Stimulator Jones

Roanoke, Virginia isn't known as a hotbed of R&B or hip-hop, but Sam Lunsford -- the producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter known as Stimulator Jones -- has emerged to show there's plenty of soul in the Old Dominion. While he has produced sample-based tracks, Lunsford has been as stylistically adventurous with his made-from-scratch material as a crate-digging beatmaker, synthesizing early jazz-funk, psychedelia, dub reggae, and even new jack swing across his releases for the Stones Throw and Mutual Intentions labels. Since making his full-length debut with Exotic Worlds and Masterful Treasures (2018), a showcase for his tender vocals and sensitive songwriting, Stimulator Jones has issued the disparate instrumental LPs La Mano and Low Budget Environments Striving for Perfection (both 2021), and Round Spiritual Ring (2022), his vocal-based third Stones Throw album.