And All That Jazz

The thing about underground rappers is that, by definition, they’re flying under the mainstream radar. In the case of impeccably monikered emcee Landon Wordswell out of Eugene, Ore., he’s doing so despite repeatedly demonstrating a knack for masterful verses, ear-worm hooks and emotionally impactful songwriting. (See Wordswell’s full-length album The Mourning After Pill and mixtape Fountain of Youth II.) His new album, And All That Jazz, released this spring, is a grand experiment for which he recruited producers A June and J Beat from South Korea and Colombia, respectively, to create a jazz-influenced hip-hop album. While that might look weird on paper, it’s executed flawlessly, with chiming guitar and piano providing a loungey backdrop to Wordswell’s thought-provoking flow. And, much as high-level jazz musicians are wondrously in control of every little intonation, Wordswell has just the right inflection for every one of his many syllables. The album is engaging throughout as a result, but the bouncy, shuffling “Self Reflection,” with its absurdly catchy “La da da da da da daaaa” chorus, is a clear standout. With hip-hop this creative going relatively unnoticed, one wonders whether there’s a place for it in the mainstream at all.