SL Jones- The Number 23 (Mixtape, 2011)
It seems ridiculous to be nostalgic for a sound from 2 years ago, but in the era of Twitter, Tumblr, and constant updates to existing style, the shelf life for popular music has never been shorter. A prime example of this is the constantly evolving musical styles existing in rap music in Atlanta. In 2008-2009, swag rap groups like Rich Kids were running all over the city and the trap music sound being mined producers like Zaytoven was paying huge dividends for a still-hungry (and somewhat coherent) Gucci Mane. Fast forward to 2011 and swag rap has, for better or worse, been pretty much written out of the Atlanta history books and the Gucci/Zaytoven alliance has fallen out of favor, replaced by the intense aggro-rap of Waka Flocka and Lex Luger. So many street artists in 2011 are doing their best to mimic that style, it’s refreshing to hear SL Jones consciously taking cues from the older sounds on his new mixtape, The Number 23.
In 2009, Killer Mike released his excellent compilation album Underground Atlanta, which served as a survey of the city’s current scene, cramming all sorts of rap styles enjoying groundswell support at the time within the city onto the release. While it didn’t hold together as a coherent album, it did serve as a great look into what was bubbling underneath in the city. It’s telling Jones appeared on that release, as The Number 23 often feels like a kindred spirit to Underground Atlanta.
Jones doesn’t seem as interested in crafting a tape with a coherent sound as he is in creating a record full of sounds he’s interested in. The tape includes freestyles over well-worn mixtape fodder “1-900-Hustler” and “Black and Yellow”, as well as several piano-driven introspective tracks, though most of it lays squarely at the intersection of the Zaytoven/Drumma Boy-style trap bangers and KE-esque synthmania dudes like Yung LA and Rich Kids were working a couple years ago. And, almost in spite of itself, Jones makes this all a fun listen, even if it’s not exactly breaking any new ground.
Jones doesn’t possess a particularly enthralling voice (he gets completely overshadowed in between Yo Gotti’s sneer and Flocka’s punk-rap drawl on “Trapped Out”), but he does have a great ear for beats, a knack for hooks, and an amiable if unassuming personality that reveals itself upon multiple listens. This mixtape features a dazzling lineup of guests (verses from Flocka, Yo Gotti, Pill, Trae, and Killer Mike) and producers (beats from Cannon, Lex Luger, and Shawty Redd, among others), and it’s tempting to compare this record to one from another regional minor-leaguer with a huge Rolodex, Berner’s White Album. Ultimately though, Jones possesses more personality and better hooks than his Bay Area brethren. In spite of the expansive nature of the album, there are very few outright duds (“prYSless fleaux” being the worst offender here, with its shameless Drake-aping) and quite a few interesting turns; “Swervin’” is an amazing low-key collaboration with Trae, and the three song arc of “Grind-100-Hustler”, “Walkin’ Investment”, and “Guns and Butta” ratchets up the energy level here. This tape doesn’t feature the organic weirdness another Atlanta rapper, Tity Boi, has been injecting into his tapes recently, but it is a great album to ride out to for the summer. If you’re nostalgic for the rolling 808s and slamming flips of soul samples Jeezy used to destroy on the regular, check this tape out.
-Flex
