Going against the grain is the best way to be heard. Kid J is a Christian Hip Hop artist from Cali, which certainly sets him apart from the typical persona portrayed by rappers today.
Tony Coke: Are you a Christian that found rap, or a rapper that found Christianity? Kid J: Actually Tony, I was raised to know God but never had a personal relationship with God and was not saved till I was 14 when I started Christian rap. So I guess I found them together. Which is how I knew that’s what God wanted me to do.
Tony Coke: On your track, “Livin My Life”, there is some looped guitar. Do you play guitar as well? Where did you lay down that track?
Kid J: Actually I can’t play any instruments I can only rap ha! Pariecee McGriff out of 777 studios produced the beat. Very talented producer.
Tony Coke: Where are you located and what is the music scene like there?
Kid J: I’m located in small town Tehachapi California the music scene is filled with hiding artists but I’m the only Christian artist here.
Tony Coke: I hear you have a big show coming up, give us the down low on that.
Kid J: Yes I do, I have a few shows coming up. But the big one is November sometime not decided yet, but it will be with a good friend M.A.D (Bruce yokley) and other good names. But the word is Stevie Stone (tech9s last featuring artist) will be main eventing. My first shows huge! Gods blessing me.
Tony Coke: What’s on Kid J’s agenda for the rest of 2015 and how can people connect with you?
Kid J: I’ll be touring California doing shows. I’ve got more songs coming out soon. Just gotta stick to God always. You can connect with me through my Facebook page, kidjentertainment.
I meet so many awesome and inspiring people with BandsRising, some turn out to be right in my own backyard. Kimia is a very diverse and talented musician from London, currently living in Dallas, Tx. She writes and records several different genres of music, and has traveled the world connecting and collaborating with other musicians.
Tony Coke: Some of your music is singer / songwriter based, some of it leans towards electronic, some even has hints of country. What type of music do you most identify with, what do listen to when you put on your headphones?
Kimia: My background is classical and I’m a huge jazz fan as well. Much of my writing for my personal projects is singer/songwriter but I love participating in a variety of genres (jazz, hip-hop, electronic, pop, world, Celtic) because I love meeting people and trying different things. I’ve lived on three continents and have been influenced by a lot of different music and cultures as a result, so I have very eclectic taste when it comes to music. The electronic music is a collaboration with a talented young DJ and has been a lot of fun. I’m also working on some hip/hop violin and reggae with a local artist in Dallas and that is a lot of fun too! I’m always happy to accompany friends as a violinist on their projects too (or fiddle as they call it in Texas ☺).
Tony Coke: You have a new project to be released soon, give us the down low.
Kimia: It’s a pop album with a full band. There will be a couple of songs on the album that are acoustic and that is because I wanted the lyrics to be the focus of those songs. I wanted a lot of space and didn’t want the songs to be overproduced. As a musician as well as a writer, I try to find a balance between space for the musicians to shine and letting the lyrics/message be the focus.
Tony Coke: Why did you write it, what was your inspiration?
Kimia: So, as well as being a professional musician, I’m a professional psychologist. I spend a lot of time helping others work through situations but often don’t take the time to process my own feelings! ☺ This album focuses on lessons from life and love. I wanted to be more real and personal with this one. Some songs are about my experiences and some were written for friends, e.g. a remembrance song written on the 1 year anniversary of a friends death from cancer.
Tony Coke: Wow, very impressive, you must be super busy! Is the album already completed? Can people see videos in the studio or get involved with the recording?
Kimia: The recording is almost completed and the album will be mixed by the end of the month. There will be behind the scenes videos on my facebook page over the next few weeks www.facebook.com/kimiajourneys
Tony Coke: When does it come out and how will people be able to listen?
Kimia: The release date is on October 16th and the album will be available in person at the CD release party in Dallas, as well as on iTunes and other online retailers.
Tony Coke: How involved are you in the beats and production of your music? there is piano in one of your tracks, is that you as well?
Kimia: I’m very involved in the production of my music and select session musicians based on a sound I’m looking for, but I’m always open to their ideas as well. The beauty of bringing a track to life is in the collaboration. We have a great music scene in Dallas and I’m fortunate to know and work with some really talented people. I specifically have to give a shout out to my friends The Funky Knuckles, Whiskey Holler, The Selkie Girls and Crystal Clear Sound.
Tony Coke: We were talking beforehand, and you mentioned a world music project you were working on. What are the details on that?
Kimia: I love to travel and meet people from different cultures. I also think its important that we work together and learn from each other. Recently I had the opportunity to travel to India to write with and produce music with two different groups. I was looking for a tabla player and was thrilled to meet one and work with him too. I’ve been enjoying working on several different genres this year so I decided to split my projects into three different releases. I’ll have my pop/singer, songwriter album, an electronic music collaboration album and a world genre collaboration with influences from India, Africa and the Middle East. It’s been a special year so far and I’ve made some great new friendships along the way.
Tony Coke: Very cool! What’s the best way for people to connect with you?
Tony Coke: Last I talked with you, “Life” was just released. It really is a great track. How has the response been?
Mazement: Life is doing great, the response has been consistent and the sales are above what was expected.
Tony Coke: Great! You also said you would be releasing a mix tape mid to late summer, how’s that going?
Mazement: Awesome, everything is going as planned. The mixtape is set to release on August 31st titled “Reality Revised Vol. 1”
Tony Coke: That’s awesome, rarely do things go as planned. For those not in the Hip Hop world, can you explain exactly what a mixtape is?
Mazement: Yeah, a mixtape can be released in any genre technically, but it’s usually a compilation of songs chosen by the artist to release, sometimes involving a theme, or just a random selection of songs that were never released before.
Tony Coke: Cool, what triggered the name “Reality Revised” for your mixtape?
Mazement: The title is based on the imperfections of reality, inspired by humorous mistakes I and many other people make on a daily basis. A handful of humorous scenarios are mentioned throughout the mixtape that are pretty entertaining.
Tony Coke: Ok, so what is the funniest scenario on the mixtape?
Mazement: I think any scenario mentioned on the mixtape deserves the same attention, but in the first track, “Today” I rap about how we are spending money in America today, and I mention how we buy a kid a cell phone who’d rather play with a kite, which is funny, just because 20 years ago, that wasn’t even a thought in any parents mind, but it goes to show you the difference in “reality” today.
Tony Coke: For sure, I can’t even remember the last time I saw a kite! How long did it take you to create the whole mixtape?
Mazement: About 6 months due to the production, brainstorming and writing it all myself.
Tony Coke: It sounds like a lot of work. What would you say is the biggest challenge of creating a mixtape?
Mazement: Marketing. As an artist/musician I find myself 80% of the time focussing on the marketing aspect instead of the music. It just becomes addicting and/or time consuming. Tony Coke: Man I feel you! I find myself thinking, “If i concentrated on creating more, I’d have more, better music, but then no one would ever hear it!” It’s such a hard balancing act to manage. Do you have any live shows planned?
Mazement: So far I have two in September, the 12th at Billie’s Black in NY, and the 19th at Jimmy’s Saloon in RI. There will most likely be more, anyone can stay tuned on www.facebook.com/mazementmusic or www.mazement.co
Tony Coke: Man, it’s a pleasure again. You get it, you work it, you’re talented, and the best to you! Catch up soon.
Today I’m chatting with DJ Emotion, creator of the Traveling DJ Radio program, and obviously, a DJ himself….
Tony Coke:Tell us the concept behind Traveling DJ radio and how can people listen?
DJ Emotion: Traveling DJ’s was a concept I started around a year ago. There used to be a Facebook group for DJs on cruise ships and it had around 25 members. The admin, who’s a good friend of mine, as well DJ on cruise ships, gave me the group and said “maybe you can make something gigantic out of this group”. I decided to call it Traveling DJs. We have around 2500 members and its a humble bunch of DJs that help each other. The website traveling dj.com concept was to bring all DJs together on what I call a DJ roster. You dont need to travel to be on the roster but you must be a professianl DJ. Each DJ gets there own webpage complete with social media, biogrphy, pictures, videos, basically everything you need to get exposure. I run a website called djpresskits.com and DJs were constanly losing there DJ Press kits, now they have a home on traveling djs where it’s safe. Traveling DJ Radio came to life in July 2015. I was asked to do a show on Boogiehillradio and at first I said I just dont have time to do it, then I thought, what if we make it a traveling DJ radio online station where DJs from all over the world can be heard. Rather than taking the credit for myself, I’ll give it back to the DJ commuinity.
Tony Coke: I like the idea of getting to know DJ’s before the set. It’s usually just the music and there’s no connection with the man behind the mixer. Do you feel this makes for a better radio program? What kind of feedback have you gotten from listeners?
DJ Emotion: This Friday is the launch so I dont have much feedback as of yet. DJs can sumbit whatever they want. I screen each mix and if I approve, they get free exposure. Main stream radio is dying and with so many options online, where you want, how you want, I think the demand is for online radio.
Tony Coke: It looks like you have a real passion for DJing and helping other DJ’s. Tell us what other stuff you’ve got going on?
DJ Emotion: I’ve been mentoring DJs for years and have built a solid DJ community. Many DJs are excellent DJs, but when it comes to marketing, thats their weakness and someone like myself can help them. I run a website called DJPresskits.com. This website offers a varity of diffrent marketing tools ranging from EPK’s to DJ logos depending on the DJs needs. Mydjdrop offers a variety of voiceover work so DJs can get there DJ Tags or DJ Drops from me.
Tony Coke:How long have you been in the game and how did you get started as a DJ?
DJ Emotion: I started when I was 13, I’m 42 now. I think in my family everyone seems to have a love for music, it just so happened my brother was the musician and I ened up being the DJ. I worked on cruise ships as an DJ for 13 years and recruiting for 3. I only see things growing. Tony Coke:What’s on the horizon for the remainder of 2015? How do people connect with you?
DJ Emotion: 2015 has been very exciting. As far as what’s on my plate, DJ Press Kits will be getting a facelift, more voiceover artists will be added to mydjdrop and the radio station will grow.
Tony Coke: Cool, sounds like you offer some good services. Best of luck!
Tony Coke: Last I talked with you, “Life” was just released. It really is a great track. How has the response been?
