October Jonez

October Jonez is fired up. On his new single "Arena Musik", he boasts about his fast lifestyle over a rapid, club-heavy production by Tee $teez. "Arena Mu$ik" can set the tone for any night out and listeners can look forward to more from the rapper representing North Columbus. Get a glimpse inside Jonez' world below. - Animalxhouse

Columbus-native, October Jonez, has released his project Nightmares Come Tru and this is the get money project of the summer. Jonez provides some melodic introspective into what goes on in the North side of Columbus. There is no lack of confidence coming from Jonez, also it doesn't really seem like anything is going to phase him either. Really strong effort from the young artist, Nightmares Come Tru is some definite heat. - Mark Bricker

October Jonez and DJ IQ hosted the event The OJ Experience last Wednesday. This event featured upcoming rappers of Columbus that October Jonez connected with on his newest album The OJ Experience which you can find now on iTunes.

“Lil ratchet don’t miss!”

Before all of the artists performed, DJ Lil Ratchet Soul or DJ LR$ (@lilratchetsoul) and DJ IQ warmed the crowd up with some fire music. From new Kendrick to one of my new favorite songs Trapped It Out by Lotto Savage, the selection was dope.

“Lil ratchet don’t miss!” said Chief Ambassador Tre Washington, as she played March Madness by Future. DJ LR$ made sure to keep the crowd hype for the rappers, performing in-between sets. She danced with them making sure to keep the energy high.

Various artists performed on the elevated stage in Granero Lounge which is located in the Arena District. Among the performers were: Yung Luciano, HMB, C Streets, and Taco Ve’l.

Seeing the different artists command the crowd’s attention was eye opening, to say the least. I’ve been to multiple shows and this show had a different type of vibe that kept everyone hype.

The headliner October Jonez hyped the crowd, whether it was introducing an artist to the stage, or performing his single “Lois Lane”. The OJ Experience was exactly that; a Columbus showcase for up and coming artists with high energy. Stay tuned for The October Jonez Experience pt. 2. Be on the lookout for the info on their social media: @october_jonez and @djiq614. This is a show you don’t want to miss out on! - LYNDS

Rappers can lose themselves in ego-trip and fantasies, but Columbus native October Jonez keeps his music autobiographical, rapping about his daily hardships and responsibilities.
“When The Leaves Fall” is the third release for the rapper, whose given name is Kabelo Dobosu. Released on livemixtapes.com on Oct. 9, the mixtape centers around Dobosu’s life story as a man about to be a father and striving to make a living out of his passion.
“On this project I want to make doing a responsible thing sound cool,” Dobosu said.
The 25-year-old former marketing student at Ohio State said he’s not interested in ego contests fantasies of fancy cars even though he respects these rap standards.
“Since I record various artist throughout the city I’ve learned to be open-minded,” said Dobosu, who also does sound engineering locally. “They’re speaking about what they want to be, they feel like if they speak it into existence it will become true.”
Dobosu started writing lyrics at 12 years old and recorded in a studio for the first time at 17. From that time on, he said reality has been his first source of inspiration.
“I lost my grandmother at nine. She was the glue of the family and I used to write about these things — things I got to do to survive,” Dobosu said.
After high school, Dobosu joined the National Guard for six years. There he said he learned some hard lessons.
“You are responsible for your own action, don’t expect anything from anyone — just hold yourself accountable,” Dobosu said.
When he went back to music, he found a mentor in Audrey L. Beard, also known as King Drey, the producer and founder of Columbus record label Hit Makers Boulevard. Beard said the studio caters to up-and-coming independent artists.
“He’s talented, he’s very creative,” Beard said. “He’s not an artist that’s just making things up and try to sound cool or anything. He’s really organic in the things that he talks about in his songs.”
Through Hit Makers Boulevard, Dobosu started making beats professionally and started as a sound engineer, but he said more importantly he found the support he needed to take the leap to go full-time into his passion.
“It’s crazy that some people had more faith in me than I had myself,” Dobosu said.
Correction Nov. 3: A previous version of this article said Dobosu went into the military after college, but it was in fact after high school. A quote in the seventh graf was also corrected. - The Lantern

Unless you count Shad Moss fka Bow Wow — which natives weirdly would rather not — Columbus, Ohio has yet to really have anyone really put them on the map, musically. The closest thing to that, right now, would probably be Fly.Union — most notably Jerreau, who is finally beginning to gain the traction he should have gained a long time ago. Nevertheless, the field is certainly wide open.

Enter October Jonez and his latest joint, titled “Get U Sum”, a collaboration with fellow Columbus emcee Taco Ve’l, who has been featured here on RESPECT. numerous times.

If you’re one of those people who is tired of all the raps about the money, then I really don’t know what to tell you. You don’t like money? Come on, man. Who doesn’t like money? I like money. And apparently October and Taco do too, as that is the very theme of this trappy new banger.

The level of balance on this song is what makes it such a good listen. In the first verse, you get October Jonez who comes through with a rather frantic flow, then Taco Ve’l throws in his verse, which initially is in his signature, mellow style. But then, even he turns up a little. Not to mention, the hook is catchy and will be in your head all day. “Hoppin’ out the Uber/Pockets lookin’ like a Brinks truck!” - Respect Magazine

Wassup guys! Today October Jonez takes over The 101 Show to perform his hot new single, "Honey Bourbon"! We hope you enjoy, October Jonez is defiantly a one of a kind artist! Please share,like, and subscribe for more! Peace! - 101 network

The Linden-born rapper has been aspiring to greatness since he crafted his first rhymes at age 13

October Jonez still remembers the first hook he wrote at age 13, and he won’t hesitate to sing it unprompted outside of a Bexley coffee shop.

“Number one in the sun/Nuh, nuh, nuh/In the sky,” the rapper crooned unexpectedly in the midst of a late-September interview. “Everywhere/Un, un/I’m ready to ride/Ready to ride.”

Boiling it down, Jonez, born and raised in Linden, said the song is “about being the best you can be,” which has remained an ongoing theme for the MC, carrying into his most recent album, SAVEURSELF4, for which he’ll host a release party and listening session at Oranjudio Recording Studio on Friday, Oct. 4.

“Growing up off Cleveland [Avenue], you’d see people that gave up: the addicts, the people on the corner,” Jonez said. “I’ve seen the effects if you give up. And I’ve seen the effects if you keep going. And I’d rather keep going.”

“SAVEURSELF, it [covers] the things I deal with, and the things that cross my mind on that journey to get where I want to be,” the rapper continued. “When I first started, I didn’t have any help, no connections. But by being persistent and getting back up when I got knocked down, I was able to make those connections and build those relationships and figure out where I was going. And I didn’t wait on anybody for that. ... Save yourself. Hard work always pays off.”

As evidence, the rapper points to early efforts to land opening slots at PromoWest shows. Initially told “no,” he embraced a sales technique, stepping back to analyze the steps he could take in order to turn that rejection into an unqualified “yes.” So he started building a local fan base and proving himself a sales draw to promoters. He has since opened shows at PromoWest venue Express Live for rappers such as Migos and Lil Wayne.Even when Jonez got caught up in the rare illicit scheme — he was arrested on weapons and identity theft charges years back, both of which have since been expunged from his record — he viewed it as the only available means to taking that next big legitimate step. “I knew the difference between right and wrong,” he said of the incident, which fuels album track “Save Yourself.” “The blessing is that I’ve learned from my mistakes, and now I know how to do it the right way and not compromise who I am.”The release of SAVEURSELF4 coincides with a busy month for Jonez (he’s coined his namesake month “Droptober”), who will also release a collaborative tape on Oct. 11 in addition to opening a slew of high-profile shows, including Roddy Ricch at Express Live on Oct. 12 and Calboy and Lil Keed at the Newport on Oct. 19. For three years running, October has been a big month for Jonez, who said the Halloween season usually coincides with an across-the-board bump in sales, streams and shows.

Jonez was introduced to hip-hop at a young age. His parents played rap radio in the home, where he absorbed everything from Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On” to Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz “Bia Bia” (“I can’t believe that was on the radio,” he said, and laughed). But when Jonez finally decided to create his own tracks, rather than patterning his flow after the rappers he knew and loved, he started from scratch at the urging of his Uncle Bonez, who stressed originality over everything.

“He said, ‘You can’t be sounding like them, man! I can go buy their album if I want to listen to them,’” Jonez said.

After tearing this house back to the foundation, it took Jonez years to rebuild, a process that included first learning to be comfortable with his own voice, and then developing his own cadence, tempo and tone. Through it all, though, the material remained consistently aspirational — a drive captured by a single word in new song “Macadamian.” “I ain’t famous yet,” he raps. Considering how far he’s already come, who would bet against him? - Andy Downing