Producer Spotlight: Jansport J

California has been a hot spot of hip hop for years in spots such as Los Angeles & Oakland but the talent is widespread. Coming out of Covina, Jansport J is one of these Left Coast talents. The rising producer has emerged as one of the hottest names on the production scene in 2009. He caught many hip hop heads’ attention with his contribution to L.A.U.S.D.’s Curly Tops & Nautica Jackets, working with the likes of Blu, Diz Gibran & El Prez. Jansport J soon joined forces with emcee Hawdwerk to form a skilled duo, releasing their debut High Power Moves. Here’s your chance to get to know the man behind the beats for one of the most impressive debuts of the year.

Where you reppin:

I am from Covina, CA. 20 minutes outside of LA. We refer to it as The Cov out here.

Introduce yourself:

I go by Jansport J. I’m a Hip Hop producer that makes a lot of beats and tells a lot of corny jokes. My mission is to make people feel good new music.

Why the name Jansport J?

Pharrell dropped the In My Mind album back in 06 I think, and he had the cartoon character that everybody on Myspace was changing to make em look like themselves. So I made one, with a backpack, because I would wear mine everywhere and because Pharrell used Skateboard P, I randomly named my character “Jansport J.” Fast forward, my boy did a mixtape track on a Little Brother beat. Knowing they were my fav group, he shouted me out on the track, but as Jansport J. I figured he’d be famous one day, so I had to stick with it and here I am today ha!

Current projects readers should be looking out for:

The readers should definitely be checking for High Power Moves still, the project with my music partner Hawdwerk. We’ll be shooting videos, doing shows, and hopefully will have some exciting news to share about the project in 2010. Outside of that, I have an instrumental project called MoveMeants next year, and a lot of outside production slated to drop in 2010.

Past works readers should know about:

My first project was a compilation called The Carry-On Experience. I really learned how to structure an album with that project. Dropped The 2 AM Tape in January of 09, which brought me a little buzz but the major project that brought me some recognition was the LA based Curly Tops & Nautica Jackets Mixtape. I produced 2 tracks on there, and was able to have Blu, Shawn Chrystopher, El Prez, Miss Jack Davey, Tiron, Dom Kennedy, Polyester, Diz Gibran and a lot others on those 2 tracks, and I was able to align my name with theirs.

Who are your musical inspirations?

My producer Mt. Rushmore of influence is 9th, Dilla & DJ Premier. Timbaland was my initial inspiration. He made me wanna be a producer back in 97. Also artists who make timeless music: Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, 2pac’s work ethic.

If you had to pick one song that defines your career up to this date, what would it be?

Wow hmm. Man it’s cliché but I’d say Kanye’s ”Spaceship.” I relate too much to the work ethic, the hunger, and the optimism that’s present in it. My name is out there somewhat, but I’m still not making a living off of it. So that song kinda represents the hunger to get to your dreams.

What’s your equipment setup?

Very minimal. When people see what I work with, they don’t believe me. I work off FL Studio 9, Adobe Audition and a banged up laptop.

How did you link up with Hawdwerk?

Well Werk is in a crew called the Cov Originals, I grew up with one of the members FunkLogik in Church. When I was doing Carry-On, I linked with his crew, met Werk, he got on a couple tracks and I noticed that everytime he got on a track, he murdered it. So then we collabed on his stuff for his solo album, and we had perfect chemistry. Same concept ideas for the same beats and we were both goofy as hell. So we decided to start this musical franchise

Tell us what the process was like creating High Power Moves:

We started recording in April. I basically went in and made about 40 beats specifically for Werk and this project. As we started recording we found the sound of the album. And as far as features, we just went off the sounds. Not so much having a name, but who would complement what sonically. So for “That Spliff,” something with knock and talking about weed, we both knew we needed El Prez and Poetik Force, even though one is a lot more known than the other. We knew they both belonged on it.

You put out the project for free but you are also offering physical copies now. Was that the plan originally or was there a demand for physical copies that prompted that decision?

A little of both. We figured we would just make physical copies and sell em at our shows, but near the release, people from all over the states were asking if we planned to ship copies out as well. So of course we had to do it. It feels good to know that people still value the physical copy of a CD, let alone want ours.

I’d like to go back to your instrumental tape 2AM . What was your inspiration to make this concept tape?

Man, driving down the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) the full concept just hit me out of nowhere. I’m always up at 2 a.m. and at that time, I was all of those characters at some point. Arguing with a girl, drunk, etc. So it really made me think of everything that happens at that one hour and attempt to make a soundtrack for it.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one album to listen to, what would it be?

Easy, I’m taking Late Registration. I love that album, the instrumentation of it.

Any shout outs or last words?

Shout out to The Cov, LA, all of the 626, and everybody making dope music. Let’s keep it going! And make sure u download HPM at www.HawdwerkJansportJ.bandcamp.com.

Rap Hustle

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Throw The Bombs

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High Power Moves

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