Jae Krxnalege is a producer/emcee from New Mexico. He originally connected with Cecil Tso from An Illustrated Mess while Cecil was traveling from Arizona. Cecil knew Jae through some mutual connections and was already a fan of his music before they met, and they hit it off right away. In 2019, Jae came to Flagstaff for a producers showcase, and since that moment it was just a matter of time before he made his debut on Fang Over Fist. Now that time is finally here with 2022 Tape.

Made under a bit of a time crunch, 2022 Tape actually works as a nice introduction for new listeners because everything you’re getting from Jae is just raw. The project is mostly a beat tape, but Jae does hop on the mic a few times over the course of the tape to show you that he’s just as talented spitting his rhymes as he is putting these beats together. While this project might not be fully formed in the way to truly show us all that Jae is capable of, there is a lot of promise to the intricate and soulful ways he is constructing his beats, clearly taking a page from artists like Madlib and J Dilla without just copying them. More than anything, you can hear the hunger coming through his beats and rhymes. Jae surely has a lot more to get off of his chest, and he’s going to do it with a lot of skill and passion.

2022 Tape is just a taste of things to come for Jae Krxnalege, but he manages to pack a lot into a small package here to let us know what he’s capable of. He’s piecing together some really intricate and soulful beats in a creative way, and he’s coming just as hard with his rhymes, telling his unique personal story in the process.