H31R (pronounced heir/air) is an experimental electronic hip hop duo composed of New Jersey producer/composer JWords and Brooklyn rapper/vocalist maassai. Blending together their worlds creates an enigmatic but complementary sonic experience that pushes the fickle boundaries of genre.

Both artists grew up listening to a variety of genres and later using the sounds of their youth to expand on the potential and style of their own music. It wasn’t until the two met while playing a show together in 2017 where they’d quickly become friends. JWords and maassai would come to know each other’s respective styles in production and rhyme while developing on their own projects and later build on a mutual desire to bridge the gap between hip hop and electronic music. They’d start with one-off tracks like “My Name Jack?” which would appear on maassai’s debut EP ‘C0n$truct!0n’. This ad-lib process continued with the heavy-hitting “Toxic Behavior”. With schedules opening up during the pandemic, the extra time allowed the two to hone in on their evolving sound and record their first album.

‘ve·loc·i·ty’, released in 2020, showcased a speed and grit not heard before in underground music. Its singular amalgamation of hip hop and electronic music, further characterised by flecks of jazz, juke, Jersey club and boom bap, noted a direction in music unbound by the confines of genre. The album’s enigmatic sound paired with a collage of self-affirmations caught wind from the likes of Pitchfork, The Wire, Brooklyn Vegan, Okayplayer, Cabbages and Bandcamp, who called ‘ve·loc·i·ty’ “a marvel of momentum”.

What came out of the experience was an understanding that they wanted to make another album. With a synergy established, the creation process for their next album would be more in sync than before and H31R would create with more intention than before.

‘HeadSpace’ notes a new stage of adulthood for the duo; coming to terms with a new understanding of who they are and exploring how they want to interact with the world. Like its predecessor, ‘HeadSpace’ maneuvers through its 14 tracks with blazing speed. “Glitch In Time” sets the tone for the album with gritty bass, groovy drums and quirky melodies resonating throughout. It contains moments of introspection and self-reflection on songs like “Static” and “Reflection” while the edifying diptych of “Rotation” – an oscillating track capturing the essence of dark and light – and “All Over The Place”, which transcends duality and expands to a multidimensional self, signify markers of growth. Elsewhere is “Backwards” which, despite its name, is a propulsive track that seeks to move forward from things holding someone back, and “Train of Thought”, that examines the mechanisms of thinking, starting off more concrete before gradually becoming abstract by the song’s end.

‘HeadSpace’ also features contributions from the likes of rising Chicago-based rapper and producer semiratruth on the affirming “Glass Ceiling”, and a playful verse from Detroit-based GRAMMY-nominated producer and rapper Quelle Chris on “Down Down BB”.