Cali producer Jansport J has been in the game for a minute having put out numerous instrumental projects since 2008 as well as worked with an A-list of artists such as Snoop Dogg, Ab-Soul, DOM KENNEDY, Kool G Rap, AZ, World's Fair, MED, Strong Arm Steady, Planet Asia, Glasses Malone, Freddie Gibbs, Blu, Agallah the Don, Realm Reality, Inspectah Deck, Chaundon, Polyester The Saint, Shawn Chrystopher, Hawdwerk, El Prez, Kooley High, Chali 2na, Killa Kyleon, Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother, Curtiss King, Stevie Crooks and more.
2013 saw his and LA rapper El Prez' collaborative Prezsport album "Urban $treet Americana" which made our Top of The sections, as well as Jan himself making our Deans List for Top Producer. As a contributor and producer for Delicious Vinyl, Jansport is a hard working sought after producer that has proven his worth in Hip Hop and shall be around for a long time.
Here is our interview with homie
OK-Tho:
First off congrats on a great year, did you expect to make and push as much music as you did?
Jansport J:
Thank you so much. I did and didn't at the same time. A lot of opportunities popped up for me in the last year or 2, so I knew there was momentum going on behind the scenes. It's just tricky sometimes because you can work on a track with an artist and never know when it will see the light of day. There are tracks that I've produced that were released 2 years later. I was just very fortunate that everything kinda lined up and dropped consecutively. I have the same kind of feeling with 2014, but on an even bigger scale. Just gotta see how things drop again.
OK-Tho:
Word, sounds dope. So what or who inspired you to get into music production?
Jansport J:
Hearing Timbaland for the first time when I was 11 years old is what really piqued my curiosity into what a producer even was. I would look in encyclopedias (remember those?) to try and get an idea of what they did and how they did it. Wish I had Google back then. But even though I didn't know how to do it, I would copy his drum patterns on my lap, a table, anything that made a sound. His drums is what really drew me in. That curiosity stayed with me until I came across FruityLoops in High School, and that's when I was finally able to learn the craft on the fly.
OK-Tho:
Back in the day producers and artists from the west coast had a distinctive sound, getting into producing did you feel like you had to make that west coast style of beats?
Jansport J:
I never felt like I had to because I knew I really couldn't do it. I feel like we're not suppose to know how to do everything. Some things we just have to appreciate, and that's how I've always felt about West Coast Production. DJ Battlecat is one of my favorite producers ever. Love Dre. Love Quik. Love Focus..., Sir Jinx, Jelly Roll and so on. I knew that I had to use the gifts and melodies God placed in me though. And cats like Khalil, J-Swift!, Alchemist and Madlib showed me that I didn't have to have a prototypical West Coast sound.
OK-Tho:
That's whats up. Battlecat had some dope shit on Ras Kass' first album too.Your music is mostly sample based, can you share your equipment recipe's for making a Jansport beat?
Jansport J:
I work off of the Maschine, an HP laptop and inspiration.
OK-Tho:
Covina is a small town compared to LA and the rest of California, was there a hip hop local scene in your town or did you have to travel to different cities?
Jansport J:
The local Hip Hop artists in West Covina are the ones who really inspired me. Back when I was first started to really put work in around 2007, a lot of the shine was on LA artists, who were all dope. But when I linked up with the Cov Originals, I just saw how organic their songwriting, performances and overall vibe were. Everybody would lounge in the local studio, clown, eat, write, make beats, everything. There was a vibe there, and that's what I picked up from the local scene, how to operate off of vibes. With that, I took it to other cities to politic and network.
OK-Tho:
How hard was it for you trying to get your name out? Did you already know artists or did you have to find people to work with?
Jansport J:
It was tough, but I always believed in my work ethic, my talent and my name. Because of that, I would sit and write blog emails down for an hour once a week, just to submit music to as many people as possible. Probably get ignored 90% of the time, but 10% would pick up on it...and it was a 10% I didn't have before. It was growth, that's all that mattered to me. As I did that over the years, I was able to work with artists because they had heard of me through word of mouth, instead of spamming them. The biggest thing I can remember doing, and still do till this day...I should preface this by saying I'm a very quiet person, but at any event where there was somebody noteworthy, I would go and introduce myself by my producer name and leave it at that. I figured they just needed to know my name, and my work over time will catch up to them. No need to throw a beat CD in their face when that happens all the time.
OK-Tho:
Name 5 albums (of any genre) that you can't live without?
Jansport J:
Weezer- Blue Album
Notorious B.I.G.- Ready to Die
Pharrell- In My Mind
Little Brother- The Minstrel Show
Jay-Z- Blueprint
OK-Tho: It's cool that you threw in Weezer, been a fan of them myself. Lakers or Clippers?
Jansport J:
Lakers forever and ever. Amen.
OK:
Growing up, were you ever into or aware of the Cali underground scene with Planet Asia, Rasco, Dilated Peoples, Lootpack, The Alkohaliks, Defari and all those cats? If so can you explain what that whole era was like back then?
Jansport:
It's actually kinda funny. I liked Dilated, Tha Liks and Defari growin up from what I would hear on Power 106 late at night. But I really hated "Underground" music, or I thought I did. I hated the way underground fans seemed elitist, so I purposely didn't listen to alot of stuff back then. My boy played me Jurassic 5's "Quality Control" and all that changed. Now it's ironic that I have working relationships with alot of these artists that people told me I was wack for not knowing about. Those same people like my Facebook statuses now. Life is funny.
OK:
LOL. I used to live in Huntington Beach, it was one of the best experiences/times of my life. One of my favorite spots to eat was Casa Bianca's in Eagle Rock, have you been there?
Jansport:
Never, but I was placed on this earth to judge all carne asada burritos. So if they have one, I will be there.
OK:
You've worked with an enormous and incredibly impressive catalog of artists including Rapper Pooh, Inspectah Deck, AZ, AB-Soul and so much more. Who would you say were your favorite artists to work with and produce for?
Jansport:
I'd say out of the credits thus far, Snoop and Chali 2na had me the hypest. Snoop...because he's a bonafide legend, and that felt like validation for me. Chali 2na because I sat in the back of my Spanish Class in high school writing his rhymes down from the "Quality Control" album. From that to hearing him on my beat...that felt amazing.
OK:
Do you have a kind of pride as a producer which limits you to work with certain artists or will you just work with anyone?
Jansport:
It's a balancing act. Exclusivity is somewhat important. Not being an asshole is also important. It's all about knowing the value of your name and always making sure it's attached to quality. I'm open to work with talented and focused individuals, as long as the sound makes sense and isn't forced.
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OK:
How did you link up with Delicious Vinyl?
Jansport:
LA Jay, who's one of the original producers on The Pharcyde's "Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde" album reached out to me. Said he was a fan and wanted me to come up to the office to play beats for a possible Pharcyde project. It's crazy because I applied for an internship there in college but outside circumstances prevented it from happening. So I walked in, met Fatlip and Slimkid3 and J-Swift, the staff, and immediately felt embraced. Discussed music, they invited me back to do a set on their online show. After that they told me, "anytime you wanna come through or anything you need, hit us." I took advantage of that, clearly.
OK:
What has working with them done to your career as a producer?
Jansport:
Given me even more credibility. Delicious Vinyl means something to the Hip Hop culture to this day. They are legendary. For them to vouch for what I do, it means the world. It's also given me more confidence in just doing whatever I'm inspired by. For a Hip Hop staple such as Delicious Vinyl to support what I do, I feel like I can really spread my artistic wings and do whatever.
OK:
What would you say is one of your favorite all time beats that you never produced?
Jansport:
I wish I did Bound 2 for Kanye...because it sounds exactly like something I would make. A lot of people hit me up on Twitter as soon as they heard it and told me the same. It's brilliant, and the fact that it became so popular restored faith that people still want that soulful shit too.
OK:
Are there any upcoming artists that you feel are dope and are gonna make waves in the future?
There are so many dope cats coming up, it's just all about consistency at this point. Show and prove. I think Cazal Organism, a young 17 year old producer on Delicious Vinyl is gonna be incredible over time, as people catch on. The homegirl Melat out of Texas is an incredible singer, she'll make some noise as well.
OK:
Yea heard of Melat she's dope, gonna check out Cazal tho.How did you and El Prez get together to decide to make a collaborative project?
Jansport:
Me and Prez have had a working relationship since 2009 and have a mutual respect for each other's music. He approached me with the idea of doing a project, which I was intrigued by because he has a very thick LA accent, and I've always wanted to hear that over some non-typical west coast production. He pitched the title of "Urban $treet Americana" one day, and that was it. Knew the sound, direction and story we wanted to tell from there.
OK:
What was the experience like making "Urban Street Americana"?
Jansport:
Organic is the best way to describe it. We got in the studio every session and built the songs together. Felt very nostalgic, between vibing and joking around, friends coming through, 40 ounces, hip hop debates...all of that influenced the chemistry and sound of those records we made. I'm very proud of that album.
OK:
Madlib or JDilla?
Jansport:
J Dilla...but I never hesitate to tell people that the gap between Madlib and Dilla isn't big AT ALL. I even refer to em as 1 and 1A sometimes. I definitely give it to Dilla because of his versatility.
OK:
What upcoming producers do you like these days?
Jansport:
I'm a fan of all of the homies. The whole in-house TDE Production squad Digi+Phonics. Haz Solo, Thelonious Martin, Esta, Abjo, Cardo, Like of Pac Div, DJ Dahi, Mydus out of Miami, Black Noi$e and SPVCE...I feel like the talent pool is at an all-time high. I'm forgetting so many but they all keep me inspired.
OK:
Your always making new instrumentals and posting them on Soundcloud, is it that easy for you to make beats?
Jansport:
I just recently started bombarding Soundcloud with music. I figured there are so many beats that I have in the stash that rappers don't pick up, they're not doing any good being my little secret. I just wanted to give fans an outlet to vibe out to new music on a more consistent basis, and to gain some new fans as well. Making beats is almost like breathing to me. Granted, I don't get to do it at the rate that I use to because I also have to focus on the business end and other opportunities. But when I open up my Maschine, I just let go and vibe out. Never think too much. Usually crank out 3-4 joints every session, then come back into the real world.
OK:
Do you ever feel like you can lose your talent as a producer, like it will get harder for you to make new beats?
Jansport:
No because it's what I was placed on this earth to do. It doesn't get harder to drink water.
OK:
What can we expect from you in 2014, projects, collabs etc?
Jansport:
I have my new instrumental album "The Soul Provider" LP that will be released through Delicious Vinyl on February 18th. Outside of that, random placements that I can't speak on just yet and hopefully pushing "The Soul Provider" LP and "U$A" throughout the year with shows and videos.
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