The calendar turning over can only mean one thing — New Year's resolutions. And the core of all those aspirational goals we set for ourselves is simple — growth. We want to grow into better versions of ourselves over the course of the year.
For Spokane hip-hop/R&B artists Jinx Universe (Derrick Jenkins), ExZac Change (Zac Hawkins) and Iyzlow Matisse (Mike Barnes), that core principle isn't just a whim to hope for in January and soon forget. It's with that idea in mind that the performers are coming together for "Good Growth," a special concert at Lucky You Lounge on Jan. 5 that will serve as a sort of belated double record release show for their 2022 albums: ExZac Change & Iyzlow Matisse's Growth Spurt and Jinx Universe's Make It Look Good.
The three connected through local beatmaker DJ Donuts. He happened to send a particular beat to both Jinx and the duo of ExZac Change and Iyzlow Matisse. When they both realized they were working over the same music, they decided to collaborate on the song "After the Rain," which ended up as a track on Growth Spurt.
"Jinx has a line on 'After the Rain' that I think sums it up real well," Iyzlow remarks. "He says, 'The Avengers got solo movies, [but] the real blockbusters [are] when they get together [and] go Wu-Tang on them suckers.' Because it's like, individually, we all kinda doing our own shit, but when we all link up to do something that's larger than each of us, it's like it's a testament to the community and what we can all do when we collaborate."
Jinx Universe is hard to categorize. As he says himself, "I am a rapper, but I'm also a singer. Sometimes I'm a f——- rock guy. And sometimes I'm a pop artist. The people that inspire me are the Pharells, the Andre 3000s, the Kanyes — the ones that just do whatever the f— they want to do. ... My music is my personality."
That varied outlook can be heard all over Make It Look Good. On one song it might feel like a funky R&B album ("Let's Do It Again") and the next moment it can seem more like a rap record ("Jump"). The album's most noticeable element might be just how much swagger Jinx puts into the tracks, but that outward confidence belies the actual frame of mind the songwriter was in when making the record. Coming out of a personal dark period, he wasn't even sure he could still write songs.
"Make It Look Good is deeper than what people think," says Jinx. "I think that this record really helped get me out of a bit of a depression. I think that this album has brought a lot of positivity to my life that I really needed. Honestly, I truly needed so badly. And I think that's what I'm the most proud of. I was like, 'Yo, I'm still dope. And the music's great, and it's positive.'"
ExZac Change and Iyzlow Matisse have been collaborating for well over a decade — making mixtapes in closets, putting out a couple EPs and sharing the stage — but Growth Spurt marks a new high point for the duo. Raised on lyrically driven East Coast boom bap hip-hop, ExZac and Iyzlow display a chemistry in their energetic flow that feels effortless over the LP's 15 mostly breezy tracks. While their origins were just making records for fun — and there's still plenty of stoner rap fun to be found on Good Growth — the impending arrival of Iyzlow's second daughter and ExZac's first son refocused the writing and the reasons for writing songs for the pair.
"The vibe with the way Zac writes his songs, he always inspires me to be a better writer," says Iyzlow. "So I feel like iron sharpens iron and we level each other up a little bit. But I feel like this latest album, Growth Spurt is kind of like the culmination of us really honing in on our sound and leveling up our sound and experimenting with new harmonies and things that we've never really done before. We branched out from just rapping and did singing and other stuff on this album that we've never done before. I feel like we're finally at a point where we're so comfortable with how we work well together, because of the foundation that we've built, that we're able to kind of take those risks and chances and come up with something that far exceeds anything that we've done till this point."
There's also a power of positivity that undergirds Growth Spurt and all the music the duo creates.
"Zac always says that we're more than just rappers, we're motivational speakers, man," says Iyzlow. "It's how we kind of categorize what we do a little bit. On Growth Spurt we got a song called 'One Inch,' and the hook is, 'Every day we grow. Every day we reach. Every day we sow. Every day we reap. And I just wanta know when I go to sleep, that the moves and mistakes I made got me one inch further than yesterday.' So it doesn't take a lot of progress, but if you just try to move one inch further than you were yesterday, then you're in a pretty good spot."
The vibes of Jinx, ExZac, and Iyzlow sync, so doing a joint album release show seemed like a natural fit — one based on mutual respect and camaraderie.
"Zac and Mike are my favorite rappers in Spokane," says Jinx. "And I think that our messages and our music intersect very well. And we're all dads, most importantly, so I think that the connection is just so natural. ...We're actually friends. Like we're around each other's kids and shit. ... So we all are big champions of community and bringing ideas. You know, just coming together like Voltron."
When talking to the guys, "Good Growth" seems less about celebrating the new albums and more about building a stronger music community in Spokane.
"[The scene] needs a major push," says Jinx. "I think I gravitate towards these guys, because they really are what they say they're about, and that's community and supporting each other. And I think that a lot of people around the city claim to be about that, but they're really not. I hope that we're leading by example, and showing them how powerful we can be together."
"It's getting out of the comfort zone and having that collaborative spirit," ExZac adds. "It's easy to collaborate within your own circles and your own groups. It's something that we've even struggled with in the past. We want to have a collaborative spirit. What do you do? You play the bass? You shred guitar? You sing? There are places on our songs for people who do all sorts of things, and vice versa. So kind of opening those doors for people to feel comfortable to get in a room and collaborate with some people they don't know. We're in the same city, we're in the same scene, but we remain strangers if we keep that mentality."
"Especially after the pandemic, everybody's kind of stretching their legs and getting back outside again" Iyzlow continues. "I think some people kind of have to learn — or relearn — how to play nice with others again."
The crew hesitates even calling "Good Growth" a "show" because they don't want it to feel like any average Spokane hip-hop concert — they want it to be an event. To that end, the guys are bringing in designer Jáiz Boyd of Birds in the Coast to build sets for the night to add a theatrical element. They're also making one-night only custom merch for the gig. It's all an effort to make the local scene feel seen — not a random hodgepodge of sound that people might check out at a few shows a year, but an active and thriving symbiotic community.
"We're trying to create a real special vibe, where you got to be there to experience it and take something away from it," says Jinx. "And if you don't make it out, you're gonna miss out." ♦
Good Growth: Jinx Universe, ExZac Change & Iyzlow Matisse, DJ Donuts • Fri, Jan. 6 at 8 pm • $12 • 21+ • Lucky You Lounge • 1801 W. Sunset Blvd. • luckyyoulounge.com
