What is your background? Tell us where you grew up and some information about your upbringing/experiences as a youth:
From birth to about 13 years of age I spent my pre-adolescent years with my mother, 1 brother and 3 sisters. My mother being unemployed, we relied on government assistance as far as food stamps, government housing etc. I grew up not having a lot but my siblings and I had the essentials to get by: food, shelter, clothes and school supplies obviously for school. As I grew closer to my teenage years I thought I was “Billy Bad Ass” and turned to the streets which in turn didn’t last long. Although my father was in the picture when it was permitted, he eventually took me under his wing to raise me due to the fact that my mother could not raise a man. What my father brought into my life from 14 years of age and up shed a new light on the darkness that I was dwelling in and gave me a new perspective on life.
At what moment did you know that music was part of your life and what feelings did you have towards making an active impact with your music?
I remember to this day I was 5 years old attending Zavala Elementary School I was maybe in kinder going on to 1st grade really can’t recall. (Really doesn’t matter I’m just thinking out loud or better yet thinking while I type this for the reader… HAHA) The school went up to 6th grade, and the 6th graders had the choice to be in band or in orchestra (remember this!!). I remember hearing that morning during announcements on the intercom “Attention to all staff and students, at 13:30 (1:30pm) please be seated in the auditorium for a special performance from our very own Zavala Mustang Orchestra.”
I was excited because at that time I would only listen to classical music in order to sleep. The time rolls around and I remember taking my seat and the auditorium embarked on its journey of silence then the composer announced the orchestra. They played 4 songs before music truly hit me. The composer begins to announce the last song “Thank you everybody, we have one more for you and to the parents in the audience I hope you enjoy this one. The last song we will play is Stand by Me from Ben E. King.” At that moment the old heads roared with cheer and anticipation so at this time I’m at awe in the sense of being lost to why all the parents are cheering so I’m excited. They began the song with the bass section and hearing the notes from the bass vibrate through the auditorium I felt the; authority, intensity, love, peace, sincerity and last but not least l felt the drive and passion to be a musical kind of guy. I told myself at that moment “When I’m a 6th grader I want to play in the orchestra”, I did just that. Then it turned to me listening to Hip-Hop and all I would listen to was Tupac and The Temptations, which lead to me writing and in turn making my first rap song when I turned 14 “Just a Youngsta”. From that one day in elementary you now have what I do today make music.
What artists inspired/influences you and if you could collaborate with any artist (alive or passed) who would it be and why?
From listening to classical music Bach, Mozart, Hofman to listening to The Temptations, Smoky Robinson and all the Motown greats I learned that my inspiration for music came from artists in those specific times. My influence to actually make Hip-Hop/Rap music came from the greats before me who were Hip-Hop’s pioneers and that list could go on forever as you and I both know if you truly call yourself a Hip-Hop fan. If I could collaborate with an artist who is no longer with us it would be Tupac, largely because that’s all I listened to when I started listening to Hip-Hop but other reasons would include his style was brutal when delivering, his work ethic was phenomenal, he really didn’t care about what others thought of him, he was true to himself and most importantly he was genius. Now an artist I would love to collaborate with that’s alive hands down that would be B.O.B o’ Mr. Bobby Ray (lol). The reason I would love to work with him is this dude is one of the most creative artists on the Hip-Hop scene, from his word play to his delivery and like Pac B.o.B simply doesn’t care about what others think of what he does but at the same time he enlightens the listener. Whether you agree to what he talks about or not this guy will make you think. In my eyes that’s utilizing a platform to educate or to make one aware is one of the most profound thing any artist can do. There’s no one comparing to the No Genre thing this guy displays. He is most certainly one artist I have to work with sometime in the near future.
What do you think about the current state of hip hop/mainstream music?
I tend to not associate what “mainstream hip-hop” is versus what hip-hop means to me that has to do with my studies in hip-hop while I attended the Art Institute of Austin. I saw in my studies that hip-hop encompassed everything from graffiti, b boys, good times, bad times, entertainment as in parties, education and also relating to the underbelly of society. By relating to the underbelly of society hip-hop dispersed to other areas of media like news, sports, politics and most importantly the communities it was birthed from with that being said it was authentic there was a message to spread through other media outlets for the sole purpose of exposing problems within communities which were mainly the inner cities. Seeing what hip-hop evolved into now is a disgrace in my book, the consistency of degrading certain ethnic groups, the degrading of men and women, the love for materialistic things and the lack of morality. It’s like most of these artists don’t care who they convey their message to and to me that’s not hip-hop. I tend to bring that authenticity back.
Currently, what projects do you have in the works that you are most excited about?
I’m currently working on a chain of singles but there is one single that I am most excited about Song: Light It Up. Light It Up will be available for pre-order on March 2 2017 on ITunes and Google Play, on March 3 2017 you will be able to buy the song from other digital stores such as Spotify, Amazon Music etc. And Light It Up will also be on Pandora to listen to or buy, there are other stores but off the head these are ones I can remember. Be sure to get your copy.
What are your short term career goals within the next 6-10 months?
I want to have 5 singles out mastered to perfection and available for purchase. I also want to have 2 mixtapes done and last but not least I want to at least do 4 shows a month.
What are your long term career goals within the next 2-5 years?
My long term career goals within the next 2-5 years would be to fall back behind the scenes of the music industry and open a studio and be able to engineer other artist, and also coach upcoming artists. I also want to have at the least 5 albums done so pretty much one album per year.
If you had one song out of the catalog you have created to show a person what song would it be and why?
The song I would show a person would be the song that I am most excited about at this moment which is Light It Up. The reason being is because I was in a dark state at the time when I made it and I reverted to the one thing that I know which is the most high Yah and the music he has blessed me with. As I started writing the song I began to lose what it was that had me all down during those dark times. I knew at that moment that I was sitting on a hit because anyone can relate to what it was that I was going through. Most importantly the message I bring forth in the song “Be the light in the dark & Light It Up”. Be sure to check those calendars because March 2nd is vastly approaching so make sure you get your pre ordered copy and also March 3rd is the official release date.
To the person who had never heard of you what is it about your music and story that you would tell them to entice them to be a supporter?
Are you tired of the same old song and I don’t mean The Four Tops? Are you willing to open your mind to a new style? Do you have 99 cents to spare? If you answered yes to all these questions then my music is here for you lol. But on a more serious note my music is not the same music that you hear in the club or on the radio largely because of the message I bring forth. If you enjoy authenticity, originality and creativity then this would your one stop shop for all of the above. Think I’m telling a tall tale just buy my song on March 2nd 2017 and you can figure it out. LoL!!!!!
If your music could be described in five words what would those five words be?
Motivational, Unique, Spontaneous, Immaculate, Ceremonial
What do you bring to the game that is unique and different?
First and foremost I don’t use profanity in my music and the message I bring forth is like no other heard in the mainstream hip-hop community.
To the aspiring artist who is considering a career as a musician what lessons or advice would you give them to inspire them or to uplift them in the journey?
Be educated stay aware of your surroundings, read, write and also be true to yourself. BE YOURSELF!!!!!
What are your social media profiles and where can people purchase/download your music?
Facebook: @Deviou5Nation
Twitter: @Deviou5Nation
IG: KingJust_512
SoundCloud: KingJust512
You can purchase the song on any digital store on March 3rd but you can pre order the song on ITunes and also on Google Play. The ITunes link is below just be sure to wait until the 2nd of March to purchase I truly hope you enjoy it.
http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1206596380?Is=1&app=itunes
What are your final words you would like to say to people that you have left out?
Sometimes you have to go the difficult way to find yourself, battle your own wars to become renewed. In order to go back to help those who were left out.