FEATURED ARTIST INTERVIEW SPOTLIGHT: Jus' Lyon
Being the youngest of 6 kids, the 22 year old has learned he has to fight for what he wanted; from being adventurous in the dangerous areas of the city he once lived, spanning to those days where he was bullied and shown tough love by his brothers just for being the youngest of the bunch. He found this outlet of hip hop and rap in 2008 with just a mere karaoke machine and a few loose instrumentals. By 2010, his friends highly recommended that he take rapping serious as he surpassed his peers and acquaintances at the art form. Not only did he surpass them with skill, but his work ethic showed with five mixtapes coming from his group 5hunnid and himself as a solo artist. This type of work allowed him to consistently show his ability to switch styles at the drop of a dime; showing lyrical potency every time.
Continuing to work as an artist, Jus' became very studious of the game, dissecting Eminem's album catalog; even the heavyweights of hip hop with The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready To Die, Nas' superior lyrical masterpiece Illmatic, and even 2pac's All Eyez on Me. He still references these works, believing getting better is a never ending process. Add other artists like Royce da 5'9", Yelawolf, Kevin Gates, K- Camp, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole to his playlist, and one would see why his energy and depth is unmatched. The energy he displays aides in his successful efforts connecting to all walks of life; from the richest person to someone living on the streets with a bleak outlook on life.
In releasing his first label project Lyrical Intentions, Jus' Lyon's goal is to show incredible versatility given any beat; painting pictures as his flows stroke the canvas birthing the art he aspires to create. His first single, My Click, shows his extreme loyalty to those who have been in his corner the whole time so he can carve out his path to his destiny.
TMP: When did you begin doing Music?
JL: I started freestyling on a karaoke machine back in the day when I was like 12 or 13 that's when I grew very fond of music I always use to listen to Eminem, notorious b.i.g, nas, jay z, and others but when I actually took my music career seriously was when I moved to a new location in 2009 with my parents a small town called Creedmoor now no I don't represent that town because I’m not from there but when I moved there I met some people who actually did music and recorded on a regular with the school laptops they gave us but it was one guy who convinced me to be serious because I had a gift and his name is Dorian Newman aka king fonzi he pushed me and pushed me to record and yea my first couple of mixtapes wont that good but when I got to the third on I caught a buzz around town and had people screaming my name and blasting my music so right then and there is when I realized this is what I want to do I have a passion for this so I want to run with it so every since 2009 I’ve been growing stronger and getting better and now look where I’m at doing multiple shows a week being featured on blogs doing radio interviews and more so yea I can say doing it for 8 years has officially started to pay off plus looking at other artist is what inspires me
TMP: What inspired you to pursue music?
JL: It was all the grinding I saw others doing plus my homie and brother Dorian Newman aka cannon fonzereli who really inspired me to pursue with it and go hard for it because I had a gift but also my family and friends and god at first the support system wasn’t there but the more I experimented the stronger it grew
TMP: What do you look for when it comes to creating music?
JL: Uniqueness I always have that ear for a certain sound its got to make me move from the jump even with features you got to make me really pay attention or automatically vibe with the beat if not I can’t do but now I’ve come to realize I don’t care anymore ill rap to anything these days to experiment with different sounds
TMP: What’s your take on the music game currently?
JL: Its changed completely I don’t even recognize it anymore its downgraded to me honestly because there’s this new mumble rap era which I don't want to hear you mumble I want to hear real words may be a story but I feel the music game currently is a total mix up we need real hip hop and music back because it won’t ever be the same if we keep going at this rate
TMP: How would you describe "Lyrical Intentions"?
JL: I would say lyrical intentions is an album and mixture of my personal stories and others stories and things I combined into it to make it different I tried to come from as many different point of views as possible I wanted this album to be a story teller weather it’s in the streets to in the studio to working hard to talking about your personal business like I said it’s a mixture so you kind of have to wait to hear it for yourself and give your own label to it TMP: What advice do you have for that little boy or girl who wants to do what you do?
JL: I say don’t ever give up on your dreams no matter what anybody says or tries to do to you ignore them and express your creative mind but who you want to be but be original and not a copycat if this is what you want to do just know 3 things work hard work smart but work wise and you always have to be willing to help yourself before you get help
TMP: How do you want the listeners to feel after hearing your music?
JL: I want them to feel energized and ready to move I want them to want to hear more and see what other sounds there are but I mainly want them to feel like it’s all real
TMP: Would you consider you music as your personal form of art?
JL: To me yea to others maybe not but I don’t just do music I also incorporate my personal art skills in my music I tend to want to show all sides of my artistic mind so I consider it a personal form of art
TMP: What is next for you?
JL: Release my album perform at CIAA and SXSW in Texas and collab with some dope people but I am aiming high for 2017 so expect the unexpected
TMP: What is the biggest misconception about being an emcee?
JL: That we all sound alike when we don’t we all have our different sound different look different story to tell and different everything so I feel that’s the biggest misconception to me because I’m always hearing people say all rappers sound alike
TMP: Where can your music be found?
JL: YouTube And soundcloud look up Jus Lyon and all on iTunes, google play, Spotify, Pandora, amazon mp3, and more just google me you will find me
TMP: Are you social? FB? IG? TWITTER?
IG: @iamjuslyon Twitter: @iamjuslyon FB: Justin Lyon DaDude FB Fan Page: Jus Lyon SnapChat: @str8hustla
