Rod “JR” Lumpkin Arizona Iced Tea Musik (2010, Mixtape)
Lots of rapper love for mass-produced iced teas lately. There’s FKi’s gangsta flutes on the slow-burning “Weed & Arizonas,” Issue and his ode to high-fructose laden Camellia sinensis, “Just Sip”, and now Rowdy Rod Piper comes with a whole tape devoted to the astringent beverage.
I’m not usually one to ride for original instrumentals with a capellas layered on top, but then it’s not often that those instrumentals reside on a whole other planet. JR first hit our radar when he dropped the 808-heavy, rocket ship smoothness of Lowe and Clova’s “Flintstones” — a track that quickly earned countless spins from Flex and I, and was one of the first records we selected for Three Years Ahead.
Now JR makes his mixtape “debut” with more outerspace trunk funk in the mold of “Flinstones”. Where Young L’s productions are sparse, angular and gritty, JR’s are smooth, melodic and the type of shit I’d like to jam while riding in an LRV. The 20-something producer definitely takes cues from the Block Beattaz with his sound — the heavy thump and space synths scream CP and Mali — but eschews the trance samples for pianos, phasers and primarily original compositions.
With “verses from” Gucci, Shawty Lo, Officer Rawse, Dro, Wayne and Curren$y, to name a few, Arizona Iced Tea Musik is worth spending some time with, regardless of your beverage of choice.
-$M
