When it came time to curate our 2023 Jacksonville Artists to Watch list, we made a concerted effort to not repeat any artists from the previous year’s list. In the case of Duval hip-hop collective L.O.V.E. Culture, we made an exception.
If they ever hit a ceiling at all after the release of their debut full-length, 1827 N Pearl, in late 2021, the five-piece — Ché Forreign, Flash the Samurai, Spiritxiii, Easyin2D and Rob Mari — arguably crashed right through it, and continue to climb higher, with a slew of both solo and collective releases in the year since. In February, the quintet launched a campaign to crowdsource their first official tour. They’ve postponed the run, which will include several East Coast dates, until late Spring, according to a recent Instagram post.
The group recently shared a new video for “Untitled 2,” a track from 1827 N Pearl, which opens with laidback flow from Forreign, Flash and Easy over a jazzy, piano-forward melody, before shifting gears with a spooky, rattling bass line and some murky ambient sounds. Watch the video above. And scroll down to watch the group perform two songs from the JME Soundstage.