Rap Gems Uncut

Last week Jack B released his second project "Introspection," a seven track EP reflecting on his personal growth as an artist and person.  Produced by Duffy and Falak, the project gives listeners insight into his life, his insecurities and internal struggles. Hailing from Grand Junction, Colorado, the 19 year old artist is part of the independent collective, 343 Entertainment. B. says he spent seven months working on this project and while that may not seem long compared to other artists, it's clear that B. has agonized over every aspect of this project. So without further ado, here’s Jack B UNCUT: What was the inspiration behind the cover art and album title?  Originally the project was called growing pains and the cover featured a baby picture of me, but after tons of changes and cuts the project came together to form this narrative on some of my inner conflicts, so to say. I drew inspiration for the cover from logics under pressure album cover, and from roddy rich...

When I first heard Peso, I nearly had an aneurysm because I had the toughest time trying to categorize his music.  Now, months later he has an album out and I still have a tough time describing it other than it's elevated Psych-Rap. Today, Peso has released his newest project "Don't Look Down," a 10 track project that talks about love loss and mental health. Produced by Xoe, Blu Majic , 36 samurai and Zach Vargo, the album offers guest verses from Draya Jade, Cam Stephens and Seth Hasan. Drawing inspiration from Jim Morrison, Kid Cudi and Ridley Scott, the album offers insight into the artist's personal life. Below is my conversation with upcoming artist on his process, inspiration and how he discovered his rap style. 1) Your album is called Don't Look Down - why did you name it that? In movies when the characters are scaling a ledge or on the edge of cliffs, and buildings, walking across bridges, they always say “don’t look down whatever you do don’t look dow...

  This one is a special one for me. Since the original version of this blog began there was only one artist that was there every step of the way and that was Nuke Franklin. Now, almost two years later Franklin has released a brand new cut with three new songs. Titled "What a Mess," sonically this project is dark, vivid and sharp. Franklin is an artist scorned by what's been going on in America and he has something to say. A lot of EP's come and go within days of release, I think Franklin's project will linger weeks after its been said and done.  Below is a conversation with Franklin about his project which is now available on streaming platforms. The EP is called What a Mess, why did you name it that? I named the project "What A Mess" because I was having a conversation with a friend about life & just the world in general and the phrase kept being brought up and I guess it just stuck with me. I feel like it's the perfect way to describe the world...

  Will Cherry was the first rapper I ever featured in my The Cut series. The third day running the blog, I posted a call out for artists because I was semi-new to the scene and wanted to connect. Cherry was the first to comment and the next day I wrote the first installment of my artist spotlight series about him.  The hardest part about discovering a new artist is that you always want more music to consume and while Cherry had music out, I was really excited for what came next. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long because last night he released his debut album "Burgundy." The Elyria native started working on this album in 2016 and tackles themes like grief, love and mental conflict. The project features 10 tracks and includes guest verses from other Cleveland artists like Tae Mills and Young Baby Tate ad Lorine Chia.  Below we talk about his process making the album, what "Burgundy," means to him and his love of film. Check it out. You named your album Burgundy,...