DREAM
RAP AND R&B
teAm 50 | barbershop-magazine.com J A NUA R Y
BarberShop_HK_Final.indd 50-51
2013
It has been a really long time since we have seen something truly new come along in entertainment. The wait for that is now over – rapper Jay Jones and R&B singer STY have teamed up to bring us a new kind of mixtape.
with StY to see if a meeting could be arranged. We sat down with him and explained the future plan of the label. Everyone was on the same page and the rest is history.
BSM: Take us through a studio session with the two of you. JAY JONES & STY: first thing we do is find an instrumental to agree on. We listen to it for a while to see which type of concept we can come up with – then we find a melody for the hook and continue writing from there.
Jay Jones and StY both have quite a buzz Down South. the hitZ international artists are appearing on more and more features and both work really hard at getting their careers going. in an industry where there is a great amount of competition, Jay Jones and StY stand out. Both are amazing performers who are truly coming into their own. they tell us that S.o.u.l. is their new project, that will fuse rap and a classic r&B sound. Jay Jones and StY are both solo artists, but decided to team up on the mixtape, after working together quite well on two of Jay Jones’ mixtapes, “only if You Kool Enough” and his latest project, “only if You Kool Enough 2”. BSM had the opportunity to sit down with both of the artists. here’s our interview with Jay Jones and StY:
BSM: The names Jay Jones & STY are ringing out in the city. Tell us a little about yourselves. (Jay Jones) Well, for everybody that doesn’t know, i’m the son of J-Dawg from the legendary group Black Menace. i’m from uptown New orleans – hollygrove - and i basically been around the music industry for years. it was almost like i was born into the music game, plus i make dope music, but for you to form your own opinion, you would have to listen to the music.
(STY) Well first off, my name StY
stands for ‘’Stay tru2 Yaself’’. i’m from New orleans, louisiana Algiers to be exact. i’ve been in love with music since i was three years old. i went from singing in my church choir, to talent shows, etc. i started taking music seriously by following in my older brother’s footsteps. We came up with a plan to be successful. Unfortunately he passed away two years ago, so i used the loss as motivation to keep going.
BSM: Tell us about the new mixtape collaboration between Jay Jones & STY.
BSM: What sets you apart from
JAY JONES & STY: The name of
the mixtape is entitled “S.o.u.l” which stands for ‘’Signs of undying loyalty’’. it’s basically the best of both worlds. We’re gonna have a couple of features on the tape, but not too many because we really want the people to see how well we work together.
BSM: We hear that the collaboration will be something like we’ve never seen. How will it be different? JAY JONES & STY: this mixtape will be different because it’s not just typical music. Each song will have a strong meaning behind each concept. We didn’t just get in the studio and record songs and say we have a mixtape. We actually sat down came up with a strategy on approaching every track with strong concepts to keep the listeners wanting more.
BSM: You two mesh together well. How did you meet?
JAY JONES: one day, i was on
facebook and ran across StY’s music on a mutual friend’s page. Played da song for my pops,J-Dawg, and he told me to get in contact
other artists who have collaborated in the past? JAY JONES & STY: The difference is, it’s deeper than just music because we’re really potnas outside of this music thing. Because we already know each other, it’s different from two random artists just getting together working on a collaboration tape and not having any chemistry at all.
BSM: What other projects can we look forward to from Jay Jones & STY? (Jay Jones) Well, you can go on DatPiff.com or our website, www. hitzint.com, to download my latest mixtape, “only if You Kool Enough 2”, and also download my first mixtape entitled “only if You Kool Enough”. (STY) My debut mixtape, “chapter 1: A Man’s thoughts’’, dropped November 22nd, thanksgiving Day.
EDITOR’S NOTE: You can follow Jay Jones & StY on the following social networks: twitter: @JayJ0nes/@StyBNc Jay Jones: facebook.com/pages/ Jay-Jones/241808379261029?fref=ts StY: facebook.com/pages/Sty-hitZinternational/260030127444594?fr ef=ts You can also check out all of their music, bios, etc. on the hitZ international site: www.hitzint.com. listen to their music & more 24/7/365: www.hitzintradio.com
J A NUA R Y 2 0 1 3 barbershop-magazine.com | 51
19/01/2013 21:06