18 Oct J Rawls
- The producer that gave you the classic hit “Brown Skin Lady” by Mos Def and Talib Kweli on Rawkus Records.
- The producer behind the hit duo Lone Catalysts that brought you the classic album Hip Hop.
- The artist that brought you The Essence of, 3582, The Liquid Crystal Project and The Hip-Hop Affect
The year was 1992; a couple of decades after Kool Herc pioneered the musical portion of the hip-hop culture by extending the breakdown beats. It was in the latter part of the year that I was given the considerable pleasure of meeting and starting a friendship with the man known as J Rawls. Now when I met J Rawls, he had already realized that production was where he wanted to be, and was in the early stages of nurturing his art.
Several years prior, J Rawls, along with two of his friends from the block in Columbus, Buka and Duane, started off like most at that age did, rapping the lyrics of “La Di Da Di”. A few equipment purchases later and the group “Dope Beat Specialists ” was born. J Rawls, known as Dynomite then, was a rapper and did the beat box. The group made music purely for the love of hip-hop and for the love of music. Being formed in the Midwest, quite a distance from New York, the idea of getting signed and having a “deal” was about as likely as winning a multi-million dollar lottery prize. As J Rawls will tell you, “…We did it because we loved it. We did it because it made us feel a certain way and there was nothing like hearing your voice on tape…”
Again, let J Rawls tell it: “…we had our dad’s old records that we grew up on… I can’t describe to you the undying excitement when me and Buka found our first loop… Kool and the Gang ‘Wild and Peaceful’ – the jungle boogie joint that EPMD had used. Man we went crazy… HIP-HOP showed us that an old James Brown loop was really not that old when you put a fat kick and snare over it…”
Some of the artists J Rawls has worked with include Masta Ace, The Beastie Boys, Wordsworth, Jonell, us3, and Venus Malone. This is just a beginning to the vast amounts of albums, singles, collaborations, and guest appearances that J Rawls is to be credited with. When his biography comes out in novel form, they will all be listed!
Now as he takes off on another plane of existence with his art, I’d like to present to some and introduce to others, the undeniably talented, legendary J Rawls.
For more information
Website: www.polarentllc.com
Twitter: @J_Rawls
Email: Info@polarentllc.com
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