Luxz. Submitted photo.

It’s becoming a well known fact that Kentucky has a lot of talent in the music department. To be specific, in the Bowling Green, KY area. Within the last decade there have been quite a few notable performers to emerge from this area. But some of the real head turners have been in an unexpected genre – Hip Hop. The rise to prominence of B.G. natives Nappy Roots and Below Zero, has made it a little bit easier for local artists to get noticed. C.J. Jennings is one of those artists and goes by the moniker “Luxz”.

Luxz is a talented individual with quite a few years of experience under his belt. At the age of 22, Luxz has achieved quite a bit of notoriety in the local market. But he is not new to the music game. Luxz began his musical career at the age of 12, when he wrote his first lyric. So, 10 years strong in perfecting his craft he believes he is finally ready for the spotlight and fame. “I always knew I wanted to do music.” Luxz muses. “I remember when I was young and watching B.E.T., you know, back when Midnight Love and B.E.T. Uncut came on, and just bein’ like ‘I can do this. Yeah, I like that.’ Once I decided that’s what I wanted to do, I just started writing my own music.” Since he first put that pen to the paper, Luxz has not stopped writing and recording his own material. And the material he comes up with covers a vast range. Not only does it cover many different subject areas, but you believe every word that he says. It all just has the confidence behind it to make you really feel what he is saying. You can tell he has years of experience. But every prodigy starts somewhere.

Luxz was born in Lima, OH, an area not known for its musical talent. In 2002 his family moved to Kentucky and settled in Bowling Green where he attended Greenwood High School. While at Greenwood, Luxz increased his resolve to do music as he met many other students who were interested in perusing the same venture. In his sophomore year of high school, at the age of 16, he released his first mixtape and formed the internet based, indie label Blaqout Entertainment. While with Blaqout, Luxz experienced a tumultuous time with musical differences among peers, and was heavily involved in different “beefs”. In early 2008 Luxz opted to stop working with and operating Blaqout as a result of the internal conflicts.

From the time that he left Blaqout Ent. until the summer of 2009 Luxz worked as a free agent of sorts with no real label affiliation. But that did not stop his hustle. During his time as a free agent Luxz produced four different mixtapes. It was this hustle and grind that piqued the interest of Low Key Entertainment. The C.E.O. and President of L.K.E., Jordan “J-Swag” Frith, a friend from high school,  approached Luxz one night out on the town in July 2009 and expressed his interest in acquiring the young artist as part of his ever expanding roster. “He made me a proposition I couldn’t turn down.” Luxz states without hesitation. “I saw that they [L.K.E.] were making some major moves. They were throwing parties and doing all the promotion around town and I liked the dedication. I felt like we had the same hustle and mentality. We hooked up on the music trip and just clicked.” Since that merger with the independent label, Luxz has continued to work hard and prosper. Recently he accompanied J-Swag in opening for one of his favorite groups, Travis Porter. I asked him about this experience and his response was one of enthusiasm. “Man it was LIVE! Travis Porter is one of my favorite groups right now. I was hype when Swag said he was opening up and I was gonna do the song with him. If I could compare my style to any other major artist, that’s who it would be. I mean, I’m very versatile BUT that’s what I come back to. Just high energy, club tracks. So that was a big deal.”

One thing is for sure, you definitely can feel the energy in his music! On one track entitled “Peep Show” you can’t help but bounce with the beat. And on “Girls Gone Wild” Luxz delivers a fast paced flow that rides the beat almost to perfection. But like he stated, he IS versatile. He can go from the previously mentioned, sexually fueled songs to slowing it down to speak about the heartbreak he has endured or how ladies deserve to be treated as queens. “The inspiration for my music comes from… me.” Luxz ponders. “I draw on my experiences and feelings. I spit what I go through in my own life. True stories… for the most part. Hahaha!” And you can tell that there are many different experiences that this young man has endured. While listening to “Standing in the Rain” you can feel the heartache of a young man wanting only to please one woman whom he loves but he is held back by his shortcomings. Then he flips the script on it when you next hear “Ms. Luxurious”, a song from label mate J-Swag, in which Luxz expresses “I ain’t braggin but I know I got that thug passion… I got game, call me John Madden.” It is definitely obvious that this rising star has talent. When asked where he thought he’d be in five years Luxz simply responded “Hopefully touring. Making a success of my life.” After all that is what it’s all about, right? Currently Luxz has two major projects in the works. His newest mixtape to be released entitled Hollywood Kentucky hosted by DJ Hollywood and the Low Key Ent. label mixtape Stay Low Key. Be on the lookout for more things from Luxz in the future.

To get in touch with Luxz you can contact him at www.myspace.com/LuxzOnline or on the future site www.LowKeyEntOnline.com.

About the author: Jordan Frith is an artist and engineer who runs the record label Low Key Entertainment. Hear his music online at www.myspace.com/JSwagMusic or www.CheckTheSwag.com. Contact him for interviews through JSwagMusic@gmail.com.