HHW: I remember speaking to P. Reign, whose criminal record won’t allow him in the states (that’s changed in recent weeks), but you have plenty of stateside experience. What did that American experience do for your artist development?
Jazz Cartier: Just being here, in school, and seeing the whole Drake thing happen, I knew that it was the perfect time for me to go back to my city. Everyone was trying to ride that wave, but I knew their was such a gap in the music], especially in downtown Toronto. Nothing was happening.
Within the past two years, I’ve done a lot, where I’m doing parties and making connections, and putting people on to certain people. Now, even though I’ve stepped back from the party scene, my doing is still happening. I needed to come back, but it’s very important for an artist from Toronto to leave and experience life across the border. But not a lot of them do that, which is a problem. Granted, some people can’t because we get caught up in some bullsh*t.
HHW: I’m not sure if you’re a big reader, but it sounds like you’re a “connector” (someone who bridges the gap between people) based on Malcolm Gladwell’s definition in The Tipping Point. Would you say that’s true?
Jazz Cartier: It’s kind of selfish to think about it like this, but I think about if I never came back to the city, how different it would be. I started a group called Get Home Safe–I’m not in it anymore because of artistic differences. Just the way I operated it, I knew Toronto needed a rambunctious group of kids. We were that. We had the party house called “The Palace.” We were so reckless. Just living in the moment. Drugs in the house, door wide open, anybody can walk in. We didn’t give a f*ck.
Times get different. You get older and realize you can’t be that reckless, but for what it was, that inspired a new wave of kids in Toronto. I see new kids coming up; they have their own crews, they have their own crib where they party at, they take photos, one of them raps, another one DJs. That’s the sh*t that I did. Now they’re doing at, and I’m like “My job here is done.”
I’ve been telling kids that Toronto is in such a renaissance era that we have high school kids that are following us [on social media] that we have no idea about. Those kids can grow up in the next 2-3 years, and do what we did, but better because they have the resources.
HHW: “New Religion” has an anthemic feel. Are songs like that how you plan to impact stateside?
Jazz Cartier: That was the crossover for me. Lantz does all the beats. He’s a white kid from Scarborough who did EDM. We’ve been working for six years. He hates this new trap sh*t going on. But I told him “we have to do this. This is the way I’m feeling right now.”
I produced the record in my head and explained how I wanted it to sound, and he created it perfectly. I did it in one take, and I’m not the kind of rapper to do a song in one take. I just freestyled it. I wanted to do a hook in the verses; that’s how the whole “finesse and I juug” line came about. I sent it to my bro Ro Ransom, a rapper in New York, and he told me it was a hit.
HHW: Random. You strike me as the type to appreciate a range of music. What are your thoughts on Kendrick Lamar’s new LP?
Jazz Cartier: You have to be a music fan to digest that album. That just shows you how f*cked up the times are. Ni**as can throw out some “blah-blah,” and it’s seen as crack. But Kendrick put out a masterpiece and people don’t know how to take it.
Don’t get me wrong, it took me time to understand it. I listened to it once and though he was preaching too much. But then, the second time, I realized that he was telling the truth. The third time, it was crazy. I think Kendrick is bringing back the Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye days, where as a parents in 10 years or so, you’re gonna put your kids on to this music.
HHW: Some artists see the bigger picture and importance of cultivating their brand and aesthetic. How are you trying to differentiate yourself from the flock?
Jazz Cartier: I just want to let people know that it’s 2015, and it’s ok to have different styles. I have a full-blown indie pop record on my tape right now. I have “Rose Quartz/Like, Crazy” and then I have the chaotic sh*t like a track called “Dead or Alive,” where I get more crazy with my voice.
I’ve lived all over the world and went to like 13 schools, so it’s inevitable for me to be influenced by so many people. That’s one thing that plagues a lot of rappers: they’re so comfortable in this box. Y0u can’t do that forever, there’s no longevity in that. Once I put out this project and I keep progressing in my career, it won’t be left field for me to do crazy sh*t.
Essentials:
“New Religion”
“Switch/The Downtown Cliché”
