One of the best and most fulfilling things that has happened for me as a result of starting this blog is the fact that it has forced me to find so many new artists that are awesome. If you know me, you know that I have always been someone who scours the internet for new stuff to listen to; I’m very passionate about music, and one of my favorite things to do is find songs for my playlists that I may not have ever heard unless I was looking for new stuff. Starting this blog has forced me to do this at an even higher rate than I already had been; in order to keep the content flowing, sometimes I have to look for new stuff to write about that I may not typically listen to. Kent Jamz and Buddy are two artists that I know a lot about; I am not going to lie, before starting my blog probably wouldn’t have really gone out of my way to listen to new music from them(no offense to Buddy or Kent, there’s just so much other new stuff I’m more familiar with to listen to). Now, who are Buddy and Kent Jamz anyway? Out of the two, Buddy is the artist that I’m more familiar with. Over the last few years, I have heard and liked a couple of his songs that have gone viral, such as ‘Trippin’ featuring Khalid and ‘Black’ featuring A$AP Ferg. He also had quite a few awesome features on Dreamville Records’ Revenge of the Dreamers III mixtape last year; the songs ‘Costa Rica’ and Wells Fargo’ both had excellent contributions from Buddy. Buddy sort of has a style that reminds me a lot of artists like more laid back and West Coast version of JID and Earthgang; he is very lyrical, and can use so many different flows and sing-rap or just rap in many different ways, always keeping the listener on their heels. Kent Jamz, on the other hand, is someone that I do not know a lot about. I have heard in featured on a couple songs over the last few years, and I know that he has a very addicting flow and that he has a great singing voice. I also know that he is a part of the group Overdoz, who has made waves over the last couple of years with their introspective take on West Coast Trap music. Buddy and Kent Jamz are two artists that seem to be right on the cusp of breaking through and making it big. They both are very lyrical artists, and can both rap with a multitude of flows and can both sing as well as any rapper. With that being said, here is how I feel about Buddy and Kent Jamz’s first joint mixtape, Janktape Vol. 1. Please let me know if you agree with my review in the comments below, and also let me know what your favorite tracks are from this record!

She see me on TV and now she think she fallin’ in love. She smoked up all my weed and now she think she fallin’ in love. She see my diamond ring and now she think she fallin’ in love…

The first track, ‘She Think,’ is the only single that was released from Janktape Vol. 1, and it is definitely a nice and relaxed way to get this record started. I love how sweet and chill the melody of this track is; it reminds me a lot of some of the stuff rappers like Fabolous and Curren$y used to rap on back in the day. ‘She Think’ is a track about a new girl that Buddy and/or Kent has been talking to that says she’s been falling in love. Buddy and Kent Jamz are sort of joking around and ignoring this sentiment of hers because they assume she’s saying that because they are famous and wealthy. I do like the little twist that Kent throws into the second verse, though; he basically says in this verse that the sex with this girl is so good that he may be falling in love right back with her. ‘She Think’ is very tongue in cheek and cute and it flows so smoothly; it’s a great way to start this record. The second track, ‘In Search Of,’ has a different sort of retro instrumental; it reminds me a lot on the weed rap that blew up on the internet in the mid to late 2000s. In fact, I could see this song being in Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg’s film Mac and Devin Go To High School. ‘In Search Of’ is the only song on the record that is solely by Kent Jamz. On this track, Kent seems to be telling a girl he used to talk to that he doesn’t care for her anymore and is done handling her problems; he’s basically telling her is she hates him for not helping him out, then she should leave her alone. I love this sentiment. Don’t let people take advantage of you; just work hard and grind to get yours. ‘Pass By Me’ is easily one of my favorite songs on this record. This track so fun and smooth and funky; ‘Pass By Me’ definitely has an Anderson.Paak-style Neo-Funk sort of feeling to it. This song is about driving down the Pacific Coast Highway and seeing a beautiful woman with the top down on her coupe pass your own whip. Both Buddy and Kent Jamz fantasize about what they would do with this woman if they actually knew her. ‘Pass By Me’ is just such a light and fun track that is so groovy and makes me want to dance.

At the Burberry party, uh. Chillin’ with your shawty, uh. Got my Celines on. You shoulda seen it…

The only song on the mixtape that is solely by Buddy is the next one, which is called ‘Burberry Party.’ This track gives me major Chance the Rapper or Smino vibes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the instrumental was inspired by Smino’s blkswn or Chance’s Coloring Book. This song is very braggadocious; Buddy is basically telling his haters to back off because he has more than they will ever have, and that the girl they are “fighting” over will always choose him anyway. This same cocky tone carries over to the next song, ‘For the Ladies,’ in a big way. This track is a slow jam; the instrumental has an old school sensual R&B vibe that reminds me of baby-making music from the 1990s. Once again, Buddy and Kent are talking to their haters, telling these fools there’s a reason their girls have been asking about them. This song has such a laid back and sexy vibe to it, and I can definitely see it being a favorite of the ladies listening to this tape. Following ‘For the Ladies,’ we get another Jazzy R&B cut that sounds like it came from the 1990s called ‘Terrified.’ I’m not going to lie, this cut would be really good baby-making music. It is definitely the kind of song to play if you’re trying to slow down the night and get your significant other in the mood. Lyrically, ‘Terrified’ is about getting over a girl that Buddy and/or Kent used to think is the one. They are expressing feelings of regret for chasing after a girl that was not right for them anyway. Weirdly, this song is self-empowering, because feelings are being expressed as being better than trying to be with someone who doesn’t like you. ‘Inconsistent’ is another song that sounds like a slow 90s jam. In fact, because the song is pretty much acoustic(the only instrument being used is a guitar and there is no beat), it actually reminds me a lot of Boys 2 Men. Well, Boys 2 Men with auto-tune, at least. I like the contradictory sentiment that the song has. Basically, Kent and Buddy are saying they left a girl because she was inconsistent and that a girl left them because they were inconsistent. If everyone is inconsistent anyway, then it is not really fair to hold that against someone in a really harsh and unfair way.

‘To the Grave’ is another track with a feeling that reminds me a lot of mid 2010s Chance the Rapper and Smino. This song has a super sweet Psychedelic Jazz-Rap melody and instrumental that honestly matches up pretty perfectly with Buddy’s and Kent Jamz’s respective voices and flows. This is the kind of song that I can imagine cruising around at night smoking to with the windows down; it is the perfect track for a nice and chill kickback. The next track, ‘Bad Boys,’ has almost an opposite kind of vibe. It is definitely the hardest and most brash song on the record. The instrumental reminds me a lot of hardcore Memphis Trap and new school weird Atlanta trap; specifically, it is like a combination of the kind of stuff Three 6 Mafia used to make and the stuff that Kenny Beats makes for artists like Key and Rico Nasty today. I really love Kent Jamz’s flow and vocal style on the first verse of ‘Bad Boys.’ It reminds me a lot of early Kendrick Lamar music, specifically from his Section.80 days. If you are a fan of hard and distorted Trap music, you will like this song for sure. The final song of the project, ‘Heatwave,’ also has a lot more of a heavy and dark feeling to it than the rest of the record did before ‘Bad Boys.’ ‘Heatwave’ has a kind of Goth Emo-Trap feeling to it that reminds me of rappers like Bones or Xavier Wulf. This track also has R&B style sung ad-libs that once again reminds me of a 90s R&B. I like the intensity and bold nature that the last two tracks of this mixtape have. The fact that ‘Heatwave; and ‘Bad Boys’ are a lot brasher and not really chill in any nature prove that neither Kent Jamz or Buddy are one-trick ponies in any way. They can truly make any kind of music they want to make.

I have to say, it is pretty awesome when you decide to randomly listen to an album or mixtape that you had no anticipation for in any way and you really enjoy it. I did not know about Janktape Vol. 1 until it had already come out. As I mentioned in the intro, I did not really know that much about either of the artists before I started listening to this project; As I stated in the intro, I had really only heard a couple of songs that have either of the artists going into listening to Janktape Vol. 1. I will admit, though, that I will be following both of these artists going forward and that I will be looking forward to any of their solo or joint projects released in the future. This project is so diverse yet so cohesive in the same way; there are so many different sounds and sub-genres explored, yet every song flows so well into the next one. Janktape Vol. 1 is a project that is very enjoyable to listen to all the way through; it also has quite a few songs that are perfect to jam on its own too. If you like Psychedelic-Rap, Jazz-Rap, Trap, or even R&B, give this record a listen because I promise you will find something you like.

7.7/10