Stone Cold Jzzle’s Sound offers a clear window into the future of NOLA music with his track, conscious lowkey.
Born and raised in New Orleans, the seasoned rapper Stone Cold Jzzle has seen it all with glimpses of virality with hit songs like his 2020 release Yup to cosigns from A$AP Bari and Odell Beckham Jr., but it’s his recent project, Joe Black, that presents a centered and cohesive sound honestly soundtracking the good, bad, and ugly of growing from the 7th Ward that has me excited. Stone Cold’s music is so authentically a product of his environment, and the last cut off the project, conscious lowkey, speaks volumes to that.
Candidly, I only stumbled across Stone Cold’s music yesterday while listening to 454’s set on NTS Radio (9/19), and had no choice but to pause that and run a deep dive into his discography and the story behind it. Beyond his obvious Southern slick talk lies an undeniable foundation of liquid creativity that’s seen in his approach to stretching traditionally New Orleans sounds into what can only be described as his own. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Stone Cold has been able to leverage his early success into making huge leaps in production quality while still remaining grounded in his creative vision, which has remained authentic since the jump – a real testament to his commitment to his artistry. Moreover, his nonchalant and collected demeanor bleeds through in his music, and when combined with the productions’ characteristically southern bounce, it’s just an undeniably fun sound that has the appeal to make it beyond the region.
Juxtaposing the high-tempo sound that dominates the rest of the 15-track album, his closing track, conscious lowkey, takes a step back to reflect and breathe, coloring the nearly two-minute offering with soulful production and introspection. The closing track’s groovy instrumentation pays homage to NOLA’s rich history of jazz, soul, and loud horns, while his signature smooth talk delivery addresses his inner battles with patience, trust, and managing notoriety. Zooming out on a larger scale, it’s Stone Cold’s ability to effortlessly transition from lightning-quick 16s over Cash Cobain production on tracks like last year’s Yearnin’ to laid-back offerings like conscious lowkey in a way that makes sense and feels authentic to his artistry, and who he is, that has me singing his praises to anyone that will listen.
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