New Orleans, Louisiana is a city known for its unique music and culture. There’s just no place like it on the face of this earth.
Now I might be a little biased, but I feel I can state, without a doubt, that our music Down South is simply the best – and that is attributable to the grind and drive possessed by those in our entertainment industry. To add to that, we have such a unique and deeply rooted culture, that it reflects through our music, as well as everything we say and do.
Historically, Down South – and in particular, New Orleans artists, producers and entertainers – have had to work much harder for less recognition. Since they are natural hustlers at heart, that’s changing, thanks to blood, sweat and tears shed by some of New Orleans’ finest legends.
Meet Jay Jones, son of Black Menace’s J-Dawg. Black Menace and Partners N Crime are two of the most important entities that have contributed to New Orleans’ unique sound over the past decades – along with many others who have worked with the groups throughout the years. Despite his legacy, Jay Jones is a unique artist in his own right and though he has some big shoes to fill, The Heat believes he will handle that task with ease.
Jay Jones recently released his first mixtape and it is garnering a large number of downloads. Make sure to check out his project, “Only If You Kool Enough”. The title says it all.
We had to know more, so The Heat tracked Jay Jones down for this interview – and we were even fortunate enough to be able to speak with Mista Meana, one half of the legendary Partners N Crime, to get his take on the artist Jay Jones.
Mista Meana and his partners run HITZ International, a multi-faceted entertainment conglomerate designed to give its artists exposure on multiple levels. Here’s what Mista Meana had to say about Jay Jones, the talented young artist who comes from an entertainment dynasty, as well as HITZ International:
“I think Jay Jones is the future of what Hip Hop will be. Jay Jones raps a lifestyle. He has his own movement called Chill Society. That alone lets you know he spits his lifestyle. He’s hungry. Jay’s the son of a legend and I think he’s naturally a gifted kid.
HITZ International is not a rap label – it’s a network. We have an online store for music that can be found at www.hitzint.com and we have an online radio station, www.hitzintradio.com. The artists we choose to work with personally, are artists who have something that stand out and deserves attention and every artist has their own company. So look out for these artists – Jay Jones, Smash Brothers, T Money, Partners N Crime, Block Burnaz, and Black Menace – and coming soon, a new artist by the name of Mally Diamond.”
Getting back to the feature at hand, we asked Jay Jones a plethora of questions and here’s his interview:
THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Who is Jay Jones?
JAY JONES: I’m prolly da koolest, most laid back rap dude you can meet. That’s why the name of my debut mixtape is “Only If You Kool Enough”. It’s also the motto of my movement “Chill Society”. I’m not really one of those over confident dudes wit the music, but I see myself as one of da best new artists coming out of New Orleans, hands down! Don’t get me wrong – sum artists are nice, but not too many seeing me. It’s just facts. Mr.Meana said I’m “Da Future of New Orleans Music” and my music can back up everything that we say, so if anybody beg to differ, just holla at me.
THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Your father is a legend in Down South rap music. How does it feel to know that you came from such a prolific legend?
JAY JONES: I mean it’s a great feeling knowing that my pops has done so much wit music and has so much respect wit music also. And now that the spotlight is kinda shining on me, I have no choice but to make good music. But the only thing I don’t want to do is get compared to my pops with the music. I just wanna make my own name for myself, not just because I’m the son of J-Dawg from the legendary group Black Menace. But other than that, I love the fact that my pops a legend. He makes sure that I’m on track, never losing sight of my main goal, and keep everything moving, but y’all just stayed tuned to my music and I’ll carry the torch from here.
THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Tell us about your mixtape project, which we hear has been quite successful.
JAY JONES: Aww man, the mixtape is called “Only If You Kool Enough”. It was released on November 1, 2011. By that being my first mixtape, I wasn’t expecting all the luv and success I got from it. I’ve been getting good feedback from people in my hometown of New Orleans, of course, but also Atlanta, Florida, and Texas. Shoutout to all the GoDjs out there and to especially Dj Dip. They really fuck*n wit me out there heavy. I have a couple features on the mixtape from a lot of local artists that’s doing major things such as EGMG Show, Dangafield, Smashbros, S80, Sty, Partners N Crime, & also Black Menace. Everything that’s happening from this mixtape is like a dream come true and also a blessing. I’m just thankful for everything.You can download the mixtape on DatPiff.com. Just type “Only If You Kool Enough” in the search box. It’s a sponsored mixtape, so no account is needed. Also me and the Smashbrothers had a successful Mixtape Release Party At Club Voila on December 10th, 2011! Everybody came out and rocked with us.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Check out Part 2 of The Heat’s exclusive interview with Jay Jones as he debuts his new video featuring Kango Slimm of Partners N Crime & he continues to discuss his music career! Click here for Part 2: https://theheatmag.com/heat-exclusive-jay-jones-read-this-only-if-you-kool-enough-part-2/
