Welcome back to the Hip-Hop Dojo, your premier destination for all the best hip-hop from the past month. We know we’re a little late with this edition, but we promise it was well worth the wait. If you’re unacquainted, or if you need a refresher, the Hip-Hop Dojo is a monthly feature designed to showcase the most exciting up-and-coming talent in the game right now. We accomplish this by splitting it up into three different components: the artist spotlight, our monthly playlist and our mixtape roundup. We’ve got a number of exciting names spread throughout, but we have to say we’re most amped about this month’s spotlight artist, Jazz Cartier.
The Toronto music scene has experienced a sort of renaissance as of late, and although Drake remains the only true household name to emerge from the city, artists like The Weeknd, PartyNextDoor and Tory Lanez make for an exciting cast of stars poised to breakthrough to the next level. From a talent standpoint, Jazz Cartier has already proven himself capable of holding his own amongst those names. Building off of the moody aesthetic that’s become a staple of his hometown, Jazz has been able to forge his own unique sound. The enigmatic emcee possesses the uncanny ability to create songs that are easily accessible to the masses, with a penchant for crafting memorable hooks, yet he has no problem with making tunes that are also deeply personal and complex. All of this becomes apparent as you listen through his recent project, Marauding In Paradise. The fact that the mixtape spent four years in development should tell you all you need to know about Jazz’s unrelenting work ethic and his desire for perfection. We had a chance to get Jazz on the phone to talk about his recent album, his experiences moving around the world and why he believes Drake is his Jay Z.
Read on to find out what Jazz had to say, and afterwards click over to the next page to listen to this month’s playlist. On our final page you’ll find reviews of our favorite projects to drop during April, as written by ninja Ash.
