JCON is Filipino R&B/Soul artist Jess Connelly’s aptly-titled debut album which dropped into the scene containing an array of tracks with collaborations from a pool of producers and fellow artists composed of her friends and even foreign producers. Some of these range from HBK Gang’s very own P-Lo and Jay Ant, frequent collaborators CRWN and Lustbass, dreampop artist Eyedress, and Bay Area producer JULiA LEWiS. Connelly proclaims this album to be her “launch into the global scene”, as in an interview with YoungStar, she further differentiates her style, sound and production process between the album and her 2015 EP with CRWN, How I Love in the following statement: “I think I was definitely more sure of my sound and my style. And I was fortunate enough to be paired and to meet with amazing producers internationally…I started working on it February 2017. I made Turn Me Down then, I released it June, I made a video with Paco Raterta. And before I had released the video, that’s when I had met my friends, my management in LA. They had found me from Turn Me Down. After that, I started flying out and just working with different producers.” It is also discovered in the same interview that the album is packed with themes of love and of the self, which may be the reason why the album art’s text may look similar to “Icon” if seen differently. She further elaborates: “I love love. But that doesn’t mean that’s all good, you know. There’s bad sides that come with love as well. And it’s also just about the self.” Critique and reception of the album have commonly noted it to be an “easy-listening” experience, as well as a significant indication of the maturity and understanding of the sound which even Jess herself, identifies.