Mixtape: SL Jones – Way Of Life No Hobby (Hosted By Don Cannon)

New Mixtape Produced Entirely By Metro Boomin; Out Now Via LiveMixtapes

09.04.2013

Critical Praise for SL Jones:

“SL Jones brings a lot to the table.”- SPIN

“SL Jones brings a complexity that’s rare.”- Complex

“Jonesy…we ride for you”- FADER

“SL Jones is a walking definition of the word ‘underrated.'” – The Smoking Section

The Mixtape:

Today, SL Jones is excited to release his new mixtape, Way Of Life No Hobby. The tape, out exclusively via LiveMixtapes, is hosted by renowned DJ and recently appointed Def Jam executive Don Cannon and is produced entirely by Metro Boomin. Features include Killer Mike, Kevin Gates, Starlito, Trouble, Mibbs (of Pac Div), and more.

Way Of Life No Hobby is Jones’ second release of the year, following January’s Trapper’s Delight EP, and comes on the heels of the Little Rock rapper’s debut headline tour, the Way Of Life No Hobby Tour, this past spring. The new tape is a project that Jones has been working on since getting off the road and the tape’s title stems from the commitment of those experiences, a culmination of the hard work and dedication that Jones has put in to building his career. “It’s a saying that I’ve used for a while, it sums up my state of mind and the way I think,” Jones explains. “With this project – with the direction of the music and everything, good and bad, that I’ve been through in the recent months – it just fit.”

While Jones has largely eschewed features on recent tapes, Way Of Life No Hobby sees SL working with some big names and close peers, including Killer Mike and Kevin Gates together on “America’s Nightmare” and Trouble and Starlito together on “Don’t Want Nan.” “Everybody featured on the tape,” says SL, “they’re artists and people that I genuinely respect. I can relate to what they’re going through and I can identify with their story – and it’s the same for them with me.”

Like Jones previous artist-producer collaborations, his work with Metro Boomin, who’s made a name for himself producing for Future, Gucci Mane, Ludacris, and others, comes natural, born of a long-time working relationship. “I’ve been knowing Metro since he was in high school,” says SL. “I knew he could do more than what people are used to hearing from him – he’s got a lot of range and diversity – and that’s what we wanted on this tape, to push the line creatively.” For Cannon, similarly, Way Of Life serves as a reunion of sorts, with the rapper and DJ/producer first working together on Jones’ 2011 tape The Number 23.

Most of all for Jones, Way Of Life No Hobby serves as another big step musically, a collection of music that the Little Rock rapper considers his most ambitious to date. “It’s really been all about experiences, good and bad,” says Jones, explaining his continued growth, as a artist and as a person. “I’ve made some bad decisions in the past, but that’s behind me now. For the first time in a long time, I went into this project with nothing on my mind but the music.”

Download the mixtape: http://www.livemixtapes.com/mixtapes/23745/sl-jones-way-of-life-no-hobby.html

Tour Dates:

9/11 – Tampa, FL – The Orpheum
9/12 – Orlando, FL – Backbooth Lounge
9/14 – Miami, FL – EVE
9/15 – Tallahassee, FL – The Sidebar Theater

Please contact Michelle or Dan if interested in talking with SL Jones.

SL Jones Background:

With the Rock on his back and a Razorbacks fitted cocked just so on his dome, Little Rock, Arkansas, rapper SL Jonesfirst hit the scene as part of Killer Mike’s Grind Time Rap Gang, releasing his now-classic C.O.L.O.R.S. (Bangin’ On Wax) mixtape. It wasn’t long after that SL knew he had to strike out on his own, and beginning in 2011 he did just that, starting with the release of The Number 23, hosted by Don Cannon. Closing out 2011, SL Jones released his Flight Risk mixtape, and together, the two mixtapes garnered strong reviews from XXL Magazine and Atlanta’s leading alternative weekly, Creative Loafing, while earning the young gunner accolades from FADER, Complex, The Source, HipHopDX, The Smoking Section, Nah Right, RCRD LBL, Dirty Glove Bastard, and more, including a sit down withMTV News’ Mixtape Daily and a nationally televised “On Deck” feature with MTV2’s Sucker Free. In 2012, SL Jones released Paraphernalia, a collaborative effort with producer DJ Burn One that included features from Freddie Gibbs, Rittz, and more. To start 2013, SL Jones released an EP, Trapper’s Delight, produced by M16 and hosted byHoodrich/Grand Hustle’s DJ MLK, , and now, on September 4th, SL will release a new mixtape, Way Of Life No Hobby, produced by Metro Boomin and hosted by Don Cannon.