Json Born is an up-and-coming producer from Toronto. He’s released little biographical information about himself other than some influences such as Pete Rock and J Dilla, and there isn’t much music floating out there prior to this album to get a sense of what he’s about, either. Fortunately, though, the good people at URBNET heard him, and liked him enough to put out his debut album, First Lite.

One of the most difficult things to pull off is the instrumental hip hop album. Or I should say, one of the most difficult things to pull off is the instrumental hip hop album that doesn’t sound generic or forgettable. When it comes to a young artist’s debut album, such as Json Born’s First Lite, the odds are stacked against you before the first beat comes in. This is to say that when the beat does come in for Born on the opening track on this album, “Where You Been,” it’s understandable to hear something that sounds pleasant, but also a little generic as a downtempo track. Over the next few tracks, we stay in this zone, with some laid back boom guiding the way. It’s enjoyable, even if it doesn’t quite stand out from the crowd, but this is where it’s helpful to remind yourself that it’s a debut album, and you’ve got to learn to crawl before you can run. The real question, though, was what URBNET say in him – why did they sign him to their label for a debut album that’s going to have some growing pains. Well, the answer comes at the end of the album, specifically the last two tracks, “See You Next Fall,” and “At My Castle.” On this last chunk of the album, we see Born break out of his comfort zone and start playing with different tempos, switching up rhythmic patterns, and chopping and flipping samples in some really interesting and unusual ways. On top of this, he’s also bringing all of this together in some really fun and memorable ways that will make you go, “Oh, this is what they saw in him!”

First Lite hits all of the expected growing pains of a debut instrumental album, but there is some serious potential hinted at here. One of the toughest steps to make for an instrumental producer is going from some pleasant downtempo beats to making something memorable that stand apart from the crowd. Hopefully we’ll get to see Born tap further into that potential in the near future.