Jay West’s FIRST interview @ 84 Area

Jay West is looking to be a force in Atlanta…coming to a stage near you. His diverse talent, grind and passion for art make him a unique artist in Atlanta. Look for him to perform @ A3C’s Perfect Attendance in what some might consider his real coming out party. SMKA has a couple new joints on his mixtape coming out soon (DRUGS & CANDY)…a little something for everybody.

[84]Area Exclusive: Lets get some drugs + candy with Jay West
FOR FULL INTERVIEW CLICK HERE

Jay West has arrived. I roll up my sleeves and write songs about heartbreak, lusting after women i can’t afford, and my predilections with my very own brand of “cool”. Just how cool am I? Well, mine is a little more accidental. Like, my ball cap sits carelessly on the crown of my head. My thoughts crawl from beneath the hat and in between kicks and snares. In case you’ve just tuned in, I’m a rapper by the way….and as a rapper, I’ll stay true to form, keep it as real as I can, and write what I would like you to know.

How old were you when you first picked up the mic?
I could be real technical and say I actually picked up a mic at like 15. That was the first time people saw me on a stage rapping but I was writing and trying to record things earlier than that. I used to get it in on my big brothers stereo. Just mash the record button!

Who would you say influenced you to start rapping?
I wrote a lot as a kid but hip-hop was always there as the song for my generation. I guess I couldn’t resist the gravitational pull.

What is the one song or groups of songs that have changed your life? How?
Wow! That’s tough. I guess I’d say Ready To Die. I was really young when it dropped and too young to understand the context in which a lot the records were made at that time but I remember my older brothers being nuts about the record. We played it whenever my parents weren’t home. I got older and the way the album was helmed and sequenced become more incredible. Puff made a movie for your ears! It was great.

What first got you into rapping and Hip Hop?
I’m young and black so for the time rap was really the music made for me. It catered to me and the images catered to my ideals, in that I wanted fun and spontaneity as my lifestyle. I decided to try my hand at it when I got reaction from girls when I rapped Kris-Kross verses.

Other than hip-hop have you been interested in venturing into another musical genre?
These days that’s kinda the thing to do, right? Its cool to say, “I listen to Coldplay and Maroon 5”. I don’t want that to turn into some kind of cliché, I just want it to become a respectable norm because I like that about this i-pod generation. We have music on shuffle all day long so its put me into the mode of making music that will fit with Justin Timberlake and 2Pac. I can say rap is where I live but I do like to travel.