Jasonplusone

Local Jacksonville artist, Jasonplusone allows his music to speak for itself. In early November he released Intellectual Bliss. (which is often hash tagged on Twitter as #IB) The album chronicles several years of his life dating from 2008 to 2011. He began writing the album in 2011 and was able to draw from experiences within that time period of his life.

It was during that time frame that his son was born, whom he considers to be the reason he raps; his ‘plus one.’ “In college, I would bring my son to events and he naturally became my plus one,” said Jasonplusone. “He’s the reason I chase my dreams.”

Jasonplusone is also inspired from seeing other people in the hip-hop industry that share the same passion for music. “When I see that other people have chosen hip-hop to express themselves, it’s like they’re painting a picture for others to see,” he said. “I get inspired to share more of my own story and dreams because of them.”

Along his journey there have been artists that have inspired him, some of those artists include: Black Thoughts from The Roots, Mos Def, Talib Kwali, Nas, Big Krit, Mr. Al Pete and a few others. He also shares a love for many local artists such as Mr. Al Pete, The Black Chain Gang , Tru Fam, Chris Slade and several others.

In listening to his album, Jasonplusone manages to create music that feels therapeutic; a blissful experience not to be slept on. The album has a hint of grit mixed in with snippets of old school. Clips from Barry White and School Daze serve as interesting interludes and transitions between tracks.

One of Jasonplusone’s favorite tracks off the album includes “In&Out” feat. Cheech. “The way it sounds is perfect,” he said. “It’s a pivotal point on the album for me.”

The album can be listened to and downloaded from Jasonplusone’s website Jasonplusone.com. The album is only $10 to download.

He describes his music as “thinking man music” or “conscious rap.” It’s his goal that people come away from his music thinking. “I took ignorance is bliss and turned it into intellectual bliss because now I’ve had the opportunity to learn from my past mistakes,” said Jasonplusone.

He also understands that life is bigger than just yourself. “Everything you do affects you plus one. You and someone else,” he said. “Everyone should have a plus one.”

Jasonplusone is working hard to not only secure his voice in the Duval County artist scene, but to set himself apart. “Jasonplusone has found a way to bridge his poetic beginnings with the legendary culture of hip hop,” said local poet Love Reigns, host of ArtisTree Live at TSI. She considers him to be among one of few pioneers who are re-birthing real hip-hop back into Jacksonville.

“Personally I have seen his growth standing on the shoulders of the likes of Mr. Al Pete finding his own voice and securing his place in the history currently being made right here in Duval and soon worldwide,” she said.

Outside of rapping he has a love for education. As part of his passion he would like to sponsor or help open an academy for inner city kids. Jasonplusone says that he would model his academy after that of Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia or something similar to Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem’s Children Zone.

“I would like to be able to put money out there to help inner city kids,” said Jasonplusone. “Or even team up with other artists to do philanthropy work.” This is better explained in his bio featured on his website:

“Jasonplusone’s ultimate goal is to use music and education to build a network of academies that would allow minority and inner-city youths to discover and hone their artistic skills, utilizing primary academics, while correlating it to Hip-Hop culture.”

If nothing else can sum up Intellectual Bliss, it has to be simply stated that Jasonplusone is a thinker who believes that everything happens for a reason. “The album has caused me to grow and learn,” he said.

Tonight, you can catch Jasonplusone at TSI for the Intellectual Bliss album release party. Doors open at 8pm. At the door tickets will be $10. The Katz Downstairz will also be featured with other performances by Chris Slade, Blue Gambino and Yung Nard.

Please come out and support Jasonplusone and experience an unforgettable night of Intellectual Bliss. #IB - Alex McClain

Words cannot express how disgusted, appalled and disheartened many of us are over the murder of 17 year Trayvon Martin, who was essentially hunted by a “neighborhood watchmen”. But in our “shock”, we must not treat this incident as if it were an isolated event, instead we must understand that Trayvon could have been any of our sons and take ACTION that goes beyond momentary outrage. So let’s talk about it, sign petitions, march, contact our elected officials; do whatever we can to assure that Trayvon Martin did not die in vain. The homie Jasonplusone of BCG has recorded and released a very fitting tribute to Trayvon, Ghost of Trayvon. Listen, take heed and ACT. Rest in peace, Trayvon Martin. - Nakia Abreu

As part of my journey through Hiphop in northeast Florida, I plan to introduce my readers to members of the Hiphop community who are working hard to help establish the culture as a prominent part of Duval county. This includes musicians (ie. lyricist, producers, and DJs), break-dancers, graffiti artist, club owners, and even fans.

One of the first people I am going to tell you about is Duval’s own Jasonplusone. To quote directly from the Bio on his website www.jasonplusone.com, “it really is bigger than Hip-Hop for Jacksonville, Florida’s aspiring emcee, songwriter and recording artist, Jasonplusone, who is out all of the hats that he wears a child of God, father and educator, first.”

Jasonplusone has poured his heart into his latest project, Intellectual Bliss. Intellectual Bliss, commonly hashtaged on Twitter as just #IB, is Jasonplusone’s debut album; although, after a complete play through its hard to believe that he hasn’t been grinding out albums in the booth for years.

As I mentioned earlier, Jasonplusone’s bio on his website mentions that he is an emcee, songwriter and recording artist, I think what he left out was storyteller. Intellectual Bliss, which thanks to Jasonplusone I have been listening to non-stop for the past week, is not just a collection of 15 tracks that he just went into the booth and threw down, they are so much more. Each of the tracks themselves tell elaborate stories and give glimpses into the life of humble yet proud man of the Hiphop culture, but the arrangement of the tracks on the album also further elaborate the story that Jasonplusone is telling.

With samples from obscure, but unbelievably relevant sources, Jasonplusone weaves a masterpiece of a first album with Intellectual Bliss. Intellectual Bliss features hard-hitting beats, from producers such as Absalom, DJ Burn, and DJ Duke Money, as well as a track mixed by DJ Mr. Al Pete, my personal favorite track on the album.

There are also some surprises on the album that I don’t want to completely give away, but I will say that Jasonplusone definitely knows how to how a have little fun on a track.

Intellectual Bliss drops on November 1st2012, and you can purchase it at jasonplusone.bandcamp.com. I would advise that sleeping on this album or on Jasonplusone at all, would be a mistake. It wont be long before you are at some club or party and the DJ throws on Green Devil, Vibe 2, Dazed & Perks, or maybe some other track from Intellectual Bliss, and you definitely don’t want to be that one person in the room who doesn’t already know the track by heart.

You can also come out and support Jasonplusone Friday night, November 2nd, at ShantyTown Pub. He will be at “Frozen 40oz. Fridays,” and also Wednesday, November 7th, at Art Walk’s Lyricist Hour hosted by Mal Jones where he will also be performing. Both events will be FREE ADMISSION!!

I also recently had the chance to get Jasonplusone to answer a few questions for me about his album Intellectual Bliss and his future.

Me: Why do you think people will enjoy Intellectual Bliss?

Jason: I really believe the production is magnetic on this project and people will be immediately drawn to it sonically. After they’re drawn by that, the lyrics are bound to grab them. I have a line where I say “I hear folk say that everybody cant rap, but I’ll be damned if every street ain’t a trap…the struggle’s universal.” I stand behind that premise. That’s what makes Hip Hop such a great art form, because it bleeds into a culture where everyone can relate in some way. And this project is definitely Hip Hop.

Me: Who were your biggest inspirations?

Jason: On this particular project my biggest inspirations were my son and his mother. I tried to structure it with a story line, you know with a rising action, climax and what not. The songs towards the middle of the project were heavily influenced by them. Other than that, my typical inspirations were prevalent throughout the creative process: the members and affiliates of the Black Chain Gang and my favorite artists like Big Krit, Curren$y, Black Thought, Lupe Fiasco and Nas to name a few. All of the lyrical styles, metaphors and song structures of my predecessors were inspirations on this project.

Me: So, What’s next?

Jason: Wow. I have actually two projects waiting on the shelf. I’m just trying to present my story to the masses in pieces and entertain them as well. I’m working on a full length studio album with artist and producer Tough Junkie as well as an EP-like project with Mississippi producer DJ Duke Money. But my main focus right now will be doing shows throughout the region and bringing #IntellectualBliss to the world! - Justin Rigdon

It really is bigger than Hip-Hop for Jacksonville, Florida’s aspiring emcee, songwriter and recording artist, Jasonplusone, who is out all of the hats that he wears a child of God, father and educator, first. - IndieOn65, LLC