Genre: Real Hip Hop
City: New Jersey, Virginia, Atlanta (He's Everywhere)
Myspace URL: www.myspace.com/jmajorthemoor
Interview by Malik Melech Soliman for I AM IN DEMAND.Com
INTRO
I've been a Hip Hop Head since I was 5 years old, and I've watched it go from being youthful and fun to being political and conscious to becoming commercial and corporate bound with elements of all three still in existence - the consumer decides what they like; and because of this Hip Hop to me truly is a sign of the times and a mirror being held up to the society. The I AM IN DEMAND Movement chose to interview this artist (J Major) because we felt that he would have alot to say on a variety of meaningful subjects. What caught my attention about this artist at first was his vocal and lyrical delivery, it was gritty but sensitive, street but philosophical, tenacious but eloquent all in the same breath and it spoke volumes to me as a listener. But to be a complete artist in my view you've got to have a stage and camera presence that could rival the greatest of performers both past and present. I've spoken with J Major on numerous occasions and he always had alot of work-ethic and determination, opening up for acts like Platinum recording Artists' Bones-Thugz & Harmony, and Rap acts such as MOP & Noreaga. His rise to acclaim is around the corner, and all that's needed is the right fit into the right situation, and I believe he will become larger then life. I AM IN DEMAND caught up with J Major and these were our words with him...
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Iamindemand:
I've known of your work for quite sometime, and I had come across your music through Myspace and since then we've been friends and I've been a listener of your art-form, but my blog readers don't know you as I would yet and I'd like to acquaint them with who J Major is before he blows up (smile) What are some of the goals you have set in these years to come, and who have you worked with lately?
J.Major:
First off...let me say thank you for the opportunity to tell my story to the people I grind so hard to make this music for, and get this message to. In the relatively recent past I've worked with some extremely talented, yet for the most part, "undiscovered" producers...like ReignMan of Reign Everywhere Productions out of Toronto, Mu Brown of Hate Music in the Tri-State area, Lord Phat out of Brooklyn New York, Geenome out of Germany, Mr. Green out of Middlesex New Jersey, Dymunz Will out of Vegas, Deja Vu...songstresses out of VA, DJ Kidd Joe of Power 107 in the CSRA region in GA, I've worked briefly alongside Lauryn Hill as she attempted to form a band and resurface...Dark Blue out of Franklin Park New Jersey...and a bunch of others...I've managed to compile an unreleased catalogue of about 50 original songs that I hope to expose the world to in the very near future...My goal is to uplift, empower, inspire and enlighten people through rhythm and poetry across the globe...wherever Hip-Hop is embraced as an art-form and a lifestyle....be an outstanding father, and a successful entrepreneur, and pave the way for other remarkable talents.
Iamindemand:
Your life story has been a challenging one, and you could have easily in my opinion rapped about the things that tend to give rappers acclaim - and yet your music isn't packaged for bling and gun-talk. You've experienced violence and shadiness in life and in business, you've had attempts on your life by envious people who would have liked to see you murdered and yet your music is counter to all of that and it's laced with deep social and spiritual concepts, what keeps you positive in the face of the negative?
J.Major:
If there's one thing I've realized through my trials and tribulations it's this...that although I may not be able to be the sole determiner of the obstacles and challenges that I face...I do have total control over how I respond to them...and negativity can rapidly eat away at the heart of a person, so it's far better to, within reason, accentuate the positive aspects of every situation, and by doing so, it not only makes the struggle endurable, but even pleasurable. Some of the best moments of my life, and some of the greatest lessons I've learned has been in the thick of turmoil and controversy...after all...Man must be perfected by the struggle he's endured.
Iamindemand:
J Major has a hardcore delivery in his rhymes, your very potent at getting your point across and your flow is noticeable to listeners, but you've got another side that's just as easily vulnerable to subjects like love and relationships, is this a marketing ploy for the ladies as it's so commonly done today in music or is their a base from which your knowledge on these things come, explain to my readers, what do you do, and what kinds of books does J Major read in order to be a more complete artist in this regard?
J.Major:
In all honesty, when I write songs for the lovers it's either from past experiences or from my own desire for unconditional love from a female companion. I'm an emotional person, because I'm closer to my mother than any other person in this world...for some people it's not like that...but being reared in an environment where only the strong survive and having to muster the courage and intelligence to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, I had to be tough...I had to be intrepid, but my mother was in many respects the calm within the eye of the storm...My father was a hustler turned entrepreneur turned heroin addict...and his father was a hustler turned heroin addict...my father's brothers were addicts, and my mother's brother was either strung out or in prison, so the men in my family provided me with the examples of how not to be even though there were some moments worthy of cherishing and they did pass on some jewels for survival, but mom's has always been that rock. So expect to hear more songs of passion, and compassion on the love note. But the fierceness remains...contrary to what may have been expected my recent brushes with death has only made me smarter, and stronger!
As for books...let me say this...I was an English Major in college, so I've read extensively in the vein of poetry from Shakespeare to Chaucer, all of the romanticists..the troubadours...Plays and great literary works are a fixture in my poetic reach...at the same time...I'm a student of history...and everything pertaining to the struggles of humanity, so I've studied and continue to study everything pertaining to the liberation of the creative potency's of Man and Mankind. Likewise, my formative years in education was in Parochial School, so I was highly proficient in reading, writing and arithmetic at a very young age...I've poured over the Holy Texts of every land...from the Egyptian Book of the Dead...to the Koran...the Bible...the Bhagavad Gita...and the Tao...so I'm intimate with the mysteries of life, and they too are a source of inspiration from which I draw from...I'm also a heavy News viewer and Magazine reader...and I keep in touch with people who specialize in different aspects of popular culture, and this gives me a well-rounded view of the world. I'm heavy into music...R&B, classical, Opera, Blues, Jazz, Rap, Alternative, shiiiit...I just love music...all kinds...and Rap is my way of pouring everything I am into a timeless tale.
Iamindemand:
What in your view makes an album a classic album?
J.Major:
A classic album to me, is one that captures the spirit of an epoch...an ethos...it's cohesive, and coherent...it's like running water, or burning fire, it's seamless, it embodies a manifested principle...it's like a landmark in the arts...one that can be used to mark a period in time...its something people can learn from...it gives you new language, new concepts of self and the world...illmatic by Nas, Doggystyle by Snoop, the Chronic By Dr Dre, Reasonable Doubt by Jay-Z, Reakwon's first joint...Wu-Tang's first joint...the new TI joint...Kanyes debut piece...and that's just to name a few off the top... of course Tupac's "Me Against the World" ...and these are timeless pieces...no matter when you play them, it never ceases to lose its relevance and value...I believe classic albums are recorded by people possessed by the Times. I know that's vague, but that's how I'm processing it right now.
Iamindemand:
Record sales have been declining rapidly over the last couple of years. That must concern you from a business perspective. How do you plan on surviving the drought? And does being independent strike you as being better than signed in this current music industry?
J.Major:
Declining music sales doesn't concern me at all...in fact it motivates me...because now music listeners are the one's who are gaining more and more control over the music content...via song streaming or what have you...and now it's even more imperative that artists create music that's REAL! These turbulent times show us that people are not going to part with their funds on an album unless its something that really touches them, and elevates them to a higher consciousness. Being an Independent Artist isn't such a bad thing...your bottom line and ROI is much higher...creative control isn't as compromised, and the fans are more loyal, and less driven by the whims of trends...however the trade-off initially is less exposure, but with a well oiled Independent Network...the rewards can be staggering.
Iamindemand:
A common factor among all major rap artists is branding. Each artist has that one defining thing that sets them apart or a subculture that they identify with. Kanye has his eclectic style, Pharrell is somewhat eccentric, and Lupe has his skateboard. Is that something you actively think about as a new artist?
J.Major:
J.Major is a constant work in progress as far as a brand, yet there are some immutable aspects to my musical expression...but I'm a warrior, a leader, a lover, a poet, and an entrepreneurial innovator...and I grind for a living. Whoever can brand that, will make me and him or herself very, very, rich!
Iamindemand:
Last Question...I myself have no children yet, and my father was not around for me when I was growing up and I've had to learn through other examples. This is by and large a symptomatic reality that unfortunately exists in the North-American black family structure today...I understand that your a father...So...What's Fatherhood to you?
J.Major:
Nas wore a shirt on one of his album covers that said, "Fatherhood by any means"... I relate to that...my children's mother and I aren't together, and it's been that way since 2004, but my children spend every Summer with me...as well as holidays...I talk to them often and send for them throughout the year...I've recently moved closer to them to be able to see them on the weekends...they know EXACTLY who I AM...and WHO THEY ARE....our love is surreal...Fatherhood means doing everything in your power as a man, to guide, and provide for your children...point blank, period. Regardless of the mama drama...that in no wise allows you to jettison your responsibility as a man...I just wish certain mothers...took the time to realize the importance of a father by being less of a deterrent and more of a supporting cast in keeping the father in the children's lives. The State can't love or rear them, only mommy and daddy can!
Iamindemand:
Thank you for your time brotha...
J.Major:
Much Love Malik, Thanks...
-End
PEEP this Youtube Video with the audio of J-Major, track entitled "Love"
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