Too often in music, there’s a measure of give and take when it comes to recorded music versus live performance – particularly in hip-hop. A song that sounded great in studio gets washed out in live performance by excessive amounts of shouting and hype. Or maybe a song that you didn’t necessarily bounce to originally sounds killer in concert and subsequently becomes a favorite. So, in the off chance that an artist can transition their form seamlessly between the studio and the stage, that’s something special.

 

In many ways, the meteoric rise of Toronto’s own Jazz Cartier is a direct result of such ability. Not only does Cartier, also dubbed Jacuzzi Le Fleur, have the production value of a true rising star in the industry, but the guy is an absolute madman on stage. Climbing into the rafters at concerts and hanging upside down to belt his popular tracks has become a go-to stunt for the Canadian. His musical styling is something of a prototypical mashup of OVO-esque reggaeslide meets gritty underground hip-hop. Cartier’s 2016 Hotel Paranoia held no punches, and to this day remains one of the most underappreciated debut projects to hit the modern hip-hop scene.

 

You can count on three things with Jacuzzi. One: you will be entertained. Two, you will have no idea what to expect. And three, his lyricism tells stories not in front of or behind a musical score, but instead, in full mutual embrace with it. More than anything, it’s this inability to be overshadowed by even the grimiest of production that is reason enough for Cartier to be propelled into the hip-hop stratosphere. His astonishing stage presence is simply an added bonus.

 

So how do you find a fitting counterpart for a livewire like Jazz Cartier? You look to the east (and ever so slightly, to the south).

 

Hailing from Boston, Mass, Cousin Stizz has likewise found himself on a particularly fast track to stardom. After Stizz’s song Shoutout from debut album Suffolk County received his first legitimate notoriety thanks to OVOSound Radio, he put the game in a headlock and hasn’t missed a step since. His sophomore project Monda and most recent album One Night Only were welcomed with overwhelming positivity, and only solidified the fact that Cousin Stizz is an extremely talented lyricist who boasts an effortless style coupled with ice cold production. His work with Offset of the Migos not only displays his versatility and ability to match with an artist of a very different flow, but also is proof that Stizz is on the rise. After all, the Atlanta-based group turns everything they touch to gold at this moment in musical history.

 

Like Jazz, Stizz is a talented performance artist, and his upbeat music is perfect for getting fans to bounce in tune with his heavy bass patterns. Combine the capabilities of both artists, and it’s an easy recipe for success and heavy-hitting bangers.

 

Each artist is well rounded, extremely talented, and white-hot in their own respects. Combine the two, and you can’t go wrong. It would an incredible collaboration. We’re talking worthy of collab greatness akin to tapes like Fresh Veggies, Watch The Throne, and What a Time To Be Alive. A collaborative project could also propel the two flourishing artists into the exclusive club of music royalty, at which door they’re both presently knocking.