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Young iKon Releases Much Anticipated "Jet Season" Mixtape!

Armed with a lethal mixture of masterly flow and knowledge-dropping lyrics typically associated with lyricists years into the game, 18-year old Young iKon has burst onto the Canadian hip hop scene and is ready to stake his claim as one of the best rhymers around. With the release of his much anticipated mix tape entitled "Jet Season", the wordplay wizard has elevated the bar and set the tone for what is to be expected out of the Steel City from here on in.


Born Carlin McLean in Brooklyn, New York, the emcee was raised singly by his mother Michelle. After the break up of his parents' marriage, his mother relocated to Hamilton, Ontario. His father stayed in Brooklyn, NY and it was there during his annual summer visit with his father that Young iKon found his musical passion while free styling with the locals and experimenting with software like Cake Walk and Fruity Loops. He would take what he learned in New York and bring it back to Canada to be practiced and perfected. It was at the age of 17 that Kon decided it was time to start making a serious run at the hip hop game so he began guest appearing on tracks and mix tapes. A year later, Game Day Records' manager Kirk Alfaro heard his track "I'm Fly" and immediately set out to add him the Game Day roster. "It's kind of crazy really," said Alfaro on recruiting the emcee. "I got the track from 'Prave who was already part of Game Day at the time and asked him who it was and he told me that it was Carlin, his friend that lived in the same building. I couldn't believe it. You know it's hard enough to find multiple talented artists in the same city, here I found two that lived in the same building!"


When you hear "Jet Season" what is apparent right from the beginning is that this is not going to be your typical, common mix tape album. The first track called "Sky's the Limit" opens with a monologue by featured artist Supreme talking about elevating to a higher consciousness. That same theme is reiterated throughout the album on different tracks. What is profoundly missing are the drug, "bling bling"-influenced lyrics and themes that has corrupted many of today's up and coming rappers believing the fallacy that emulating major artists is the best route to getting a major deal. Not so for Young iKon. Teaming up with the hip hop group "A-Grade" and with beat masters Ulterior Motives Sound Crew (UMSC), "Jet Season" utilizes everything from hard breaking beats to a nostalgic, funky sound at times which in terms of beats on a mixtape album is really a breath of fresh air. If "Jet Season" is Young iKon's calling card to the hip hop industry, it won't be long before the majors start taking notice.


You can download the entire album here.