Tag: Hip Hop

Listen: J-Rell presents Respect The Midwest

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Question: What do you get when you put Yo Dot, Esohel, Trey Dilla, Add-2, GadaMan, Marvo, and Dion Jetson together on a J-Rell track?

Answer: Respect

This 8-emcee (J-Rell steps behind the mic too) masterpiece is the intersection of 8 different lanes colliding for one massive block party. As a Chicago native, I have to salute the movement. #RespectTheMidwest

Follow the movement: facebook.com/RespectTheMidwest

Meet the Jetson

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , 1 Comment

Chicago is a city of extremes. On one end, there’s the wilderness. A jungle. What some would call a war zone. On the other end, there’s a metropolis. Modern. Futuristic. Plush.

Somewhere in the middle, there’s life. Culture. A population of people with no desire to be defined by the status quo. Not just living and taking and being content. These are the creators and authors of Chicago’s tomorrow. Motivated by the city’s rich history and it’s equally rich potential, this creative-class represents the compass that the country is following. And any time you have a creative-class of culture curators, you have a soundtrack.

In comes Chicago’s own Dion Jetson. After years in the lab building on his craft, putting hours into developing the right vessel, Jetson is finally ready to take flight.

Check out ThisAintThat’s interview with one of our favorite artist:

DJBio1

ThisAintThat: Your upcoming project is titled The Ear and The Heart – if your head and heart could talk, what would that conversation be like? How would they differ in how they’d critique the project?

Dion Jetson: I think the Ear would tell me that the project needs a radio hit and my heart would tell me that the project needs a more emotional song. That’s the nature of the project, finding a balance. If you lean towards The Ear and have the jams then people expect more of that, if you have more songs geared towards the heart then people will look for you to make those type of songs and box you in. The Ear & The Heart is saying that I represent both and just let me be myself.

T.A.T.: If you could study the transcript of any album in the last 5 years as curriculum for your own work, what album would that be?

DJ: That’s tough… I would say it has to be The Weeknd’s “House of Balloons.” It was a very raw feeling project when first released. The project was just the artist telling his story and people connected with it. It didn’t get a lot of blog coverage, he didn’t have to say a lot about the project, he didn’t have to tell people he was dope but the fans made it a success. I would love to have that type of response to The Ear & The Heart.

T.A.T.: When you memorize something, they refer to it as knowing it “by heart”. What’s the first song you remember knowing by heart?

DJ: One of the earliest may have been Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg’s “Nuthin But a G Thang.” I remember knowing that distinctly because a lot of people couldn’t rap the part where Snoop spells his name and I was able to. The girls who rode my school bus used to ask me to rap it all the time!

T.A.T.: What song from TETH would you want people to learn/know by heart?

DJ: I have some songs on there that are motivational songs, Chasing Greatness and Dreamers. Those are the songs I want people to know so that they can capture the essence play it at any time they need to feel motivated or encouraged.

T.A.T.: The way we consume music and culture is so different now from the “golden era” of hip hop. The amount of music that we have access to through the internet is insane. As a fan and consumer, this has proven to be a gift and a curse as I’m now able to discover sounds and artists that I otherwise wouldn’t have. But on the other side of that coin, everybody is an artist now so you have to take the good with the bad. How have you managed to position yourself in way that you stand out in the cacophony of blogs and mixtapes and youtube videos?

DJ: I think I was able to do that by not over-saturating in the beginning and choosing quality over quantity. I didn’t want to rush and put out anything sub-par. I recorded a LOT of songs last year and only released three and I took extra time to make sure my first video had a very professional look. Some people would rather have the quantity but I prefer to have something where people see me and say that they enjoying my work versus them saying that they just noticed the work.

T.A.T.: What would the 2014 Dion Jetson think of the moves the 2013 Dion Jetson made to get to this point? And what advice would 2013 Jetson give to you right now so that 2015 Jetson is in an even better position?

DJ: I think the 2014 me likes the moves that I made last year but still thinks the push could have been made to do more. To put myself in a better position for next year, I have already started telling myself to worry less about the business side of things. I have some good people who I consult with and now its time to put the music in the forefront of my mind. That way, things can flourish starting now and into the future.

———————-

Tune into the latest single from the upcoming The Ear & The Heart project, Born King

Find Dion Jetson on Twitter and Facebook