Jazz Cartier's "Hotel Paranoia" Album Review

When you think about Toronto, what comes to mind? For many people, artists like Drake, Tory Lanez, The Weeknd, PartyNextDoor and etc come to mind. One might assume that Toronto is the new breeding ground for singsong rappers, but there is another unique sound in the area. A more grittier, modern trap sound that has been making waves through the six.

The source of this emerging wave comes from 22-year-old rapper Jazz Cartier. Imagine Travis Scott with less distortion in his voice, mixed with a more enthusiastic Future and you get Jazz Cartier. That’s a general description, a detailed one would still not be worthy to describe his overall sound.

Cartier dropped a well-received mixtape called Maurding in Paradise last year, that put him on the map and now he’s back with his new effort Hotel Paranoia. This project has a total 16 tracks that leaves listeners in complete paranoia when it’s done, in a good way.

When this album opens up with “Talk of the Town”, Cartier wastes no time letting his peers and listeners know that he runs Toronto. The hard-hitting, atmospheric track has some listeners coming up with conclusions that it’s aimed at Drake.

From there tracks such as the trap orchestra “100 Roses” and bass-heavy, atmospheric “I Know” sets the overall tone of the project and puts listeners in a paranoia trance that you won’t wear of until the end of the album.

Cartier flaunts his versatility throughout the album, by smoothing out his naturally deep voice to sound like a trap R&B singer on slow tempo tracks such as  “Illuminati Love Song” and “After The Club”. This versatility really shines on the soulful track “Tell Me” and “One Day Feel Away”, which showcases he’s softer side.

Don’t get it twisted though; Cartier has bangers for all the days of the week. Tracks like “Never Too Faded”, “Stick & Move”, “Opera” and “Black and Misguided” are guaranteed to have your sound system on its last leg from the hard-hitting bass.

While Hotel Paranoia has its many triumphs, there are still some flaws that come with it. Throughout the project Cartier abuses hooks to the point where it could be a crime. This is especially evident on the pop tracks “Red Alert” and ‘After The Club”. Often times, it feels like he doesn’t go through a full 16 bars before the hook comes out of nowhere. This takes away from an enjoyable track that could have been great overall.

In the end, Cartier proves he is a growing force to be reckon with his sophomore effort Hotel Paranoia. This project is a stepping-stone towards his star potential, which is not that far from the horizon.

Essential Tracks: “Talk of the Town”, “Stick & Move”, “Never Too Faded”, “Opera”, “How We Do It”, “Tell Me” and “Black and Misguided”.