Hello everyone and welcome to a special edition of my Artist of the Week series, this week we’re reviewing J J L’s new project entitled KENTUCKY AVE.
J J L has been featured on this series early on in it’s beginning stages and when he asked if I could review this project for him, I couldn’t be prouder to do it.
Let’s break it down track by track
Track 1. “PLASTIC SILVERWARE ”
J J L starts this project off on a different approach that you might not be expecting, instead of traditional rap and trap beats, we’re introduced to a smoother approach.
Full of piano and horns playing in the background, sonically it transports you to an old school club like you would see in movies, it’s a short intro but a very important one, with a smooth old school jazz sound this track already has me excited for what this project has to offer.
Lyrically we find J J L taking more of a personal approach, with lyrics like “As a youngin never had a silver spoon in my mouth”, he paints a picture of how he grew up, “I’ve been beaten and battered, still breathing but shattered. Repercussions from depression still got my sanity fractured.”
These powerful lines offer us a glimpse into his personal life and struggles that he endured, I can already tell this is a very special project and is gonna help people who have gone through/are going through similar situations.
Track 2. “EDWIN INTERLUDE”
A 7 second interlude spoken in Spanish that leads us into the next track.
When asked about the inspiration behind it, J J L had this to say:
“Me and my friend Edwin were out in NY when the majority of the Kendrick and Drake beef happened
We had a long convo about self acceptance and finding a balance between caring what people think of the music and doing it for you.
Since witnessing dot beat Drake was something I needed to see for the project to be finished
The project is so jazzy and classical that I feared it getting overlooked because it’s not what popping rn but seeing dot win inspired me to just do what I wanna do.”
Track 3. “2003”
“2003” is a short but important track, once again we see J J L opening up about his life, talking about people who wish him well but are really snakes, humbling himself before God, his career taking off and how he does this for the younger him.
It’s important to realize though that everything J J L talks about throughout this song and this project everything ultimately leads back to God and how He’s helped him overcome so many things in his life, blessed him and his career.
Track 4. “LOOSE CHANGE” ft. Cousin Rickie
The first single released from this project this track brings all the vibes, upbeat, vibey and filled with change puns.
J J L and Cousin Rickie take turns spitting verses about where they came from, experience of growing up not well off, expectancies of what you were supposed to make and ultimately how they put work in despite life not being easy.
Sonically this track is a nice change of pace, it provides a more upbeat sound and J J L and Cousin Rickie flow over it effortlessly, one of my favorites off this project.
Track 5. “Time Square” ft. Kayli Marie
The second single released from this project, full of Spider-Man references, I can see this being a fan favorite, J J L’s rapping is accompanied perfectly by Kayli’s singing.
Starting off with horns and piano, this song feels like a late night walk, filled with old time movie references as well as the aforementioned Spider-Man references, everything about this track is perfect.
Kayli’s singing over the classical and jazzy sound reminds me of one of those singers you’d see performing at like a nightclub in the old movies, lyrically both take turns talking about relationships, “You’re more MJ and I’m more like Pete, we could really swing through the city while I’m holding you.”
J J L really has this talent of painting a picture with lyrics, everything he talks about you can envision and this song perfectly encapsulates that.
Track 6. “brooklyn 22”
Probably the most introspective track so far, J J L walks us through his thought process as he’s strolling through the city.
Some of these thoughts include wanting to provide for his future wife and kids, costs of living, with bars like “Know the goal been Heaven but we live through hell” J J L once again paints this picture of the difficulties we go through in life.
This is definitely a track people will relate to, and one of my favorites from the project, I could see this song being used in a movie, especially if it’s about someone reflecting on life, again it’s special, it’s unique and it’s something that’s been missing from music, introspective lyrics with a classical sound.
Track 7. “roberto interlude”
Another short interlude spoken in Spanish by one of J J L’s friends.
Track 8. “silvia”
The third and final single released from this project, this track is dedicated to J J L’s late aunt, serving as a recap of what he’s felt since the last time he dropped a project and where he’s currently at in life.
This openness and discussion of personal issues is what makes this project so special, it’s not an attempt to jump on something modern and trendy.
It’s an approach to finding his own sound, bringing back the old school jazz sound and matching it with personal lyrics, this project is a standout, amazing from start to finish, it’s fresh, it’s unique and it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for in an artist and in a project.
Not afraid to write down life struggles and offer people a small glimpse into his personal life, KENTUCKY AVE. is a project that’s gonna be remembered and it’s gonna help a lot of people who have experienced similar things, I firmly believe that there’s gonna be a lot of people who resonate with this project and who are drawn in by the classical sound of it.
