Jackson Hunter

To say "This is it, the voice of a generation," is to do Jackson Hunter's debut album, Maverick, an injustice. To be a symbol, a spokesman, the voice of a crowd, means being built on carefully staged artifice, and there is nothing artificial about Hunter's work. This music, these rhymes, this voice: they are absolutely real and entirely honest; there is no questioning the truth of this soul. Hunter isn't concerned with being visionary or unique in the world of contemporary hip-hop; his songs stand out because they have the confidence to be completely nothing more than they are in a world that offers nothing more than it is. It takes outrageous talent and maturity to sound this worn, this world-weary. This is the hip-hop love-child voice of Leonard Cohen and Whitey Ford, except it's a voice as equally soaked in the state of the world post-9/11 as it is sobered by heart attacks and painkillers. And don't get me wrong: for every elegy and acceptance, there is an equal measure of defiance, resistance, persistence, and hope. Lyrically, Hunter's work is flawless; each song contains an astonishing balance of rhyme, rhythm, reference, and raw reality: there is heartbreaking poetry, but always with both scuffed boots on the ground. Production-wise, the album stoically circles the same minor-key core, using more-than-minimal scoring and sampling without feeling either basic and bare-bones or overly lush and unnecessarily dense (Kanye, that was you). There are no gimmicks; even when Hunter samples Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amour," the moment works, held against the strength of the rapping. Most impressively, the seventeen-track album moves without hesitation from strength to strength: each time you think a peak has been hit, Hunter reaches deeper, stretches higher, pushes harder, cuts closer and closer to the bone. If this artist does not receive national recognition in the next two years, there is something seriously wrong with the system: the problem is, he already knows there's something wrong with the system. Hunter has lived with his talent and knows the price. But the talent is priceless. Check it out now.

-Professor Kent Leatham
Lecturer, Human Communications
California State University Monterey Bay
MFA, Emerson College, 2008
BA, Pacific Lutheran University, 2006 - Kent Leatham

MAVERICK, Jackson Hunter's debut album deserves attention.
Whether the beat pushes the words forward or the words demand
a riffing beat, this collection hypnotizes you. Seventeen selections
race down tracks, offering up soul-searching story-talk from realities
to redemptions and more. The vocal dexterity of main man Jackson Hunter 's style --- sometimes sleek, sometimes raw --- crashes and
clashes through his unique lyrics. MAVERICK triggers conditions of
the human heart. The strong sequences, notably "Adonis" and "Wrong Dove" are among the best here. Brace yourself for some quality rap by an artist who will startle you with his insight. MAVERICK, Jackson O. Hunter.

Album now available to stream or download for free on DatPiff.com. - Yvonne Nelson Perry

Jackson Hunter just released this song with King Chip. It’s called “The Perfectionist” and is produced by The Cratez x Beatzunami. - I'm From Cleveland

Los Angeles, CA based Hip Hop artist Jackson Hunter releases his latest music video titled “Night Moves“. - Underground Hip Hop Blog

San Diego raised indie Hip Hop artist Jackson Hunter links with heavyweight King Chip for the new video “The Perfectionist” shot in Los Angeles. - Underground Hip Hop Blog

Instagram: @jacksonhuntermaverick, @kingchip

The Cratez blesses Jackson Hunter’s single with some zoned out production that will make you wanna roll up a blunt and chill. “The Perfectionist” is a track from Hunter’s latest full-length project Gallows and Safehouse. The CA based artist recruited Cleveland legend King Chip to drop a verse! Check it out above.

“If I don’t come off perfect, what’s the purpose?” - I'm From Cleveland

Los Angeles-based rapper Jackson Hunter has just released a new music video for his track “The Perfectionist.” It features local hero King Chip (formerly Chip Tha Ripper), and the two trade verses in the dynamic video.

“The goal of the video was to showcase the lyrics and their emotions specifically by having all performance shots and no storyline,” says Hunter. “Also, Chip is the reason I have any kind of rhythm or writing ability, so when I found out it was possible to do the video, I wasn't going to stop until it happened. It would be cool if fans of Chip came across the video, and they vibe with what I got going on too. I was telling him how I was bumping [Chip's mixtape] Gift Raps on the way to location, and we have a mutual respect for him. As soon as I told him the idea for the shoot, he was on board. I can't name another hip-hop artist with music that makes you think, laugh and feel as much as Chip.”

Hunter first heard Chip about nine years ago and instantly became a fan.

"I had the opportunity to open for him in 2015 at El Rey Theater in Los Angeles and met his road manager there and gave them my CD," says Hunter. "I received a text message a couple months later and pretty soon the song was a wrap. I appreciate it all so much, and there's nothing but love and admiration for what Chip is doing."
-Jeff Niesel - Cleveland Scene