Bro JumpMan!!! I would personally like to thank you for rocking with our BLOG and most importantly pushing dope real Hip Hop! Let me ask you how long have you been a Hip Hop artist?
Bro thank you! Im still processing all this stuff happening and then to see this last night was an amazing feeling. I appreciate you saying that as well man. Since I started my artist journey 2 years ago, my goal has been to be authentic to hip hop. I appreciate you guys for rocking with me and giving my music a platform.
Houston, TX!!! We know for a fact the independent scene in Texas is blowing up big time! How has your city influenced your music career! How does your city embrace your Hip Hip movement?
I would love to be able to claim Houston as my city, but I’m a proud Bay Area native. I moved out here January of last year. But in that year and a half my entire sound and style has changed a lot. Houston is unlike any other place that I’ve been. From the people I’ve met to the experiences I’ve had its been special, so it definitely will always get credit for influencing my sound. But the artist and indie platforms out here are everything. The first one I was able to come across and perform at was FLOA( For the Love Of Artistry) ran by Coco Sullivan. Ive found tons of other open mics and performance spots that allow you to sharpen your skill. Regardless of where you’re from or what you look/sound like. I feel thats more positive for the hip hop movement than anything.
Also, how did you get you emcee name?
When I was first starting out I couldn’t come up with a name because I’m hella indecisive at times. I had just made one of my first songs and my pops had played it for this Dj that he was working with at the time. When they heard it they said JumpMan would be dope and its stuck ever since.
How are you dealing with this whole nationwide lock-down due to Covid-19 Corona Virus? Has this effected your music career in any way?
I’ve been staying my ass in the house doing music, being with my family, and smoking man. Just trying to do as many things as I can to keep my anxiety down. For the most part Id say it affected my career no different than most. We can’t perform and due stuff like normal now so its gonna interesting to see how we navigate that. Besides that it really just sped up the urgency to make this a career and not return to working for anybody but myself.
Let’s get right into it, your latest album “I Don’t Trap I Don’t Mumble”, has to be on of the dopest independent projects in 2020, in my humble opinion. Please breakdown the creative process behind it?
Thank you man for real. Really it was just an exercise of everything Ive seen and been through since I moved to Houston. It all started with Moment of Silence. Once I painted that picture I had a better idea of the subject matter I was gonna be putting on the project. We built it with no clear end goal number of songs. We just wanted to look up and say alright this feels good. Personally it was fun because we went in with the intention of making people look at my lyricism. And the production really pulled that out of me.
We notice your style is super original and very creative. Let us know how your style if different than all the rap artists out there!
I can only answer this question one way and thats no body else is me. Nobody will ever be able to tell my experiences like me. My music is an almost verbatim expression of the things that I go through, so how could anybody else replicate that?
How do you go about writing and producing your material? What type of mood are you usually in when making music?
I feel like my boy Wes said it best in one of his recent interviews. The track has to pull something emotionally from me. Whatever that emotion is determines the song for me usually. From there I try to determine cadence and fill in words. That and the fact that whenever I have ideas throughout the day I try to write them in case I can fit it into something later. Some songs get written in one sitting, where others take time and a lot of revision. But the end result is usually something my team and I are proud of.
Any upcoming shows to look forward to? Are you planning on touring any time soon?
There’s nothing solid on the calendar yet but we’re definitely working on getting things going later in the year. I’m praying things can get back to normal for us within the next couple months. Fortunately until then we have a lot of content stored up to share including a few videos. So im hoping that can hold people over till this all clears up.
How does social media play a role in your success? How are fans/supporters helping your movement?
Right now its the only way I can communicate with my followers. So its really essential and Im thankful we still have that lane of communication. But my supporters have really been providing me with inspiration. Thats the best thing to be given by people you don’t even know. And the fact that its because of us connecting in some way through my music is even more special. It just makes me want to push myself harder to develop and give them better music.
With this being IndieHipHop.com, we always ask this important question. What is your definition of true “independent hip hop”?
Bringing nothing but yourself and your stories to the public eye through rhyme on beat. Regardless of whats going on around you.
Where can people find you on the Internet? Drop all the vital links.
https://www.instagram.com/iamjumpmanofficial/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/iamjumpmanofficial/
https://soundcloud.com/iamjumpmanofficial https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgKt6bmFKCaZj1B-gv1cLNQ https://open.spotify.com/artist/6QUawGIRjxJbWE6GF9wBXI
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/iamjumpmanofficial/1494542141
Any shout outs?
Shoutout to everyone who has taken the time to give me energy, love, and support throughout all this craziness. Shoutout to IndieHipHop.com for blessing me with this opportunity. And shoutout to my team. Without them none of this stuff would be possible.
