Coming from Oregon is a new talent in hip-hop by the name of Jonesy. Providing us with happy tones and fierce lyrics, Jonesy has a goal to set himself apart from all rappers and emcees with a unique combo of skills. Spreading words of positivity through his troublesome stories, he hopes to change his fan's experience and hip-hop’s musical horizons.
Jonesy performs live shows regularly, and already has multiple albums and singles recorded (Braggin, M.I.A, and Juiced). His latest track, “When I Grow Up”, off the album When I grow Up, reflects true individuality in Jonesy’s expression of himself, and showcases the creation of a new musical path in the genre of hip-hop.
Jonesy leaves us little time to get ready for the great experience we are about to get. “When I Grow Up” starts like a Pharrell song with the four-bar loop count-in, and continues with a very upbeat instrumental. There is a piano with some old vintage vibes to it, alongside a trap-style drum progression. Additionally, there is a booming 808 that continues to give “When I Grow Up” a cool tonal expression.
“When I Grow Up” continues its happy vibe with the introduction of Jonesy’s rap. His flow is very fast and paired with a higher-registered voice, it reflects a perfect ecstatic vibe. However, what gives this song some extra leverage in like-ability is Jonesy lyricism. The lyrics in “When I Grow Up” are very relatable, as he speaks about struggles in school, family, and social life. However, he does a great job of reflecting his stories in a positive light, which helps the listeners feel better about their similar connections and tribulations. “When I Grow Up” displays the right characteristics to be a great hip hop song, and also comes along with enough individualism to make it an excellent artistic track as well.
Hey Jonesy! Welcome to BuzzMusic, we are very happy to be representing you and your new track “When I Grow Up”. In this song, we feel as if the instrumental reflects a happy tone while your lyrics are hitting in a darker fashion. Is it your goal to try and get across a message of positivity through your music, whether that be through your vocals or the instrumental?
My goal when making songs is to always emit positivity. Sometimes it's in the lyrics, sometimes it's in the beat and sometimes it's both. Even in my darkest hours, I know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dim it may seem at times. Remaining positive is everything. It is the core of my existence because growing up and even today, my life isn't always the sweetest. I want my listeners to know that they are not alone, that there are people all around the world going through similar challenges and if they can try to take the little wins as they come, eventually they'll be standing at the top of the podium. When people hear a song by Jonesy, the goal is to make their shitty day better OR their good day even greater.
Having so many albums and singles on your plate, your sound must have transformed and become better each time. However, is there a part of the old music that you wish you could bring back into your new music? Is there anything that you differently than you do now?
I most definitely have transformed. I have actually been talking to a lot of friends and fans as of late about how drastically my sound has changed since 2017 when I dropped "Mr. Boy Wonder", my debut album. Back then it was a lot of experimenting and trying to find what I like to call my "rapper voice". Now, however, I know exactly who I am when I am writing and when I hop on a track and have much more precise writing, recording, mixing and mastering methods. This afternoon I was driving home for a class and decided to shuffle my discography and immediately some old Mr. Boy tracks started playing. I started reminiscing on how care-free I was back than just having fun making dope songs with the bare-bones equipment. Those feelings are still within me, don't get me wrong, but I have been battling a terrible mental state of mind the last year or more trying to appease my family's expectations by finishing college while simultaneously trying to make my musical dreams come true. I have been feeling an insane sense of urgency the last year like it's now or never so I tend to get really hard on myself. With that being said, I am finally about to graduate next week and then I will be a full-time musician, chasing my dreams and being the happiest and most driven I have ever been in my entire life. My goal with my new album I'm working on, "Mr. Boy Wonder 3", is to bring back some of those 2017, playful and care-free vibes, while still exhibiting how much I have grown as an artist both lyrically and sonically. The unreleased tracks that are going on this new project are my best to date and will appeal to a plethora of people from different places and music tastes.
You mention to us before that you have performed in 72 countries! That’s amazing! What was one of the most memorable performances that you can recall?
My music has been streamed in 72 countries which is an absolutely insane number because that's almost every country that has access to music streaming services. However, I haven't got to perform for any of those out-of-country fans. YET. A huge goal I have for myself, whenever the opportunity presents itself, is to not only tour the country but the world. My most memorable performance thus far though was at Peace, Love, Wifi, a music festival hosted in NYC by Productive Honey, an art collective in which I met via Instagram. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I had never been to New York or even the east coast. It always seemed like some crazy dream floating up in the clouds that were still a ways away. When they hit me up asking me to perform I couldn't pass up the chance to spread my messages to the east coast and explore the concrete jungle for the first time ever. My best friend Trey and I flew out there for the weekend and explored every inch of the city we could in 3 days and hardly even slept. The culture shock was insane but it also felt natural in a weird way too. I met so many insanely talented underground artists like myself that weekend and made some friends and fans along the way too.
It is an incredible talent to be able to come out with not only a lot of projects but really good, quality songs as well. What is the next big step for you? Any new projects coming out? Any collabs?
Quality has always been a huge priority for me when making songs. Especially as a new artist starting up, it can be hard for people to take you seriously if the quality of your tracks is whack. The quality of my songs both lyrically and sonically has gotten better and better every year and most people don't believe me when I say I recorded my songs in my bedroom. Consistency is also huge though and this is where the pressure can start to creep in because you want to keep giving your fanbase new content on a regular basis to keep them interested. No matter what you do in life, quality over quantity is always the way to go, but I try to grind out as many tracks as I can every year. I am currently working on a new album titled "Mr. Boy Wonder 3", which will wrap up the Mr. Boy Wonder trilogy I began back in 2017 when I first stepped on the scene. It has been killing me to not release these new songs because they are the best I have done yet (those select few who have heard them would agree with me) but I want to make sure the project as an entirety is perfect before I release it this summer. This winter has been another rough one for me but I have been working toward getting to a better frame of mind as well as just trying to soak up how beautiful and wonderful this world is before I start recording again. I want to ensure my fans get the best variety and listening experience humanly possible. I usually prefer to operate as a lone-wolf, that's just my nature, but stay tuned for some collabs with the insanely talented hidden artists here in Oregon.