James "J57" Heintz is a Brooklyn-based rapper, song-writer, producer, and record label owner. J57 is an active member of both Brown Bag Allstars & Jamo Gang with Ras Kass & El Gant and runs his own imprint, FiveSe7en Collective. Jay has previously worked with the likes of Method Man, Homeboy Sandman, Joey Bada$$, and La Coka Nostra featuring members of House of Pain & Limp Bizkit with ILL BILL & Slaine. J57 has now returned with the long-awaited follow-up to his 2016 solo debut, I'm The J57, entitled We Can Be Kings. Many of you may remember, We Can be Kings. was previously release last year (as LP2) for a brief one-week stint between December 8-15, 2018. We previously reviewed LP2: WE CAN BE KINGS. upon its initial 2018 release, which can still be read or perused here. We Can Be Kings. is an "eclectic offering" that features appearances from a wide of array of musicians—both Hip-Hop and non-Hip-Hop—including Katiah One, The Audible Doctor, Jamo Gang, Devin Malek, DeeJay Element, Tenacity, Ports, Akie Bermiss, Choosey, YAYennings, SID Wilson, Aerika Monique, Tiffany Topol, Matt Stamm of MAK3RS, and Eliot Glazer of Broad City & New Girl fame.


We Can Be Kings. is a phenomenal, genre-eschewing album and a genuinely fun listen that really shows J57's progression as an artist since I'm The J57. Two tracks of particular note are the title track, "We Can Be Kings." Feat. Akie Bermiss of Lake Street Drive & Choosey and "The Loner" Feat. YAYennings & SID, otherwise known as Jay Jennings of Snarky Puppy & Sid Wilson AKA DJ Starscream of Slipknot. Honestly, even today, in this digital age, it's pretty impressive to think J57's had enough determination and hutzpah to put together a collection of songs with collaborators from so far outside of/parallel to his own genre. J57's We Can Be Kings. is now widely available to stream, download, or purchase on digital platforms through FiveSe7en Collective/Soulspazm. F7C has also, made We Can Be Kings. (Commentary Version) available, as well, which features J57 himself meticulously breaking down the creation, features, making-of, etc. for each track included within We Can Be Kings. We're still not entirely sure if well be putting together a year-end/Best of 2019 list this year, but J57's We Can Be Kings. would definitely rank high, if so!