J.O Jetson is an indie Hip Hop/Pop artist from the Midwest region. His stomping grounds are Chicago, IL and Minneapolis, MN, which have had major influences in his direction of music. J.O Jetson’s sound shows there are no boundaries to the art of Hip Hop as it’s constantly changing and evolving.
J.O has performed with Ray J, Paul Wall, Rick Ross, Juvenile, Twista, Devin the Dude, Sean Paul from the Young Bloodz, and many others. His new sound is catching on in a major way. His single, ‘Whirlwind’ has solidified and maintained a major buzz due to social media and is growing daily.
J.O is an artist that shows skills and versatility in his image and song by mixing the hip hop sound along with Dubstep and EDM sound. There is one artist in particular that J.O is inspired by, Pitbull from Miami. How he transformed and found his craft after getting in the industry, from underground urban to a nationally recognized pop star. J.O started in the urban circuit and still keeps his foot in that door. He has done songs with urban artists such as Paul Wall from Houston, and Triple Seas from New York. J.O’s favorite thing about music is being able to display your craft to others and meet so many different ways of life along the journey.
J.O. Jetson sat down with DubCNN to discuss his career, his “Whirlwind” single and video, what he’s learned from his time with Snoop Dogg, Twista, Lil Wayne and other artists he’s performed with, as well as many other topics.
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Interview conducted in June 2015.
Questions Asked By: Chad Kiser
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J.O Jetson – Whirlwind (Video)
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DubCNN: First things first, give us a brief introduction and tell us a little about J.O. Jetson?
J.O Jetson is an EDM, pop, rap artist based from the mid-west. Currently I reside in the twin cities Minneapolis St Paul Minnesota. My sound is influenced through my path, and walks in life. Influences of Funk, Dubstep, Hip Hop, and southern sounds are displayed in my music and Art.
DubCNN: Born in Nashville, yet you’ve lived in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Houston. How have those musically-rich cities helped form who you are as an artist?
It’s helped me in many ways. One by showing me different genres and art forms by moving around, seeing different aspects of the culture, from others point of view. It also help me develop as an artist and find myself in my craft, more less be me verses another copycat. It also strengthened me as a musician, I know how to play piano, clarinet. The piano has helped me a great deal with production and recording of my songs. Being on key with your voice is a big deal in any form or genre of music.
DubCNN: Tell me about your most recent single, “Whirlwind” and why you chose that particular song to be a single.
It’s a song that represents our lifestyle; it gives you a look into our sound and what were about, which is the life of the party. When you listen to the J.O sound you know you’re going to get high energy music to dance to, with that heavy base and club feel. Whirlwind is the beginning of what’s more to come from J.O Jetson. The song is definitely catchy and has that cross over club appeal.
DubCNN: You’ve performed with several heavyweight artists such as Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, and Twista to name a few. How does having those kinds of experiences motivate you, and what have you learned from those artists that you carry with you on your own journey?
It motivates me by showing me as an artist you can get to that point with hard work and dedication. Something that I’ve learned from them is work ethic. To survive in this music you have to work hard, very hard to succeed to the top. It won’t just fall in your lap. I also learned a lot about performing live, and really putting on a show, and really keeping a hold of the crowd or audience. These are key things to having success in this biz. Also knowing business as an artist now a days is a must do to the fact everything is so accessible.
DubCNN: Who has been your greatest inspiration musically?
Pitbull, I love his transition in his music career, from Urban to main stream Pop sensation. I see a lot of him in me! I respect that and see a lot of his transition in me, going from urban to a more pop stream cross over. I started heavy in the urban circuit when I first introduce my sound to the world. I had a lot of Houston connects, which landed me a song with Paul Wall. I have a lot of Southern influences in my sound still to this day. Pitbull came out during that crunk area from Miami, bringing that banging hood sound, and transformed into a monster on the club jams. I respect the change, the style, and the music! Just as I did he found his lane and niche.
DubCNN: At what moment did you realize that this is what you wanted do?
I’ve always known I guess, I’ve always been musically oriented since a child, I definitely knew by my teen years that I wanted to be a part of music some type away, I just didn’t know what it was going to be. But when I got introduced to hip hop, I knew I definitely wanted in. I was hooked by the age of the 13 to the whole culture; music, break dancing, the whole nine.
DubCNN: What can current and new fans expect from J.O. Jetson?
New Music, Album dropping this summer L.O.T.P the life of the party album which will be out in July, tours and show dates performing at SXS West March 19th as well as Coachella in Palm Springs April 5, and I’m working on a VR Project (Virtual Reality) applying music to the technology as a featured artist for the platform. I’m also in the works with a designer on a clothing line based on destroyer jeans, which is ripping and flaring denim.
DubCNN: What other projects are you involved in, not necessarily with music, but maybe other ventures?
I’m working close with a clothing designer of Destroyer Jeans, which is flaring and destroying denim. I rock this type of style of jean often in my outfits. We will be working on a Jetsonlife brand to release at a later time of next year.
DubCNN: What do you want people to get from your music?
Fun, inspiration, and unity music brings people together. My music is high energy, fast pace, club-orientated, music to party too, the definition of night life and street life. Influenced by many sounds, such as Funk, Dub Step, Hip Hop, EDM, and southern. You get a whirlwind of production on J.O record. I have so many influences if anything you get the sense of unity through my song and arts.
DubCNN: What are some of the spots our readers can check your music and videos?
You can find me on spots like Vevo, Youtube, Mtv.com, Pandora, and Slacker Radio.
DubCNN: Where can people reach out to you via social media?
For any future updates on J.O Jetson check me out on my website, or twitter, facebook, and instagram.
