From Texas to Florida, rapper J. Jones blesses us with his expressive 9-piece album titled 'Chances'. J. Jones combines the likes of old school rap, passionate spoken word poetry, philanthropy, and self-growth within his music. Sharing his well-rounded sound with those who acquire the same emotion and views, or anyone who enjoys getting down to nostalgic and catchy hip hop.
With the intro track “Vulcan Flow (Ft. Breana Marin)” leading the album with authority and passion, we get a deeper look into who J. Jones is. Not only through his feel-good and inspiring underlying production, but through his raw and meaningful flow. Not to mention Breana Marin giving the track a blissful female vocal during the chorus, reminding us of pure-hearted nostalgic R&B. Moving into an even more nostalgic feel, J. Jones’ next track “Edify” begins with a sample from the classic 70’s R&B group, The O’Jays’ ‘Cry Together’. As soon as the supporting beat kicks in alongside J. Jones’ conceptual bars, we can't help but hear the likes of artists like Joey Bada$$ who channel similar messages with the same desire for a better tomorrow. With bars that challenge the system and corruption that’s often overlooked, “Edify” brings forward empowerment of African American lives across the U.S.A as J. Jones reminds them to express themselves no matter what our robotic society may think.
The third track to J Jones’ album 'Chances' brings an incredibly introspective feel to it. “Da-Vizin” opens with a sweet-sounding chorus through male R&B vocals, transitioning into atmospheric production that gives us time to take in J. Jones’ deeply thought out lyrics. Including bars like; “I guess it’s time to make some changes, sit back and reevaluate just what my aim is”, we’re left contemplating our own aim in life, and if we’re truly satisfied with what we’ve created for ourselves. Reaching the midway point of 'Chances', we’re hit with a tender and devoted love song emphasizing J. Jones’ powerful songwriting. “Boulevard (Ft. Lakeith Rashad)” features lyricism of expressing yourself from your inner demons, and fighting the battle within of recovering from past relationships. With a beautifully sung chorus by Lakeith Rashad, his vocals hit home with the song's emotional theme.
Moving onto a heavier note, J. Jones next track on his 'Chances' album gets your blood pumping right off the bat. “Vain” features a hard-hitting bass line that might just blow your speaker and complex production techniques that create a fluid groove through throbbing hip hop. J. Jones’ delivery in “Vain” gives off an incredibly confident and self-assured vibe, ending off with transcendent and dreamy production with heavily filtered/modern vocals showcasing his limitless versatility. J. Jones’ sixth track titled “OMG (Ft. Kevin Hues)” brings another heavy aspect to his album 'Chances'. Kicking off with dark and mysterious production into the textured downbeat with Kevin Hues’ layered vocals pitched down giving us a wicked and inhuman feel. As J. Jones begins spitting his verse, his delivery on “OMG (Ft. Kevin Hues)” and the previous track “Vain” resembles that of A$AP Rocky’s confident and bold vibe. Though with unique and show-stopping elements through J Jones’ vocals and his well-crafted hip hop production we’re able to clearly see the path that J. Jones is intending to take.
Bringing the vibe back down to a mellow one on J. Jones’ next track “Serotonin”, he brings back similar delivery of that at the beginning of the album 'Chances'. Through clear-cut lyrics that shape his meaningful bars, J. Jones takes time to speak on his development as an artist and a human, and how his current woes helped him flourish into the self-assured person J. Jones is today. From vibrating bass to soulful female vocals, J. Jones’ eighth track “I Feel It” serves as quite the dynamic one. Starting off with nothing but passionate layered female vocals while moving into the riveting beat and J. Jones matched delivery. Going back and forth between these two atmospheres, all to serve them blended together, in the end, giving “I Feel It” an incredibly soulful yet intense look at J. Jones approach to rounding out his album 'Chances'.
Reaching the end of the album we are met with the title track 'Chances' that serves the projects entirely within three minutes of euphoria. Through acoustic guitar infused production and J. Jones’ limitless songwriting emphasizing powerful bars like “What’s the chance that you make it big? What the chance of you being a better father than yours was to the kid?”, he strikes again with heavy lyrics full of emotion and reality. Overall, J Jones’ album 'Chances' brings a nostalgic yet modern feel through production and timeless lyricism that speaks volumes to millions of lives across the country.
Listen to 'Chances' here.
Hey J. Jones, welcome to BuzzMusic! We’d like to start off by saying how moving your album “Chances” is through your pure-hearted songwriting. How did J. Jones manage to find deep meaning within all 9 tracks, where did you find all this power and compelling emotion?
All of my music is a direct reflection of my personal experiences and things that I’ve witnessed in my life that have imprinted on my soul in some capacity. When I write, I try to pen every lyric to tell a story of what was, is, and to come. The only way you can instill such raw emotion into a song is if you’ve felt that emotion intimately! These songs are all intimately connected to my life and they tell a story of wins & losses, love & heartbreak, friendship & betrayal, success & failure, but most importantly hope! Through strong tracks like “Edify”, “Da-Vizin” and “Serotonin” on your album “Chances”, you really hit home with retable struggle and strife. What do you want your listeners to learn from and take away from your empowering bars on your album “Chances”?
What I want my listeners to know after listening to my album is the truth. Life is hard. It’s sometimes unfair. It’s not easy and sometimes you’re going to want to quit...BUT...if there’s a chance that you can stand back up and fight your way out the darkness, you’ll find a God that loves, a life worth living, and another chance worth taking!
Speaking on the entirety of your album “Chances”, J. Jones serves a variety of sounds and elements through different tracks. Is there any song in particular that you resonate most with on your album “Chances”? Why might this be?
Boulevard is my vibe, without a doubt! However, Chances is one of those tracks I can listen to over and over and over again. I actually had this song recorded for over a year. This song was inspired by another song called Chances by Five for Fighting. Their song speaks about the Chances of finding love and happiness, my song speaks directly to my experiences both in youth and adulthood. Though the songs differ in genre and subject matter, the message is a unified cry that life is made up of Chances. How we live life is based on how we respond to those Chances.
We’ve heard that J. Jones always strives to make music that speaks to your soul, and hopefully others’ as well. Could you elaborate on the impact you want to make to your audience, and how you intend to keep your listeners coming back? My desire has always been to make music that speaks to real people about real situations from real experiences, my experiences. The aim is to spread hope, purpose, and inspire folks to be better holistically. What can we expect to see from you through 2020?
I’m constantly recording, so expect a lot of music. I’ve already completed my next project titled “Love, Faith, and Healing”. Y’all can definitely expect that later this year. I’m also hoping to release a visual or two for some of the music off “Chances” and potentially the new project, but we’ll see!