Black Intel

In a world full rappers talking about all the stuff they claim to own and claim to do one can think its quite comical with their outlandish antics. Well today we interview a person with a great a sense of humor. A man who’s first album was actually a college project back in 1999, which turned into what was a big underground hip-hop following throughout the East Coast and Europe and even touching down some fame in the West Coast. I’m talking about the one and only J-Zone alias Captain Backslap alias the Tom Jones of Rap, the man has an in-depth understanding of the history of Hip-hop as well as the Black Comedy greats. Take a look at some of the things he had to say:

The Black Intel: For those that are unfamiliar with you…where are you from?

J-Zone: The frozen food aisle in Wal-Mart. But if you mean where do I lay my head the other 10% of the time I’m living in, Queens, New York. Jamaica Queens more specifically.

TBI:How would you describe yourself as an artist?

J-Zone: I take the craft of actually making music very seriously, I take a lot of pride in what I do and put a lot of time developing songs and concepts. But I never take myself too seriously. I know how to laugh at myself, everyday life and others too. I always took the approach of having fun with the shit, because hip-hop takes itself too serious. That’s why it got stale.

TBI: Who are your musical influences?

J-Zone: All over the board. As a producer, I’d say the Bomb Squad, 45 King, Sir Jinx, old Pete Rock, Ultramagnetic, Prince Paul, Mr. Mixx, DJ Muggs…anybody that took a wall of sound approach to music. Turning noise and multiple layers of shit into something new and trying new things with sampling. I listen to a lot of old funk too, like Kool and The Gang, Ohio Players, Slave, James Brown, Funkadelic. A little rock, a little jazz. Definitely the whole black comedy movement too, for the dirty humor. Redd Foxx, Rudy Ray Moore, Lawanda Page, Richard Pryor…I used to sneak those albums out my parent’s collection and learn the routines as a kid. As a rapper, the only real influences I had were Eazy-E, Suga Free, No Face, Tim Dog and Devin the Dude. I don’t rap anymore, but when I did, I was more influenced by comedians than rappers.

TBI: How does having a satirical outlook have an effect on the masses…do they understand it or do they think otherwise?

J-Zone: Understanding satire and comedy takes a lot of thought. Comedy with any type of sarcasm or satire to it…its not that they can’t understand, its just that most people don’t want to think that hard when they listen to music. If you have a short attention span, you won’t enjoy my music at all. A lot of people take things for face value and don’t probe for a deeper meaning behind shit. A lot of comedy stems from anger and frustration, but you deliver the emotions in a funny way and sometimes people can’t see past the surface. I thought as an artist I was pretty misunderstood.

TBI: From your musical samples and references to other artists who did you grow up listening to?

J-Zone: All of the people I mentioned above. I was always a big Public Enemy fan. Ice Cube, Too $hort, EPMD, Kool G Rap, De La Soul, Poison Clan, all the Rap-A-Lot shit from Houston like Geto Boys, Willie D, Ganksta Nip, etc. All coasts, all styles, I was very open to music from all over the place growing up.

TBI: Being from New York you sure use a lot of West Coast hip-hop samples and references what got you into that?

J-Zone: Once again, that black comedy element. Talking a whole lot of shit, kind of pimpish in the delivery, a lot of storytelling as opposed to songs that were just dudes rapping about rapping, which New York did a lot of. I love that stuff too, but I was always really into the concepts that the West Coast cats did. As far as LA, King Tee, NWA, Cube, Tweedy Bird Loc, Ice-T…west coast albums felt like you were watching a fuckin movie. Very cinematic and visual. The East was more about the boom bap and the straight up lyrics, but both coasts had dope shit. I love dope shit from all over the map. As for the Bay Area, Too $hort had great funny stories. But on the flip side I loved Paris’ music too, he was raw and angry.  415, B-Legit, Digital Underground, E-40…those bay area cats were real diverse and entertaining. When I did the “Santana DVX” beat for E-40 and Lonely Island last year, that was a dream come true that I never thought would happen whatsoever. 40 is a monster and completely original.

TBI: What was your first album, when did it come out and how many albums have you had since then?

J-Zone: My first album was Music For Tu Madre, it was my college senior project. I had my grandmother on the cover smoking a joint holding a baseball bat. Real low budget style, but it went on to become one of my most well-received albums. The original copy goes for decent loot online sometimes. That came out in 1998-99. I made 10 official albums in total. The last one was Live @ The Liqua Sto, which paid homage to the old St. Ides commercials. That came out in 2008.

TBI: You had two artists featured prominently featured on most of your albums, Huggy Bear and Al-Shid, whatever happened to those two?

J-Zone: Shid is still doing his thing, that‘s my gym partner too, haha. He’s one of the dopest MC’s I’ve ever heard, and he never really got his due or took off outside of the underground and it bothered me because his potential is through the roof. That man is just an unbelievable MC, he still puts out concept video/song joints every few months online. I haven’t spoken to Huggy since 2003 or so, but I heard he’s doing well. He put out an EP with a British group called Diversion Tactics, that came out in 2004. Those two are some of the best talents I ever worked with, and that’s saying a lot because I worked with some legendary artists. But life goes on for everyone, so we all went down our separate life paths. I always got love for Hug and Shid.

TBI: Are you planning on any more albums or joint ventures with other artists?

J-Zone: No more J-Zone albums. Joint ventures, I’m not sure. I’ve been away from the music business for a year now, trying to set up part 2 of my life. I can’t say never, if the right artist comes along and the right concept and situation, I wouldn’t rule out producing a project for them. But as for now, I’m not really messing with music too tough.

TBI: Since your not doing music that much anymore you got any other stuff going on?

J-Zone: I do DJ gigs every now and then, but its more for hobby. I got disenchanted with the music business a little bit, the whole trying to keep up, grind and stay relevant thing, phony disingenuous people that cant use the words ‘no’, ‘never’ and ‘goodbye’, going to industry events just to ‘politic’. It just ran its course with me and began to zap the fun out of the music. Plus there’s no health insurance in the rap game, haha. When you get older, responsibility starts to come at you and you have to change your focus and prepare for your future. Music will always be a part of who I am, but for now I want to leave it alone. If you aren’t 100% motivated and passionate about music, or if its bringing you more unhappiness than pleasure, there’s no sense in doing it. If I get the motivation again, I still have my equipment! I love money, but I can’t see myself doing music just for a check. If I ain’t feeling it, I gotta leave it alone and go do some other shit.

TBI: Rumor has it that you are/were teaching that true and where?

J-Zone: Budget cuts man! I was an adjunct music professor at one of the New York State Universities, but the economy caused problems with the budget and all the adjuncts got laid off. There’s still a strong possibility I’ll be back, because it was going well for me as a teacher. I also have a great rapport with the school because it’s my alma matter. Time will tell.

TBI: So you are writing articles for danteross.com now…what about?

J-Zone: Everything! I’m getting older and I’m becoming a curmudgeon, but I don’t see anything wrong with being a grumpy ass old man as long as you have a sense of humor about it and can laugh at yourself. Most of my articles are for the 30 and older crowd. They’re opinionated, mean-spirited and funny, but they allow me to get the shit off my chest. I write about music, current events, these men out here dressing like women, how corny social networking is, how wack nightlife is in New York City…I’m an equal opportunity hater. I’m also a sportswriter. I cover, rank and scout high school basketball in the New York area.

TBI: You plan on coming to the Bay anytime soon for DJ’in or shows?

J-Zone: The Bay is my favorite place in America to be besides Wal-Mart and the fish and grits spot out in Chicago. Always loved it out there. If I can get a DJ gig, I’d come back in a heartbeat. No more rap shows for me though, those days are over!

TBI: Where can people find your music?

J-Zone: Most of my catalog is on itunes, just look for J-Zone. Direct links to the albums on itunes are on my myspace page (www.myspace.com/jzoneoldmaid). That’s if anybody uses myspace anymore, that shit is a graveyard. Some of my CD’s are on amazon.com too, and eBay obviously, even though I don’t get no bread from those!

Boom! There you have it, if you never had the chance to listen to J-Zone’s work we have a few videos of his recent work that you can take a look at that is off the Live @ tha Liqua Sto album which was a tribute to the old St. Ides commercials we all grew up listening too. Stay on the look out for his rants on danteross.com and also for his DJ gigs if you ever find yourself out in NY. It was great having him for the interview stay tuned for the next artist I bring in….

J-Zone & Chief Chinchilla feat. Al-Shid \”Mild Riot\”

J-Zone & Chief Chinchilla \”The Drug Song\”