Lyke It&#8221; is out now and streaming everywhere, do yourself a favor and check it out.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Spotify: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6E1WZ7zhoNGfBXdESnNwIZ">https://open.spotify.com/artist/6E1WZ7zhoNGfBXdESnNwIZ</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Soundcloud: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/hollatchaboykin">https://soundcloud.com/hollatchaboykin</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hollatchaboykin">https://www.instagram.com/hollatchaboykin</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hollatchaboykinn">https://www.facebook.com/hollatchaboykinn</a></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Review by Bobby Guard</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/realbobbyguard">https://www.instagram.com/realbobbyguard</a></p>