French Beatmaker J-Zen Releases “Standa Lone” Album

Rennes, France DJ, Producer, engineer J-Zen was heavily influenced by legendary Hip-Hop producers such as Madlib, and the late J Dilla; as well as Hip-Hop/Soul collectives such as the Native Tongues and Soulquarians. 

J-Zen made his debut on the beatmaking scene with his first beat tape  ‘Breakfast‘, but gained international esteem with his 2010 debut EP ‘Guilty Pleasure‘. The project featured Shawn Jackson & Substantial, was mixed by Dave Cooley (Stones Throw, Dilla, Madlib) and distributed internationally by Fatbeats, Jazzy Sport & Pusher. On his full-length 2015, debut ‘Managua’ J-Zen collaborated with MED, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Declaime, Chuuwee, Mr. Complex and more. Since then, J-Zen has gone on to share stage with DJ Premier, Dilated Peoples, among many other legends.

Five years after the release of his Managua album, J-Zen returns with the release of ‘Standa Lone‘. The ten-track project clocks in at 26 minutes, with features from LA rapper Kid Abstrakt, and Harlem, New York rap duo ManKind. On the intro of “Across The Bridge” (track 6 on the album), the late Prodigy of Mobb Deep can be heard shouting out DJ J-Zen, during his final show in Europe. The Standa Lone album title refers to the standalone drum machine, which doesn’t need the support of a computer to function. The title is also used here as a metaphor: J-Zen’s music is singular, and he is a “lone wolf”. 

Standa Lone is now available on all digital streaming platforms via Dooinit Music,

Stream/purchase Standa Lone here.