Introducing… Ohini Jonez

When I first heard Ohini Jonez, I knew he had a gift that needed to be shared. Offering a unique blend of storytelling with southern flavor, Ohini is poised to make an impact. With his music finally getting its deserved exposure, opportunities are opening up for the Georgia emcee. After an active 2009, 2010 looks to be a big year with lots of projects planned and talented producers like Tokyo Cigar, Danimal, Jack Boi, Lakim & his cousin Scoota working with him. Paper Street Music is the movement, here’s your chance to get to know Ohini Jonez!

Introduce Yourself:

Sup interwebz it’s Ohini Jonez, live from Brunswick GA repping Paper Street Music.

Where did the name Ohini Jonez come from?

My first EP was Kimoni Ohini and Asshole Jonez – Sleep Deprivation. They were split personalities, and at the end they merged and became one. Ohini is a word from Ghana, meaning Chief, and Jonez is a regular name. Basically I’m the Chief Rocker of the Regular Man.

Current projects readers should be looking out for:

Hole In The Heart [download] just dropped, so did Tibetan Geechee Voodoo Magik [download]. Both projects, like all my work, are intensely personal. So I hope you enjoy.

The music reflects where I’m at constantly, my current projects could update at any time because I like people to hear how I’m feeling, where I’m at emotionally, mentally and musically.

Previous work that readers should know about:

Ikarus Fell [download] is what I feel to be my most intense project. I was going through a lot of life changes, I’m still at a crossroads, and that project reflected my conflicted spirituality and attitudes about life. The rock samples used for it from the grunge and heavy metal era’s helped develop the lyrics. its also the last project I handled 100% of the production on. I feel like anyone who likes good music with a personal touch would love that record. I left my happiness, sadness, rage, and lust all on the table with that.

Who are your musical inspirations?

From the hip hop perspective, Dungeon Family, Nappy Roots, Atmosphere, Brother Ali and Wu Tang. Cats like Max Minelli, Deacon Da Villian, and Jay Electronica have lit a fire under my ass musically in recent years; the creativity and mastery of the craft is what drives me. From a non hip hop perspective, I admire Carlos Santana. On the Woodstock movie, he talked about how he was on mescalin and the guitar transformed into a snake… I want to achieve a similar oneness with my vocal instrument and watch it become a greater extension of myself.

You’ve been working with your cousin and Jack Boi lately, what has that experience been like?

My cousin Scoota, he did 3/5ths of Life Death and Entertainment. I just wanted him to get some shine, that boy’s been great at making beats since he was a toddler, banging trash cans, going into the bathroom and closets searching for proper acoustics. He’s a prodigy, but he makes more commercial music than I do. We’re gonna link up on my next project though, get some live instrumentation popping..

Jack Boi is a whole nother creature in his own right. He’s wildly creative, check Devil’s Rejects from Hole In The Heart, he completely bodied the production. He’s soulful, crunk, and dark at the same time. Our crew Jawjuh (me, Jack Boi, RedClay) is gonna do an EP in Jan/Feb 2010, its gonna be massive.

Who else are you working with?

Tokyo Cigar is my ace boon coon, we got an EP of some different music coming around Jan/Feb/maybe March. Can’t spoil the surprise, its just going to be a different approach to hip hop and music in general, that brother’s a genius.

I’m also working with Atrax Beats, he did five sixths of Tibetan Geechee Voodoo Magik. He’s so soulful, he brings a different level of energy out of me, he makes me emote over tracks with a lot of candor. Swordsman is someone else I’m working with, I got a project with Danimal coming when things settle down. Lakim is the truth as well… Mostly producers, I’m always in a straight forward zone, I work too fast to collab with a lot of rappers. B Dubb is a head from Florida I’ve been working with since 05, he’s coming back out just because of the steam behind Paper Street Music right now…

Is it difficult coming out of a small town in Georgia when Atlanta is the focal point of the hip hop scene?

You have no idea… I love Atlanta, with all my heart, but it’s crazy when the world expects the same attitude to come from a different area. We’re really hurting down here in Brunswick, its a grimier environment from Savannah to Valdosta to Albany to Macon. These even smaller areas like Wrightsville, Darien, Fort Valley and others are literally dying, but there’s beauty in that struggle. When you try to capture that as an artist though, people would rather hear about that Atlanta perspective.

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

“Ikarus Fell Really Hard”, it shows all the things and thought processes I’ve had to either let go of or develop to become a focused rapper. I’ve always rhymed, but I never understood my place in life, that was shown in my music. Really, all of Ikarus Fell defines that, just personal growth. I had to become a man before I could pursue this music with the proper dedication.

Why should the readers and fans give you a shot and listen to your music from here on out?

Because I come from the heart and I do it for those people, regardless of location, that had a bad day at their regular job, their woman/man is getting on their nerves, bills are past due, and they just need some relatable music to bump. Life is a beautiful struggle, and I found freedom from my personal struggle in artists like Cunninglynguists, Brother Ali, Outkast, Goodie Mob, Field Mob… dudes who helped me escape… I’m providing the same hopefully

What’s next for you?

More music, thats it. The Jawjuh EP is coming soon, the project with Tokyo is coming soon. Basically I’m going to just try and hold everything together until we get the opprotunity to do this for a living. Right now music is a labor of love, and all labors of love will get you rewarded. Honestly, my best reward came when someone emailed me and told me that “If Life Sucks Buy That Bitch a Tongue Ring” (From Sleep Deprivation 2) helped them try and explain addiction to their family, I felt better than I could’ve if I sold a million records…

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

Thats easy… Outkast: Aquemini. Andre 3000=GOAT… print that

Any shout outs or last words

This is gonna be long: Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas y’all made me. Up North MidWest, out West Worldwide thank you for your support and contributions to the culture that is hip hop. My whole family (too big to name), Guage, we been doing this since 95, friends since 87, you my comrade continue the support. Mac, Sancho, No Sense, Pap, EA, Pompey, Big Brother G and Yank thanks for holding me down at college. Cee-Lo for writing the verse that made me go to school (“I Refuse Limitation”), and Slug for writing the song that made me get a grasp on reality (“God’s Bathroom Floor”)… Hip Hop literally saved my life on a couple occasions. The whole Paper Street fam, you know what it is… peace Justin, thanks for the exposure.

Ikarus Fell Really Hard

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Scraps Off God’s Concrete

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The Goodness

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