I have always written poems as a kid since about 1st or 2nd grade. I sang in the church choir as a little boy. I also loved hip hop and rap since I was a kid growing up. Around the time that the movie Drumline came out, I had fallen in love with the snare drum and rapping. I used to like performing at the talent shows in elementary, whether that be rapping or playing the drum. I also played the snare drum in middle school and started a group called the little drummer boys. We would win at our talent shows in middle school. I also had older cousins and uncles that rapped, sang, and produced music so I’ve always kind of been around it. As far as inspiration to make music myself, I think that started in high school when I got introduced to the recording studio on campus. I was going through some pretty dark things mentally, and emotionally during that time and I found an outlet in writing about it and rapping it.

2. When did you realize you were going to make music professionally?

I have wanted to make music professionally since about 11th grade. I played varsity basketball from 10th-12th grade so there was a conflict at the time of what was more important. I chose basketball from 10th grade to a little bit after my last year of college. During this time I was always still writing. Once I wrote the song Pretty Little One in 2019 it sparked old feelings from high school about wanting to try music again on a serious level. Of course a lot has changed since 2010, so it’s been a challenge transitioning from basketball player to music artist. 

3. How do you describe your sound/style?

I would describe my sound as kind of vintage. I think I have a classic hip hop feel that focuses on lyricism and consciousness. I have huge influences from various artists so I kind of pull from different people for inspiration. 

4. What’s your process for dealing with performance anxiety?

Honestly, I have regular life anxiety in general so performing just amplifies it by 100. The last thing I did to help with my anxiety was drink. I ended up drinking too much and got drunk so by the time I performed, my senses were so gone that I didn’t even notice my mouth was too close to the microphone. No one could understand a word I was saying. Now I try to practice often by myself so that when I do get a crowd in front of me, I’m just going off muscle memory, just like in basketball. I try to tell myself to not take myself so seriously and just go out and share my art and be done with it. 

5. What is your creative process when creating a new song?

My creative process varies. I have two main ways of writing songs. Sometimes words will just come to me based on some possible pent up emotions or feelings, and sometimes I’ll just write like I’m writing in a diary, and then turn it into a song later. I also listen to music all day so I might get inspired to write something after hearing someone else’s song. 

6. Tell us about your new releases. What song are you pushing right now?

I have a song I just released called “Yellow Tape”. This song expresses concerns about police brutality towards citizens in the US, especially black men, as well as “citizen on citizen” brutality. The overall message in this music video advocates for the saving of lives. I’m into boxing a little bit so I’m telling people to put their guns down and put their dukes up. It’s taking the old school approach and telling people to just fight it out and shake hands, similar to boxers. People seem more emotional to me and are quick to make things turn lethal when it can be avoided. I also have other songs out currently, like My Creations, Pretty Little One, Paint, Quotas, and Wake Up.

7. What projects do you have in the near future?

I have a few singles and EPs I’ll be dropping soon. I’m shooting for an EP in the spring or summer. 

Photo Credit: Kasee Brown

IG: @jay.dee.h