Interview: Harlem's J$H Discusses His New Song/Video "Jackin 4 Beats" and His Goals For 2020
We connected with Harlem based rap artist J$H for an exclusive interview to discuss his newly released song/video “Jackin 4 Beats” and much more. The “Jackin 4 Beats” release was our introduction to J$H’s music and now we look forward to sharing much more of his material with the DCWS audience in the near future.
Until then, check out our in-depth Q&A with J$H, stream “Jackin 4 Beats” on Soundcloud, and connect with him on his social media.
Including your hometown of Harlem, what are some of the things that influence your music and inspire your creativity as an artist?
My life, which is the typical response lol, but if y'all knew the things I overcame and still overcoming to be in a place to be creative and share it with the world, it's amazing but you will hear it in my music.
I just want to have the opportunity to put some dope music into the world and hope it outlives me and someone else comes along and be inspired.
Congratulations on the release of your new song and video "Jackin 4 Beats". Why did you decide to create the track and then proceed to shoot a visual for it?
Thank you, appreciate it. What inspired me I would say is getting back to doing what I love. I've been rapping since I was 14 years old but took it seriously in more recent years. I just felt like it was time to get my creative juices flowing and really apply pressure and focus on taking things to the next level.
The video was so much fun because It's been a while since I actually dropped some visuals and “Jackin 4 Beats” was kind of my "Mase" welcome back lol so I needed to drop some really dope visuals.
How did you go about selecting the various beats that were used in the "Jackin 4 Beats" song?
Well the first beat is from Dreamville called “Sleep Deprived” from their latest project “Revenge of the Dreamers 3”, and I'm a huge fan of the whole Dreamville movement. The second beat is from ScHoolboy Q, a song called “Crash” from his latest project called “Crash Talk”, which was a really dope body of work. Lastly was Young Thug's song called “Hot”, from his latest project “So Much Fun”. Mind you, between these three projects, is what I've been listening to in rotation for a while. I just wanted to put something together that matches my energy musically and gives me the opportunity to show my versatility as well.
Describe your creative process when developing new music. Also, what do you look for in the instrumentals that you write to?
When I get into my creative process, believe it or not, I listen to soul music, like Robert Glasper, Jill Scott, Eykah Badu, just to name some legendary artists. I listen to the flows and different melodies and how they put together so many instruments and create this crazy music experience, which kind of ties into what I look for in instrumentals. I like those kind of soulful beats; I need to hear the instruments in them. I feel it helps with my writing process entirely. Also sometimes I like to write my hooks first to kind of create the foundation of the song or sometimes I already know my angle and just get right to it.
With a whole new year ahead of you, what are some of your goals musically and what will you need to do to accomplish them?
Moving forward I want to continue to drop some dope music and visuals, but also flood the internet with my presence. I just finished up my single that will be dropping very soon called "I Ain't Got Time" which will be on every streaming platform.
Honestly I feel the time is now and I have to make sure I do everything at my pace like the great Nipsey Hussle used to say “it's a marathon” so I can't rush things, got to be consistent with everything I'm doing.