Interview with J9
Unline Sonny Bamboo and A-Class, I know J9 personally through my church. He's a Junior at Emory working towards a major in Philosophy. Although he is not considering a career in rap, he takes the art seriously and works hard as an emcee. We met up in the Few Multipurpose Room to have our chat about hip-hop.
Andrew: “Alright, bro, so what draws you to the culture of hip-hop and makes you identify with the art?”
J9: “Okay, so the first part. The culture of hip-hop… The culture of hip-hop is just very real, which I will get into later. The whole concept of the 'hip-hop lifestyle' is to 'keep it real,' and the job of the rapper is to explain what that is to the listener. It’s kind of like how the pastor of a church teaches the congregation how to fear and love God, and in the hip-hop sense, the emcee is teaching the listener what it means to keep it real.” A: “Do you think that a lot of people keep it real?” J: “I feel like the world is taught to put who they really are secondary to a kind of ‘front,’ a facade. We put our worldly desires before us. But hip-hop encourages you to be real. And as far as identifying with the art, you do things that are real, and you see the product of your honest efforts. You see more of who you are, and it’s kind of like looking into a mirror. As I put it once, when I rap, I imagine that I’m looking at hip-hop, and I’m basically telling her who I am. In the process of telling her who I am, I’m telling myself more about who I am” A: "And what made you start writing and rapping?" J: "Back in high school, I didn't really have an identity for myself. I didn't really play any sports, and I had a passion for hip-hop. Because of that, I felt like I should start rapping so that I could forge an identity for myself as a rapper, and it worked." |
A: “Could you tell me about your writing style and your delivery and why you do it that way?”
J: “Essentially, it starts with one line, and if I think that it’s cool, I build upon that. Those moments are the moments where I feel like I’m shining the most, where I know that I’m writing something from my soul. But often, I write maybe four bars and let it sit. But later, I’ll be listening to a beat and remember those four bars and continue from there.” A: “Can you tell me about the process for any specific songs?” J: “Yeah, my song ‘His Pain’ is based on my own experiences with a girl in my past. And this song I’m working on right now is based on a book by a Christian mathematician who was born a paraplegic. So I’m very much a storyteller. Also, I think I write best when I’m writing with a person in mind because it feel like I’m talking directly to him or her. Those are the songs that come out the most naturally.” |
A: “If you were offered the chance to make a record for a good amount of money, but you thought it was wack, would you do it?”
J: “Well, this question doesn’t really apply to me because I’m not trying to make a living off of rap, and I would always say no because of that. However, I do understand guys who would say yes because when you have mouths to feed and if you’re struggling, you gotta do what you gotta do. And if you’re offered the chance to make money off of something you’re good at, then you’re gonna do it.” |