So here's the deal, I did this interview wayyyyyy back in October. That was around the time I fell off the blogosphere, hence the no-post, but I'm back. My apologies to Jansport J for taking so long to post this, he's super cool, and he didn't hassle me once to put this up, and 6 months is a long time.
Now that that's out the way, here's the longggg awaited interview with super soulful, LA producer, Jansport J .
So let's kick it off with a little introduction.
Okay...I go by Jansport J, and I'm a hip hop producer based out of Covina, CA.
It says in your biography that you used to write. Will we be hearing any bars from Jansport J any time soon?
I'm actually writing now for this new Bench Mob project next year. It's a group I'm in with my boy BE.water and LabCat. So that's my rappin outlet. My boy would kill me if I never spit with the way I write, ha, but besides that, I'm zoned out on production.
Speaking of BE.water, he was one of the many artist featured on your album The Carry-On Experience. How did you hook up with all those MCs?
Some of them stem from personal relationships. Me and Water have been boys since second grade, he moved towards the end of elementary school, but we hooked back up in '05 to do music. Cov' Originals is a crew that I show love to, we're both grindin in the same city, so we wanted to show unity. Everyone else where artists' that I came across on myspace and really loved their style. I kinda played A&R for 6 months and established contact with these specific artists. P.A. blessed me with the opportunity to do the official remix with him, Kool G. Rap, and B.A.G.I.
You speak about "Stepping Stone Beats", can you explain what those are?
Basically, every 3 or 4 months, I kinda notice a progression in my production, so a lot of times I'll do a beat, and I'll get really hyped about it, and feel like I can continue to produce on that level, kind of like benchmarks that show how much you've improved. I believe the actual beat for the track "Carry-On Experience" and the actual intro were stepping stone beats for me. With the intro, I had to figure out a way to set the tone for the album, create something beautiful but simple.
That beat was one of your best, and one of my favorite on the entire album.
Appreciate that.
Let's mix it up a bit. If you could choose one single super power, what would it be?
It used to be mindreading, but I don't know, that would be really wild, might catch feelings haha. Probably to be able to fly, especially with all of this LA traffic. I do a lot of commuting to studios and going back home. LA traffic is something the devil created.
Ha, How's LA right now? In general.
Man, the hip hop scene out here is amazing right now. There are so many artists on the comeup, and we're startin to get our recognition, beyond the gangbangin rap. It just feels like a renaissance out here, the music is doing well, the clothing lines are coming up and showing love, artists are coming up, and it's all together. You'll find the hip hop dudes at an art show or fashion show, we're all supporting each other right now.
It's about time you guys get recognized for something passed gangbang rap.
Yeah, and it's not a slight against that scene at all, there's a lot of gang activity, and that's what put us on the map, we can't ignore it. But there's no need for me to break into that circle, if thats not me, and I think a bunch of these artists felt the same way.
You were pretty lucky to find so many artist that can be considered lyrical and portray a positive image.
Yeah man, to me, it wasn't about the name, it was about the skill, and that kind of fit in with the concept of the album.
For those who haven't downloaded the album can you explain the whole concept?
Yeah, the concept of the album was based out of looking at the hip hop scene right now, there's a lot of rap about the cars, the jewels etc, which is all good with me, but alot of these dudes that are coming up now are rapping like that, and they don't have those things.
So I would talk with a lot of different artists about the need to put out an album full of realness, like the different stories we tell each other, or concerns we have, let's put them on tracks. So the concept is, that we're always told that baggage is a negative thing to have in life but that baggage from your past, made you who you are today. So whenever you become successful in whatever you do, or you take flight, bring that baggage with you, that "carry-on" luggage, and so the album, as you listen to it, covers situations that the average person goes through, love, dead end jobs, anger with people crossing you, the desire for your music to be heard, stuff like that.
So what is your favorite backpack that you own?
Haha, contrary to popular opinion, I only have 2 backpacks at the moment, and my favorite is definitely my tan camoflauge jansport. I'm about to cop the new new jansport gear for next year though, I got a sneak peak at some of the backpacks and im excited. But the name came from me rocking my backpack everywhere, usually with my laptop in there full of my beats, and my boy BE.water did a track to Little Brother's "Get Up" for a mixtape, and he said "This one is for Jansport J", with me bein a huge LB fan, it kinda stuck.
Let's run through The Morning Tilts top 5
Movies:
Off the top of my head... The Godfather 1 & 2, The Omen (original), Childs Play 2, Scarface.
Bands
The Beatles, The Doors, System of a Down, Queen and a band called Local Natives.
Ice cream flavors
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Butter Pecan, Neopolitan, Cookies and Cream, and Dulce De Leche.
Before we go, any last words or shout-outs?
Yessir, download "The Carry-On Experience" through my myspace page. "The Love EP" with P.H.I.L.T.H.Y. is on its way...January 09!
And with that, I end this interview. It was a great talk, with a great producer (I still mellow out to The Carry On Experience). Once I again, I apologize for the delay. Stay Tuned/
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