Jonwayne

Rap Album One (Stones Throw)

L.A.’s Jonwayne has a background in electronic music, which makes sense when you consider the richness of the Angeleno beat scene. Over the last few years, he’s been focusing on rap, nurturing the hypnotic gruffness of his voice and curating a variety of serious, art-school beats. Rap Album One, his debut effort, plays like a warm weed-dream. The beats are aggressively minimalistic; an oscillating bounty of synth-tones on “How to Be a Gemini,” the dusty piano loop flowing through “Find Me in the Future,” and the stuttering, sliced-up vocal sample pinging back and forth through “The Come Up Pt. 2.” It’s the perfect album for Stones Throw, long advocates for cerebral hip-hop, and Jonwayne has enough interesting stories to tide us over. It won’t get your blood pumping, but the dusky vibes are markedly idiosyncratic for a crowded landscape. (10pm, North Door)

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This article appears in March 14 • 2014.

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