LargeUp Premiere: Listen to “NTN” by Iotosh + Royal Blu

Words by Ronnia Cherry
Artwork by Paige Zombie
Photo by Nickii Kane

A couple of months ago, we bruk out with a first listen of “Jusschool.” the hard-hitting refresher course from Runkus featuring Royal Blu, produced by iotosh.

Now, iotosh (with a lowercase ‘i’) steps from behind the boards and into the booth to bring us yet another banger alongside Royal Blu, in “NTN.” The two keep that same raw energy, this time with production by JLL — whose resumé includes work with Chronixx and Jamaican-born trap-jazz artist Masego. The grime-inspired track was engineered by Runkus and Quick Keyz, and recorded at SmartKid Records and Natural High Music. The result is a rapid-fire, patois-laced exchange of potent lyrics over a surgical riddim.

“I listen to a wide variety of music, and grime is one of my more recent favorites,” Iotosh says. “Linked up with JLL  and he played the beat. Instantly it connected with me. It just had this grimy feel. I felt like it could do with another voice, and I needed someone who could match the lyricism. Immediately linked Royal Blu. I haven’t heard anything out that sounds like this, and with each upcoming release I want to show the variety of my sound, as well as keep people’s heads bopping.”

While both artistes have much to brag about musically, iotosh confidently claims his position in hip-hop as both an emcee and a producer with verses like:

“You make better beats than me? That’s nice. 
Write better bars than me? That’s nice.
Until you can do both of them one time
and play some bass then get outta my sight “

“NTN” definitely sets the tone for the upcoming winter with some of the coldest flows to come outta yaad in a minute. It also further establishes Jamaica’s position in hip-hop, not just reggae and dancehall. The future of all three genres is definitely bright.

So, wha yuh know bout dem? Wise up with this exclusive LargeUp premiere.