Having had the opportunity to see Jazz Cartier perform in three different cities in BC, on three separate tours, provided some much-needed perspective for his sixth show in BC at The Imperial last weekend (April 21).
Adorned in a Jazz Cartier official jacket with matching JCL hat, the rapper's look Friday night was a far cry from the camo pants and faded mustard-coloured plain T-shirt he was sporting when he unleashed on the Squamish Festival crowd in 2015. It was arguably the best performance at Squamish Festival that year, and, two months later, Cartier (aka Jaye Adams; aka Jacuzzi La Fleur) was back, repping at Victoria’s Rifflandia Festival.
The feedback on Cartier’s live performances remains consistent: his high energy captures the attention of the crowd, and the bass thump of his trap beats will curdle your milk. What Cartier lacks in nuance or timing, he makes up for with a testosterone-surging raw aggression – the archetypical “dominant male rapper” bravado cliché.
As is the case for many musicians, Cartier’s live show has always been far more compelling for the listener than his recorded material. In Cartier’s case, he still has work to do on harnessing the angst-fuelled temperament in the studio that he so genuinely exerts live, which he occasionally achieves by screaming until his voice gives out.
Not intended as a slight, the emotional conveyance that Cartier is capable of when unleashing the aggressive technique far outweighs any technical expectations the crowd has of him. Though quasi-relied upon, this screaming-until-the-voice-fails weapon may not read well on paper, but acts as one of the most impressive tools tucked away in the arsenal of the recent Juno winner for Rap Recording of the Year.
Born into trap music, the Toronto-based MC has made a short career of writing largely the same two songs over and over again. As evidenced by the unveiling of his latest track “No Way Out” on Friday, presumably from his forthcoming LP Fleurever, the rapper continues to compose both music and flow utilising the same (albeit, successful) formula. The last song of a somewhat brief set, “No Way Out” is one minute and 46 seconds of trap that could have just as easily inserted into “Dead or Alive”, “New Religion”, or “Stick and Move”.
With all of that said, one so-so review should not hurt the trajectory of the rising star after the month Jazz Cartier has had. In the last couple of weeks, Cartier has seen a degree of success many work their whole career to achieve. Earlier in the month, the 24-year-old standout landed a large deal in the US with Capitol Records. And, thankfully, but somewhat surprisingly, Cartier beat-out frontrunner Drake for the aforementioned Rap Album of the Year award with 2016’s Marauding in Paradise. That he beat out Views is even more eye-opening when one considers that Marauding in Paradise was released as a free download – a trend that saw Chance the Rapper be the first artist to win at the Grammys after dropping Coloring Book for free back in February 2016. With rap music still under the 40-year-mark as a globally recognised popular music genre, rap's tradition of making free and accessible music has officially bubbled to the surface, with multiple awards to show for the controversial marketing ploy.
However, with all the tools at his disposal now to contend with Maestro Fresh Wes, Drake, and k-os as a dominant rap/hip-hop force out of Ontario, Cartier has been going back to the trap well for a while now. Let’s hope that the rapper has some ingenuity at the ready to unveil to the Capitol Records execs, who will no doubt be eyeballing the Canuck for any signs of a flawed investment. He’s currently rumoured to be working with T-Minus, and introducing some soul and African-inspired groove into future projects might be exactly what the vocalist needs to turn that “approaching repetitive” corner. With any luck, the new American record deal will see the young talent get some additional exposure down south. If the rapper can get into the right festivals, he is more than capable of shouldering the workload from there. Cartier’s live shows are some of the more raw-energy-packed displays one is likely to witness at a concert.
Longtime producer Lantz has aided Cartier at just about every turn so far in the soaring career of the MC. It is tough to say how long Lantz will remain the dominant button pusher at the Cartier console with Capitol Records now making former Nicki Minaj and Kendrick Lamar producers readily available. One thing is for certain, though: Cartier can stop a song in Canada to voice his displeasure with the crowd’s level of reaction, like he did with “Tempted” at the Imperial Friday night, but letting that ego act up too much in the wrong venue down south could leave the rapper having to prove just how fast he can “Stick and Move”.
