Jahah
Interview 26 October 2004
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Hey Jahah, how you doing.
I feel great...thank you.
Tell me a bit about yourself, where your from, background,
family, you’re in
Atlanta now, is that where you’re from. You’re father
helped formulate your
musical experiences? You’re family still strong in your
life.
I'm originally from Seattle, WA. My parents
were in the military so we traveled quite a bit. I've lived in North Carolina,
DC and overseas. I've been in Atlanta so this is my home now (12 years strong).
My parents are divorced but I still have both of them in my corner...no
complaints here.
And who are your influences from the past, and who right
now.
Musically my influences from the past would
be cats like The Jackson 5, Run DMC, Prince, Earth Wind and Fire, LL Cool J,
Barry White etc. My influences now would be artist like DeAngelo, Musiq,
Raphael Saadiq, Talib kweli, The Roots, Jill Scott, and Mos Def.
What did you do leading up to Ear for Music. You just built
up a reputation locally by doing demos and stuff?
Prior to “Ear for Music” I was just creating
music for other artist and myself. Ear for Music really wasn’t in my
plans. I hadn’t considered myself
as a singer prior to making EFM. I grew up spitting rhymes…I left singing to
the experts. EFM is actually my
version of scratch vocals to give people an idea of how the song(s) go. I
actually wanted to sell the songs on EFM to a well-known artist(s) but my
friend Tony convinced me to put out the songs as an independent LP.
Then the thing with Arrested Development – how did that
come about.
My cousin Smack met Speech of Arrested
Development a few years ago and introduced me to him. After Speech had heard a few
things from me, he asked me to spit a verse on his album and I agreed. I think
I’m on three of Speeches EMI Japan releases now which have all gone Gold, so I
was blessed with that.
Then you formed Good Company and Beezee70. Tell me about
that and what your
’vision’was/is. And it was this time you started singing?
I formed Good Company because I never wanted
to do this alone (music that is). BZ70 was formed because I knew a lot of
people with different talents. I figured we could all utilize each other and
help each other out. As far as singing is concerned…I just started demo-ing
songs in hopes to sell them. I really didn’t plan to become a singer. It just
happened and I’m appreciating the love I’ve been receiving.
At what point did you want to do a solo album and how did
ear for Music come
about – when was that about 2001.
I didn’t really want to do a solo album
but I was convinced that I could. That’s how EFM came about. EFM wasn’t planned
out like Mama’s Only Son. EFM was a blessing I didn’t know could happen. Like I
said before…I’d rhymed for the better half of my life. I’d mess around with
singing but I never took myself seriously. I considered myself to be a producer first, an emcee second.
Singing wasn’t in the cards at the time truthfully.
Were you pleased with the outcome, how did it do.
EFM was a success on a local level in
many ways. Stankonia (Outkast label) showed a lot of interest in myself &
the project but ultimately decided too pass. I also opened up for acts like
Dave Hollister, Donnell Jones,
& The Nappy Roots which helped my confidence. Ultimately I thought I could
do a better album once I realized what I was capable of. That’s why I made
“Mama’s Only Son”. I wanted to
take another stab at an R&B album and really give it my best effort.
I like the soul stuff like push-n-pullin, you remind me,
can’t believe. Who
are influences for that kind of stuff.
I would say Mary J. Blige and Musiq
influenced me on those two songs. I really like Mary and Musiq makes me want to record.
Raw and Bee – what’s that?
Raw and Bee is the old flavor I use to
call my sound. Like Teddy Riley called his sound the New Jack Swing, I labeled
mine Raw and Bee.
And then Mama’s only Son. How has that progressed over the
first one.
On MOS I feel as if I learned a lot and I
progressed as a singer. I’m more confident and I hear things completely
different. MOS is also more personal and refined.
The tracks getting attention over here are Everybody’s Up
and Oooh. Are you
feeling what’s happening in the UK.
I visited the U.K. when I was 15 or 16
years old and I love it! I appreciate the vibe in the U.K. I’d love to tour
there and greet the people. I’m definitely feeling the U.K. (110%) . Hopefully, sooner than later, we will
be doing live shows over in your neck of the woods – keep your ears open.
And what goes down at home – is there a differentiation
between say a hip
hop audience and a neo soul crew. Over here for the most
part that would
,sadly, be two different audiences.
Well, it all depends on the venue. I’ve
done shows where I was completely out of place and I’ve done shows were the
audience was half-and-half. These are the shows I like best because I’m not
limited to what I want to perform. I can just be myself and do what I’m into
and not have to narrow my set down.
Be live!
Do you feel a move towards more soulful stuff these days.
Well, I’m currently recording a hip-hop
album (which may be my first and last) but I definitely feel like I’ll be doing
more singing and soulful stuff in the future. I plan to have my 3rd
R&B album out before summer 2005. I already have 2 songs recorded for it.
What are your favourites and which have most feeling for
you. Does that
coincide with the tracks getting best reaction.
My favorite songs on MOS are “Oooh” and
“Tonight.” Universally I think those two songs get the best reaction. However,
it all depends on who’s listening. I’m just happy to know someone is listening
and like what he or she hears. That’s good enough for me. If they are happy, I am happy.
And there’s Afar. Tell me about them and the hip-hop side
of things.
AFAR is an unfinished plan that we’re
(the group) is trying to complete. We put out a little teaser to get some
results and I’m not satisfied with the outcome. I know we (AFAR) can really
make an impression on the game and we’re currently brewing up new material to
take over live hip-hop!
Is pretty much all you do within your own ‘collective’. How
does it all
work on a day to day basis. You all work as a unit?
Yeah, we work as a unit but my main
responsibility is writing the songs.
Do you do much live work, what’s your show like.
I do a fair amount of live work. My show
is very eclectic and moody. When you come to a Jahah show, expect the unexpected
because I’m going to take you to many different places musically. I might hit
cha’ with some R&B, then Hip-Hop…I’ll switch up and go into some Reggae and
then blast off into some Rock. I’m really all over the place but it’s a good
thing.
There’s always a mix of producing, rhyming and singing –
you do what you feel – right?
I think out side of the box and I feel
like if I conform, I wouldn’t be doing me. I like all kinds of music and I want
record and make music that represents what I hear. No formula here, just good music.
Where do you draw from lyrically, personal experience.
A lot of what I do is personal. Some of
it is just a feeling and a mood. Everything comes from the moment I’m in. If I
feel mellow…you’ll get Jahah and his heart. If I feel like fire and wild…you’ll
get Dirty J (the rebellious child – Jahah’s alter ego).
And whats happening now – just promoing the album, or
working on the next
phase.
Yes, my manager and partner Shane Mills and I are continuing to promote MOS and hopefully get to the U.K. and other places outside of the U.S. where Jahah is appreciated. Plus we plan to continue touring America. All great things for the future…
What’s the master plan, everything on track?
The master plan is to hopefully sell millions
of units and tour the world. I’d say BZ70 and Jahah are on a really good track
considering we do all the work ourselves (independently) . We’d love help but
it would have to be the right situation. Overall, I feel great about the
project and the steps we’ve taken thus far. We have really been blessed…
Are you likely to be coming to Europe, whats the interest
been over on this
side.
I’d love to be in Europe touring that’s
definitely a goal of mine! We’ve just started promoting MOS overseas so we’ll
see what happens. Hopefully some one will invite me over! Any takers??
Tell me about the label, who’s involved and what you’ll be
doing and who we
should be looking out for.
BZ70 is a team of individuals who come
together to support each other musically and graphically. We’re currently
working on the 2nd BZ70 mix tape called “The Fix Tape: One Night
Stand” and we have a group called Amongst No Roses coming out in 2005. We also
have the Dyslexics, which will drop their second LP. Stay tuned to BeeZee70 Productions for all the info –
www.BZ70.com
Anything you’d like to add
Thank you for your interest Mike and
please continue support Jahah. I appreciate you! We hope to see you soon. Be safe…
Good luck and thanks for your time
Mike
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