Javon Black, Lil Kee, Strizzo tear up Jook City

Here's a name you'll want to learn: Javon Black. The R&B artist is making a spalsh in Tampa Bay with his single Shawty Tear It Up, which is in rotation on Wild 98.7-FM and 95.7-FM The Beat. "Javon Black's record is a hit. I really think that this is what's going to be the one for Tampa. You can't go anywhere in the Tampa Bay area without hearing Shawty Tear It Up," says Ron "Jomama Johnson" Shepard, program director at 95.7-FM The Beat.

(Click the player on the right to hear an mp3 of Javon Black's Shawty Tear It Up.)

Black, 19, of Orlando, was discovered by Tampa rapper/producer discovered by Lil Kee and is signed to Keezone Productions. The two, along with Strizzo, Tom G and a handful of other local rappers, are leading the Jook City movement -- a term they coined to describe Tampa Bay's blend of Southern crunk, Texas bounce and other sounds. Lil Kee raps on Shawty Tear It Up, while Strizzo spits on the song's remix.  

"The three of them together on a track makes sense," says Dwayne Golson of 5 O'Clock Music, who's helping market the record. "Javon is a representation that there is good R&B talent in West Central Florida."

Catch Black and Lil Kee in concert March 26 at Club Mirage, 3605 W Hillsborough Ave., Tampa. 9 p.m. doors, 12:30 a.m. showtime. $10. Ladies over 21 get in free before 11 p.m.

-- Dalia Colon, tbt* Staff Writer