Local Spotlight | Listen to 3 new tracks from Jax artists out now

We’re always keeping our ear to the ground in order to put the spotlight on the beautiful noise emerging from Northeast Florida and reverberating across the globe. This week, Jacksonville Music Experience contributors share three great new tracks by local artists out right now.

Let’s dive in.

“Simple As That” by LRK Chronicle (feat. Mr. Al Pete)

With laid-back flow and a preference for soulful, often jazz-infused soundscapes, LRK Chronicle and Mr. Al Pete –– both elder statesmen of the Duval hip-hop scene –– are known to make it sound easy. But on LRK’s new single “Simple as That,” the duo tackles mortality, spirituality and other mind-numbingly existential topics with next-level nonchalance––the kind of breezy confidence that could only be chalked up to the tandem’s depth of experience. “I’m not judging anybody or debatin’ / I close cases,” LRK rhymes over a steady groove and a twinkly piano motif before adding, “So I’ma drop the mic on location / I handle issues, I don’t deal with frustration.” It’s primo hip-hop from two wise, decidedly well-adjusted masters of their domain––simple as that.–Matthew Shaw

-Stream “Simple As That” on Spotify

-Stream “Simple As That” on Apple Music

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“I Wish U Would” by BeBe Deluxe

The first single from BeBe Deluxe’s new EP 2MUCH4U is a buoyant EDM-flavored jam to warm up these winter blues. “I Wish U Would” is a short-and-sweet electro-crackle featuring Duval’s foremost LGBTQ artist-activist dogging and dissing the former target of her heart. In the past two years, BeBe has been consistently ramping up her music game: an upcoming appearance at this year’s SXSW festival is a fitting level-up for one of the area’s most colorful and fun performers..–Daniel A. Brown

-BeBe Deluxe’s 2MUCH4U EP is available for purchase on here website. All proceeds go directly to the artist and collaborators (sorry Spotify).

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“Wall of Sound” by John Aloszka 

On his 2021 full-length I’ve Seen You Around, Jacksonville singer-songwriter John Aloszka mined a certain lo-fi quietude. And though the former Folio Weekly creative director’s new single beckons a similarly hushed, listen-closely kind of feel, “Wall of Sound,” as the title suggests, offers a more expansive, more experimental soundscape for Aloszka’s ruminations. “People say I’m a wall to climb on, or at least they really try / Scaling over all my emotions, but they’re too afraid of the heights,” Aloszka sings over a building symphony of whirring synths and distinctive samples. It’s a big leap for the young artist. But, as he said in a press release for the track: “Big feelings call for a big sound.”–Matthew Shaw

-Stream “Wall of Sound” on Spotify

-Stream “Wall of Sound” on Apple Music