LaShaun Ellis

It's been quite a week for independant Los Angeles based label 6J Recordings. After premiering the debut EP from their newest artist Art Boy Sin on EARMILK, they released Villain, the latest project from arguably their most successful artist Johnny Rain. Following these two releases was the debut single from their songstress Xodiak, and now, as the dust settles around the triple release that had everyone at 6J excited, they release the final piece in the puzzle with the LaShaun Ellis LP.

The young LA native has been hard at work for the past few months piecing together this project, and it's clear to see just how much effort has been put into this album. The entire LP is produced by in-house producer Khompono, who has created a vast soundscape for LaShaun Ellis to work with. The whole album carries a wide array of vibes, from the uptempo funkiness of "Psycho Star" which features label mate Johnny Rain, to the more turnt up anthems like "My Niggas" and "6J". LaShaun even kicks back on an old school tip on "We Know", that features a boom bap beat, warm bassline and some jazzy chords to create one of my own personal highlights of the album.

With the LaShaun Ellis LP, both LaShaun and 6J Recordings have delivered on the expectancy that followed them. The thirteen-track album might be listed by many as a mixtape, but with the quality both sonically and lyrically, that this project contains, it feels so much more than that. The LaShaun Ellis LP is a collection of songs hand crafted with each detail intricately looked at. One thing to note, and it's a fact that cements how much faith 6J have shown in this album, is that Mike Bozzi, the man who mastered Kendrick Lamar's pinnacle album Good Kid m.A.A.D City, was called upon to master this album too. Now if that's not a sign of intent from a label not considered to be one of the big boys, then I don't know what is. The tracks that I've included to stream on this post are just a handful of the ones I consider to be the best on the LP. Be sure to head over to LaShaun's Soundcloud to stream the album in it's entirety, and if you're feeling the project you can download it for free or you can visit 6J Recordings website and donate to the label