The 8 Jersey musicians you need to know in 2019
Chris JordanThe Garden State grows music.
Greats like Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Whitney Houston and Bruce Springsteen have all come from New Jersey towns. In recent years, add Charlie Puth of Rumson, Fetty Wap of Paterson, Halsey of Warren County and SZA of Maplewood to the list of homegrown Jersey talent.
Jersey music fans know there’s a lot of talent here. It just sometimes takes a little searching to find it. We can help. Here’s our list of eight Jersey artists you need to know in 2019:
AK, South Brunswick
AK from South Brunswick may not be the next big thing in hip-hop.
He kind of already is.
The video for his recent single, “Life Like This,” which features shots of downtown South Brunswick interspersed with video from a show at the House of Independents in Asbury Park, is nearing a million views on YouTube, and he’s got 1.3 million subscribers to his YouTube channel, iamtherealak.
Overall, he’s got more than 75 million views, thanks largely to remix vids that were shot in his bedroom. That’s keeping it real.
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His style is precision fire on the mic, and he’s delving into singing on his latest single, “Don’t Look Down.” Austin Kassabian is still only a teenager. The future is big.
Visit iamtherealak on YouTube.
Big Boss Noff, Eatontown
Who’s the new Boss in town?
It just might be Big Boss Noff, a rapper from Eatontown with Jersey City ties. He has exhibited an appealing dexterity and flow in his rhymes to date. Noff, aka James McKnight, doesn’t have a lot of miles on his treads, but chances are he’ll be trending upwards once he gets more exposure.
He’s set to perform at the Concert Crave Artist Showcase on Jan. 20 at the House of Independents in Asbury Park. We have his “Gorilla Glue Challenge” on repeat at the office.
“I used to watch awards shows, like the BET Awards, and I knew I had to get me one,” Noff said.
You don’t get to be the Boss by thinking small.
Visit @bigbossnoff on social media.
Bottled Blonde, Asbury Park
If you think Bottled Blonde of Asbury Park looks a little bit like Mack, also of Asbury Park, you’re right.
It’s same artist, Mackenzie Brown, but with a new vision. Brown’s alluring and ethereal vocals were brought into sharper focus on Bottled Blonde’s debut single, “French Toast,” in November.
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“Bottled Blonde was born during the biggest transformation of my life,” said Brown. “It’s raw, complicated and true. It’s everything I have inside of me. And I had no plan for it; it just came with time. I was given a completely clean slate and there she was.”
Brown has a habit of doing quality work in her short time on the A.P. scene. Bottled Blonde is a new chapter to pay attention to.
Visit www.bottledblondemusic.com for more info.
City Vision, Asbury Park
Give Rob Nardone and Dar Franks a vintage Korg synthesizer, and watch out world.
It’s City Vision, a relatively new outfit from Nardone and Franks, vets of Jersey Shore bands Easy Tiger, the Bank Robbers and Cascadence. Here, the guys go a little darker and a little edgier with an electro-rock sound. It’s part Killers, part Depeche Mode and part Nine Inch Nails, and a it’s a welcome addition to the Asbury Park sound.
“We were down in the studio messing with new and different sounds,” says Nardone of the band’s creation. “And that opening synth sequence (for their song ‘Falling’) just kind of came out of nowhere, and we ran with it.”
The band just issued an EP, “The Darkness + The Blinding Light,” and there’ll be a release show Jan 25 at the Saint in Asbury Park.
Visit www.cityvisionmusic.com for more info.
Ashley Delima, Long Branch
Ashley Delima made a lot of news in 2018, but we think her 2019 is going to be even bigger.
Ashley Delima, a Long Branch native with Brazilian roots, released “Stay in America,” a pointed pop track that tackled the possible rescinding of DACA, or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival immigration policy, early in the year. In November, the sultry R&B track “Cigarette,” with a rap by Standard, came out. You’ve might of heard it if you went holiday shopping in your neighborhood Abercrombie and Fitch store, where it was played in December.
Visit www.instagram.com/ashleydelima for more info.
Little Vicious, Asbury Park
The music business can be vicious.
And so can Little Vicious’ roadhouse rawk. The transplanted Asbury Park band — they moved here from snowy Colorado — is bringing an energy and abandon to the city scene with a bluesy bluster and punky appeal. Frontwoman Marguerite King is fast becoming a local legend.
The band is working on a new album with Pete Steinkopf of the Bouncing Souls behind the knobs. Music that’s soft enough for the boys, and hard enough for the girls, they say. Ain’t that the truth.
Visit www.littleviciousmusic.com for more info.
Raw Webb, New Brunswick
When Raw Webb rhymes, people listen.
The New Brunswick rapper has spoken to the issues of the day through his short emceeing career, with measured tones and a street authority. Now, the new collection, “Balboa: The Mixtape,” which features a few of his Exit 9 hits over the past two years, has more than 10,000 streams on Audiomack.com.
Webb, aka Rashee L. Webb Sr., was a DJ in the tri-state area for the last 15 years. As he saw the music move away lyricism, he decided get on the mic, produce some records and and try to correct the ship.
He’s a Hub City native who’s just trying to change lives — with music.
Visit soundcloud.com/romeygriffin for more information.
Lex Rex and the Dragons, Brick
Get ready to be entertained. Lex Rex and the Dragons rap, dance, sing and wear matching outfits — who says showmanship is dead? Oh, did we mention they got great songs? “Ain’t Nothing,” released this past year, will be stuck in your head after one listen.
More:The year in music: The 12 best Jersey songs of 2018
Lex Rex is Alexis Pellegrino, a singer, dancer and performance artist who to this point is usually down on the bill of area hip-hop or rock shows. That will be changing. In fact, the group played the final Warped Tour show at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel last summer.
We’ll call Lex Rex the Cardi B of Jersey Shore scene, but with better stage moves and without the flying shoes.
Visit www.lexrexandthedragons.com for more information.
Chris Jordan: cjordan@app.com; Twitter: @chrisfhjordan