''The Dragon of an Ordinary Family'' is an album by British hip-hop artist

Jehst William G. Shields (born 1979), better known by his stage name Jehst, is an English rapper and co-founder of hip hop label YNR Productions. Biography Born in Kent in 1979, Jehst spent his early childhood in Crowborough in Sussex before moving ...

, released on his label

YNR Productions YNR Productions (Young N Restless Productions) is a British independent record label that was founded as a collective of artists. It was established as a record label in 1999 with the release of Jehst's ''Premonitions EP''. Artists *Jehst *Jon ...

, on 19 June 2011. This release is his first in six years since 2005's

Nuke Proof Suit ''Nuke Proof Suit'' is an EP by British hip hop artist Jehst. This release reveals evidence of a new style in terms of production and lyrics, as the EP takes a more 'catchy' approach with rhythmic hooks and 'Rap-a-long' style rhymes. Jehst confi ...

Background

Work for the album dates back to the Nuke Proof Suit sessions, as one or two tracks were held back for this release; causing Jehst to refer to the album as ''" einglike a scrapbook..."''

Album title

The title is from "an old kids' picture book" (by

Margaret Mahy Margaret Mahy (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growi ...

and

Helen Oxenbury Helen Gillian Oxenbury (born 1938) is an English illustrator and writer of children's picture books. She lives in North London. She has twice won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal, the British librarians' award for illustration and been runner-up ...

, London: Heinemann, 1969). Jehst described the title of the album as "''the juxtaposition of ‘Dragon’ with ‘Ordinary Family’. You’ve got references to everyday mundane shit that everyone can relate to, but at the same time there’s something otherworldly about it and something that’s kind of fantastical and people can’t quite put their finger on. It’s that mixture of the everyday with the surreal.''"

Recording

The album features no guest appearances, but boasts production appearances from Jehst himself, long term Jehst collaborators LG and Mr. Thing, veteran producer Beat Butcha and new producers Zygote, Jon Phonics and Chemo.

Promotion

The first single from the album, "Starting Over", was launched by a viral marketing video campaign in which a supposed Jehst fan recorded footage of the rapper appearing as a worker of the Post Office. 'Jehst Is My Postman' later turned out to be a PR stunt, as this recording was followed up by a music video of the single, featuring many other rappers dressed in a variety of costumes.

Critical reception

The release received mostly positive reviews

Track listing

References

2011 albums Jehst albums Albums produced by Beat Butcha {{2010s-hiphop-album-stub