When you think of Canadian music, you might think of Rap considering I’m not really sure what other forms of music have made it big enough to truly travel into the states. The only thing is, you’re most likely thinking of Drake, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Tory Lanez, or maybe even Night Lovell, but one of the best artists coming out of the entire country is undoubtedly Jazz Cartier. His slight accent cuts through beats of all kinds, he’s not afraid to switch his style up, and he’s not trying to be someone he’s not. Although I’m not overly familiar with the Toronto phenom, I’ve gained more and more recognition for his craft after diving deeper into his discography recently.
What I have noticed since divulging myself in his music is that he’s been quieter than most underground artists like to be for a little more than a year. Normally artists are afraid that they’re going to lose fans or the spotlight if they remain silent for too long of a hiatus, but this isn’t the case for Cartier. Luckily, he’s back with “Itchin’ for a Lick”, a new song that is hopefully a starting point for more new music to come.
This new track from the Toronto spitter contains production built through hasty percussion, thumping bass, and slightly haunting piano along with mystifying synths at certain points throughout the record. He begins his first verse in an almost spoken-word like style right before the beat really picks up. After this, his vocals can be heard with a filter of sorts, providing a darker aesthetic than the first few moments of the song would suggest. As he progresses throughout the song, he rotates through a wide variety of deliveries, sometimes bringing the energy and other times subduing his tone to truly bring out the emphasis of certain lines. Although there are small points made here and there, the main topic he talks about within the bulk of this track is how he’s riding around his city pretty much looking for problems as he repeats this fact in various different forms.
It’s very evident that Jazz Cartier has another hit on his hands with this new banger. It’s a great welcome back into the industry after such an extended break, and I can’t wait to see what else he’s been working on considering we should be hearing more new music from him in the foreseeable future. I’m speculating at the possibility of a project before the year is up, but that’s coming from the fan side of me and not at all the factual side of the argument from what I’ve seen thus far. I’m thinking that more new music is on the horizon regardless because it would be a slightly odd move to release a random loosie after a long break and then not follow it up with anything else. We’ll see what happens, but in the meantime, check out “Itchin’ for a Lick” by Jazz Cartier.
Words by Danny Adams