Joint4u! by Kaicrewsade

For fans of A Tribe Called Quest, McKinley Dixon, Squarepusher, hard bop jazz, and the little victories in a tough world, Joint4u! by Kaicrewsade pulls together vintage and contemporary styles to craft an upbeat testament to the immortality of jazz rap. Organic percussion supports lyrical flows which live halfway between classic boom bap and contemporary alternative hip hop, equipped with all the expressiveness and variety of the present day as well as the robust percussiveness of that previous generation. Vibrant jazz solos, primarily performed on trumpet and saxophone, add a melodic flair throughout the record, the freeform, emotional lines adding reinforcement to the album’s existing tone of tempered optimism. Through the eyes of Kaicrewsade, the darkness of the world takes on an air of sarcastic humor, and each incremental improvement of life represents the perseverance of the human spirit. The end result pulls off a combination of realism and optimism which feels increasingly scarce today, a story of survival which we all need to hear as we face our own struggles.