Interviews : Jansport J : Home Grown Radio Interview
Interviews : Jansport J : Home Grown Radio Interview
Who is Jansport J?
If you follow the world of alternative Hip-Hop music at all; chances are that you’ve heard of the name Jansport J by now. Given his name as a testament to his long-running habit of carrying his JanSport backpack everywhere he goes, it’s now not only the backpack that is sticking with him; having gathered a strong following of loyal fans and admirers.
Growing up in Covina, CA; Jansport J started his journey into music back in 2001, writing rhymes at the back of his Sophomore Spanish class at Glendora High School. He describes he biggest inspirations at the time as the classic albums The Blueprint by Jay-Z and Quality Control by LA collective Jurassic 5.
However it was only in 2002 when Jansport discovered the Fruity Loops beat making software, that he would discover his true calling. Now that he had the kind of tools necessary to create his own beats, he quickly began working on his craft, and between 2008 and January 2009 released The Carry-On Experience and The 2am Tape, which would gain him a following that admired his talent for the creation of soul and funk inspired beats.
But it was not until late 2009 that Jansport’s career was catalyzed by the formation of the duo Hawdwerk & Jansport J; who in November of that year released the well-received album: High Power Moves. With features from the likes of El Prez, The God Sincere and NY emcee Prophit; the album was immediately hailed as a work of great promise in the underground community.
The duo has since moved on to bigger and better things, with their second album Blackballs released in November 2011 on their own label Cov Original Music; set up by the duo, DJ Boo and manager Mai Shafik. When asked about the title of the album, J replied as stating,
“For me the album is really about doing whatever you want to do with music, with no fear of being ostracized for doing so. It’s gonna be me making the kind of beats I want to, and Hawdwerk writing the kind of raps that he wants to.”
And Jansport’s production catalogue does not stop there. In fact, J’s list of the artists he can name as having done work for is more than impressive, after production for legendary Hip-Hop heavyweights such as Planet Asia, Kool G Rap, Strong Arm Steady and AZ, as well as exciting prospects such as Hawdwerk, Dom Kennedy, Blu and Diz Gibran amongst others. He has also proven himself in his solo instrumental work, with his 2011 offering Save My Soul described as a work of extreme talent by respected figures in the Hip-Hop community such as the legendary DJ House Shoes, Jerry Barrow of Nodfactor/Former Editor of Scratch Magazine, and Dart Adams of ProducersIKnow.
So what does the future hold for Jansport J? Well this producer is by no means fatigued by the incredible workload that he takes on, instead working hard on the release of his next major instrumental project MoveMeants II: The Reprise, a follow up to the original April 2010 project.
But what is for sure with Jansport J is that wherever the future takes him, he will never stop striving to create good honest music; the type that inspired him to take up music for himself, and the type which he hopes will inspire many others to do the same.
Contact Jansport J
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