Last month, Floridian hip-hop artist Ice Jackson broke his eight-year hiatus with a brand new album, The Flu – his first release since 2018’s EP, “Dog Days of Summer,” and 2017 mixtape, “International Ice”.
And it was well worth the wait. Featuring raw and infectious rap flows, thick with vivid personality, The Flu’s lyrics are served in an unexpectedly velvet voice that traps you like a fly in Ice Jackson’s web. His soundscapes are just as addictive, inspired, and catchy from the record’s start to its end; a spiralling haze that’s easy to lose yourself in, staggered with cut-throat moods and profanity that keeps you hooked, ever-intrigued, and begging for more.
In case it couldn’t get any better, The Flu’s fourteen tracks are woven together by a curious homegrown concept. We’ll let Ice Jackson detail his inspiration in his own words…
“The overarching theme of the album is essentially me being mature enough now to come to the realization of just how life in Florida seduces people into making bad decisions. It starts as a mindless pursuit of hedonistic pleasure and before you know it, the world around you is asking for you to make unscrupulous choices to maintain your lifestyle.
“I liken this seductive lifestyle to being infected with the flu and becoming sick until it ultimately kills you. Not always a literal physical death in all cases. More often than not, a death of who you are. Your morals and character. You have to compromise more and more of who you aspire to be in order to be the sinister person you have become without even realizing it.”
Are you a fan of the likes of Outcast, Ice Cube, Nas or 2Pac? Ice Jackson is about to become your next favourite artist, citing these legends amongst his greatest influences. And if rap isn’t your game, The Flu is 100% worth diving into nonetheless – it might just change your opinion of the genre altogether.
Our verdict? Highly recommended.
BELOW: Listen to Ice Jackson and check out their music online. Please support Ice Jackson by visiting their website and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing their music. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music.
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