Janktape Vol. 1

Buddy and Kent Jamz (of SoCal rap collective OverDoz.) are kindred spirits. They are both young black men from Los Angeles whose music and vocal styles paint a distinct if not increasingly rare picture of the easygoing and soul-rich musical communities that bore them. Janktape Vol. 1 is their first collaborative project—and the first from either in a number of years. (Buddy’s Harlan & Alondra is from 2018, while OverDoz.’s 2008 was released in 2017.) Here, the two are consistently charming as they sing about relationships (“She Think,” “To the Grave,” “Inconsistent”), personal style (“Heatwave”), and their lives as burgeoning rap stars (“Terrified,” “Bad Boys”). The project contains one solo exhibition from each (“In Search Of” from Jamz, and “Burberry Party” from Buddy), both of which maintain the essence of the set—songs tailor-made for hanging out with friends in the LA sun.