Her Comes The Nephew! Interview Part One!

Up till now I've been interviewing crime writers on this blog and I will continue to do so. But, I thought "hey, why not broaden the horizon of these sit-downs?" And so I'm proud to bring an artist in the hip hop and rap game. This cat is near and dear to my rock n roll heart because...he's my nephew Jonathan—named after some cat I know. Without further adieu and such...the nephew! a.k.a. That Jonny Brown

JB: Thanks for doing this Youngblood. You're a musician like myself but in a totally different world. You rap, write beats and produce. Break some o' that down for us.

TJB: No problem. I'm honored to be part of this. Yes, I started writing poetry in the 8th grade because a guest speaker who happened to be Jamaican and a musician taught  us poetry. His being Jamaican caught my attention (Jonathan and I have Jamaican blood pumping through us). He also told me I had a lot of potential. After that I'd write poetry here and there usually to impress a girl on her birthday etc. Fast forward, that turned into making music when those same girls broke my heart so I used it as a way of expression. When I got to university I started playing more piano than my school work and thought I should start writing beats and producing for myself. The rest is history...or whatever it is you older folks like to say.

JB: Indeed young cat but although I'm on the sunny side of 50 I can still kick some ass so watch ya'lls "rest is history jazz ya hear?" Ha Ha! Movin' on: You've had the names Insyght and 4 am but now you run with That Jonny Brown. Unpack that nomenclature puppy chow for us.

TJB: I actually started as Jon Brown but quickly changed to Insyght. At the time I was very into conscious rap and thought that might be my path but my knack for making catchy hooks made me want to venture to a more popular sound. 4 am came later as a reflection of late nights with my production partner Trey Timeless as we happened to be either partying or working on music until 4 in the morning. So we formed a group and called it 4 am. This group still very much exists but we also use our own names as a duo.

JB: Ok, I can dig that. Give us your first rap song and tell us about it.

TJB: That would be "Bliss." It was the first time I wrote the beat, lyrics and produced it myself. It was a heartfelt song about my everyday struggles while feeling moments of bliss while working on music.

JB: How do you feel rappers today stack up against Tupac (my favorite), Ice Cube and Biggie?

TJB: I think there's a handful of rappers today that compare to these greats. Hip hop has really come into the mainstream and just like every genre that has made it to the forefront of an era it gets watered down and begins to lack in quality. Although 2Pac, Biggie and Cube, were very popular, rap wasn't the most popular genre at the time. Not to mention with the internet now anyone can make a song now and just pay outlets to play it. It's not about talent anymore it's about shock value and popularity, that's what sells records.

JB: Yup, and to your last point we've been here many times before. Last question on this segment nephew. Top three artists that fire you up: go!

TJB: If we're talking all time I'd have to say 2pac, Biggie and Kanye. If we're talking today: J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and your favorite...Drake.

JB: Ha ha ya had to take another shot at you're old Unc. Here's the deal with Drake, I'm not rating the guy as a rapper. But, when he sings he simply shouldn't. In fact, there's a ton of rappers that sing when they should not yet, the in the rap world it flies. And I'm not sure why. Let the singers sing, the rappers rap and the drummers drum. See ya'll in part two!

thatjonnybrown@instagram.com
soundcloud.com/thatjonnybrown