Jackson Whalan first made his introduction on SOTB with a fire track with Lex Rush. He returns with “No,” a slightly jazzy track that deals with the artist learning how to say “no” to requests and people to maintain his own sanity. The premise and its execution feature some things many listeners can relate to.

Personally, this one hit me because I, too, have had periods where I was too quick to say yes. This was done usually out of the fear of disappointing someone. However, saying yes to everything stunted my growth and my development, something Whalan discusses quite a bit throughout this tasty jam. Some of the requests featured are equally energy-draining as they are absurd, which tends to happen with many indie artists. Because he highlighted, say, someone asking for free beats or fake Spotify plays, the hook should serve as a way to draw in listeners to take the rest of the song in as well.

Check it out via Spotify and Bandcamp and remember to support dope music in all its forms.