Jah Jr.

Earlier this year, local hip-hop artist Johnny Jr. received the Lennon Award, winning the best hip-hop song — for "Keep the Dream Alive" — category in the 2016 John Lennon Songwriting Contest (JLSC), an international competition judged by the likes of George Clinton, the Black Eyed Peas, Prince Royce, and 311.

Well, Johnny Jr. is back for another round as the 2017 JLSC kicks off and places him firmly back in the winning slot in Session I for best hip-hop song for the track "Eastside."

He is one of 12 Session I Grand Prize Winners. Session II's winners are announced in March 2018, and the Lennon Award winners — overall winners in each category after a public vote between Session I and Session II winners — are announced in May of next year. If Johnny wins that round, like he did this year, he'll go on to compete for Song of the Year, which is worth $20,000.

We'll keep you posted on when the public gets to vote, but in the meantime, big congrats to Johnny Jr. Check out the song "Eastside" below. - Kelly Rae Smith

In a modest Facebook reveal, local hip-hop artist Johnny Jr. recently confessed to winning quite the incredible honor. “I’ve been trying to keep it to myself (don’t ask why because I don’t even know lol),” he said. “Last Wednesday, I received an email saying that I won the 2016 John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the Hip-Hop category.”

The contest was judged by such names as George Clinton, Jimmy Cliff, Sheila E., and 311.

“I thought it was a scam ’til I did actual research behind the contest,” Johnny Jr. admits. “At that point I was speechless. Didn’t know what to do or who to tell.”

The song that got the judges' attention? The fittingly titled, “Keep the Dream Alive,” off his second mixtape, Jah, released last December. The track was produced by Tone Jonez.

The John Lennon Songwriting Contest is an international songwriting contest that's been around since 1997. Open to amateur and professional songwriters, the JLSC features two sessions with 72 finalists, 24 grand prize Winners, 12 Lennon Award Winners, and 1 "Song of the Year." All entry fees from the contest help support the non-profit John Lennon Educational Tour Bus mobile recording studio.

Johnny Jr. will move on to the next round of competition beginning April 1. Stay tuned to facebook.com/JahJrMusic for further contest and new music announcements. - Kelly Rae Smith

Jah Jr. provided us with one of the most rhythmic and relevant tracks to make it in our top 10 picks.
Rhythmic and relevant, Jah Jr. has become known for deep grooves and steady flow, and “Keep The Dream Alive” is one of the main reasons why. Coming in strong with current and historical references to the black struggle, you’ll find yourself entranced as a slice of American life is conjured up before you. Published just after last year’s “Best Of” comparisons, this track has held strong for a solid year. Not surprisingly, it has pulled in two wins in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, advancing to the next round in March 2018. Stay tuned. — D.J. Edwards - D.J. Edwards

Last year, there was controversy on social media regarding the lack of diversity at New Music Confab, the music conference held in Charleston and helmed by founder Dave Stewart, who has 25 years of experience in radio programming. Modeled after Austin's SXSW, New Music Confab was in its second year, and Stewart said he'd love to expand to other genres as the event grew. Now in its third year, the event has certainly done just that and picked up a new name to boot: Charleston Music Confab.

Once a three-day event, Charleston Music Confab is now a four-day deal featuring, you guessed it, hip-hop. Stewart says it's a huge format that he's glad to welcome to the Confab fold. "For the first two years it was a process," says Stewart. "It's not like I could just pick up the phone and talk to the head of a label, say 'Will you come,' and that's it. There are only so many hours in the day, and I'm a one-man-band, so I had the aspect of continuing the relationships that I already had on the rock and pop side of things but that gave me more time to work on developing contacts in other genres, like the hip-hop and R&B worlds."

Charleston Music Confab also added a singer-songwriter element this year, which delves into various genres in and of itself. As for venues, Upstairs at JohnKing and Kingdom Bar & Grill are new to the event, while Charleston Music Hall, the Music Farm, and the Royal American return this year as participating venues, all featuring varied showcases all weekend.

Another new feature is the Charleston Music Confab Vinyl Fair at the Charleston Music Hall this Saturday from 10 a.m. 'til 4 p.m. — it's free for the public to attend. The fair will go hand-in-hand with an added panel discussion called Vinyl Isn't Dead, But Are Albums?, during which industry leaders discuss the different avenues for artists to make music these days. "Say an artist has two great songs — should they put them out now or should they wait and get 10 together and do an album?" Stewart explains. "There's really no right or wrong answer, but it'll be good for discussion."

New forums debuting this weekend include Streaming: Don't be Scared!, highlighting the complexities of getting music to the world, and Publish or Perish. "Nashville has that whole community where you can make a living as a songwriter and such a big part of that is being able to get a publishing deal, " Stewart says. "It's very confusing and it's difficult to maneuver so we have a panel that's just dedicated to discussing how to navigate that."

There will be additional discussions on artist branding, recording, touring, team building, social media, and more — all of which happen during mornings and afternoons Thursday through Sunday, while the nights are filled with showcases. Wednesday night kicks off the conference with a cocktail party at Kingdom Bar & Grill followed by the first showcase at the Music Farm, featuring artists from multiple genres, including hip-hop and rock.

Over 3,100 artists from around the world submitted to perform — via Confab sponsor Reverbnation. Of those, 62 different acts were chosen, many of whom are from the Lowcountry and South Carolina. The full showcase schedule is below, and you can purchase a pass and learn more about each artist, panelist, and panel at newmusiconfab.com. - Charleston City Paper

The Bend, a new outdoor performance venue in North Charleston, has announced its first Marsh Jam, which will feature local hip-hop, R&B, and blues-rock performers as well as comedians. Originally scheduled for May 4, the Jam has been moved to Thurs. June 1.

Co-presented by Eddie White and the team behind Awendaw Green’s Barn Jams, Marsh Jam features hip-hop artist Tyler Cash, R&B singer-songwriter and one-fourth of IllVibeTheTribe, Poppy Native; hip-hop artist and winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the hip-hop category, Johnny Jr.; comedian Jeremy McLellan; and charismatic blues-rockers, HoneySmoke.

Gates open at 4:30 p.m., and the show ends at 9 p.m.

Formerly Ashley Shores, The Bend is a 17-acre "natural gathering place" on the banks of the Ashley River — more precisely, its address is 3775 Azalea Drive. The venue hopes to "create mindfully with a larger community vision guiding all the decisions."

Dating back to the 1600s, the Bend plans to deliver cultural events and learning experiences to share with the community.

For more info, go to thebendcharleston.com, or follow the commune on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. - Charleston City Paper

On Christmas Day local hip-hop artist Johnny Jr. released a video for “Black in America,” an unapologetically blunt new track off the artist’s second mixtape, Jah.

The video features Johnny Jr. standing among protestors with signs reading “Black Power” and “No Justice, No Peace,” while the emcee sings, “You gotta walk around with a bullet-proof vest, Being black in America/ You get laid to rest with no thoughts of arrest, Being black in America.”

The last straws that inspired “Black in America” were the murders of Tamir Rice and Mike Brown. “Unresolved, blatant murders of two young black individuals, how nothing ever added up when it came to the final verdicts — when the evidence was clear in both cases,” says Johnny Jr. “I wrote that song angry, like pure anger.”

That was two years ago. It wasn’t until a year ago that the artist found the perfect beat to accompany the track, courtesy of Harlem, New York’s Austin Marc. And it was Sean Morgan of local production company MUVI Films that helped Johnny Jr. make his vision come to life in video form.

The album Jah officially dropped on Thurs. Dec. 30 and can be streamed now, along with the video, at jahjr.com.

Johnny Jr. will perform at the Charleston Hype showcase this Saturday along with Black Dave (DJ), Tyler Ca$h x Skrilla, Pluto Dash, Sunny Malin, and Jaee Bryan at Compass on King. He'll also hit the stage at IllVibetheTribe and SwimClique's Elevators Vol. II showcase with Benjamin Starr and DJ Dubb on Sat. Jan. 21 at the Purple Buffalo. - Kelly Rae Smith

Hip-hop team Johnny Jr and DJ SCrib will unveil their latest project #JahSCrib during an intimate listening party set for Sun. July 16 at 7 p.m. at PURE Theater (477 King St.).

Creative sparks first flew between the two when they met during Johnny Jr.'s listening party for Jah back in December at Elliotborough Mini Bar. It wasn't long before they joined forces and performed their first show together during the second of IllVibeTheTribe's #Elevators series at the Purple Buffalo on Sat. Jan. 21 of this year.

"Since the day SCrib and I met, we knew that we had practically identical ideas when it came to music," says Johnny, who won the 2016 John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the hip-hop category earlier this year. "We both wanted to bring back the feel of ’90s music. The good vibes that that decade possessed were amazing. We want to give everyone those nostalgic feels."

SCrib seconds that, saying the flashback project evolved from "two ’90s kids wanting to vibe together and bring that element of skits, a DJ, and an MC back to mixtapes. Since the beginning, we knew we were going to have fun with a project based on our lives when we kids."

The two are hellbent on showing Charleston the essence of hip-hop — a DJ and his MC. So you can expect to hear the two, according to Johnny Jr., "kickin' funky fresh raps and laying fresh cuts and spins over beats from the ’90s as well as songs sampled from the ’90s."

#JahSCrib features local hip-hop artists Matt Monday and Anfernee along with Saluda emcee, Bert. You can sample the mixtape here (and above) with "Poison," in which the duo samples the classic Bell Biv Devoe song. "Poison" was produced by NBOMe, who hails from Hampton, Va.

Admission to the listening party is free, but you still need to grab a seat here. - Kelly Rae Smith