Jazz Cartier’s Debut Album ‘Fleurever’ Is One “Big Toronto Affair”

Jazz Cartier has shown a lot of growth since he dropped his Hotel Paranoia project two years ago. Shedding the expectations he had for himself back then has played a huge role in where he stands as a man and artist today, and the change is ever-evident on his major label debut album, Fleurever.

On Fleurever, Jazz bares his emotions and pushes what he calls his "weird ways" to the forefront. During Jazz's phone interview with XXL, the Toronto hip-hop artist shared that discarding the chip on his shoulder has opened him up to working with other musicians on his project. "Life should be enjoyable and I shouldn’t be able to pit myself against everybody else," he explains. "Now I like seeing everybody grow into their own, especially from [Toronto]. There’s so much talent coming out of the city right now."

The Universal Music Canada signee worked strictly with home-based producers for Fleurever, which is why he refers to the LP as "a big Toronto affair." Ktoe, an up-and-coming musician from Jazz's native city, is the sole feature on the project—he actually inspired the "Godflower" rapper during the album process.

"He also makes music and throughout me making the project, me and him became very close," says Jazz. "I’m happy for people to finally hear his sound and hear his influence on me." He also worked with budding hitmakers Daniel Worthy, Catch Carter and Jordon Manswell, while Lantz and DJ 4th Pyramid, his longtime collaborators, produced his album favorites.

The Lantz-produced opener "Soul Searcher" focuses on duality, which Jazz has called the driving force behind the LP: "I tapped in to my emotions and I really expressed myself with no filler bars on that intro. And I feel like that sets the tone. That just lets people know where my mind’s at, where my mind’s been at and all the questions that have been looming in the air."

"Gliss," the guitar-laden track crafted by 4th Pyramid, is another song that Jazz holds near and dear. After vibing to the beat for 30 seconds, Jazz laced the track in under two hours. "I just have that feeling it’s one of those ones," he says.

The introspective project has moments where Jacuzzi La Fleur relishes in his success, particularly on tracks like "Which One" and the Ktoe-assisted "VVS," but its the balance between those and his deeper cuts that has secured his loyal fanbase.

"I have three very intimate shows I wanna do for New York, L.A. and Toronto that are gonna happen in August that I’m really excited for," Jazz divulges. "I’m doing it for the real, real, real fans who have been waiting. It’s a time for me to see their faces, chill after the show, and [have] a personal interaction with everybody."

The three-part concert series, titled Fleurever Yours, is slated to take place in Los Angeles on Aug. 9, Toronto on Aug. 16 and New York City on Aug. 18. While the show in his native Toronto is already sold out, tickets are still available for the New York and L.A. legs. There are only 100 tickets available for each date.

Jazz feels he bloomed into his best self during the making of Fleurever. "I don’t wanna rush this moment in my life because my come up is the biggest part of my story," Jazz begins. "And these are the moments I wanna remember for the rest of my life—the people that I’m with; the people I’m working with, interacting with, speaking to and connecting with. You have to properly appreciate every phase in your life in order to grow to where you wanna be."

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