We had the opportunity to sit down with a highly talented upcoming artist from Rochester, NY – his music speaks for itself but behind the music is a great story about a man who is defying the odds and pursuing his dream.
Artist BIO:
The_Kid (Jairus Ponder) was born In Rochester NY December 20, 1992. He was raised by his mother in a house of 4 with two other brothers. At the age of 5 he started playing drums and that was his first connection to music. Through his life he enjoyed playing music and sports mainly basketball. At age 22 he was heard free-styling by VOF local label CEO Modyst_Vybz (Christian Chalmers). While working with local label he learned a lot about music. Over the years he learned the in’s and outs of recording, Writing and what it’s like to be a part of team, something other than sports. As he was learning he already studied music is his previous years and knew that in order to have a good listening base or wanted to be heard in more than just his home town Rochester NY he had to stay connected with all of world wide social media, Twitter & instagram etc. He takes a lot of pride in everything that he does and always give 110% especially with his music.
What is your background? tell us where you grew up and some information about your upbringing/experiences as a youth:
I was born in Rochester Ny, Raised by single mom who raised 3 boys by her self, My dad was big time musician from rochester who chased music his whole life and it never worked out for him, ive been drumming since i was 5 so always have had a passion for beats and music
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 knew music was a part of my life at age of 5, but when i turned 15 i got more involved in studying music, 17 I began freestyling and thats where it all started. Alot of people heard me freestyle and told me how good i was after that i took it serious. A Ceo of local team VOF Visions on Flight heard me and brought me on to the team locally
What artists inspired/influences you and if you could collaborate with any artist (alive or passed) who would it be and why?
Drake, J.Cole, Tory Lanez, Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean, Joyner Lucas, Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z. If i can ever collaborate with any artist dead it would be Tupac And Biggie, Alive it would be Drake, Tory Lanez and J.Cole and Jay-Z , Main reasons why is because I really like Artists who raps subliminally and paints pictures and they music always have good meanings.
What do you think about the current state of hip hop/mainstream music?
I think the current state of hip hop has evolved to a lot to more catchy hooks and beats something that catches listener attention
Currently, what projects do you have in the works that you are most excited about?
Currently iam working on Studio Album called Hurt Nobody which is being recorded at the moment and will be put out w/in next few months. I am also working on Mixtape project called Diversity which will be released to spotify and soundcloud and other music sources in March of 2019. i am very excited about these projects because it will be the first project of me expressing myself and having a lot of fun with the music.
What are your short term career goals within the next 6-10 months?
My goals within the next 6-10 months is to promote my music a lot more and work a lot harder on on out of town performances and a lot more music videos.
What are your long term career goals within the next 2-5 years?
My long term career goals is to be on the radio, having my music played all over the country, working hard to be the best artist Ican be
If you had one song out of the catalogue you have created to show a person what song would it be and why?
The song i would show to anybody is Recipe because its live and funky and cath listeners attention really easy. Also the one project i have out called Momma, momma speaks on what it was like growing up with a single independent woman who worked hard to show us that anything is possible and to never look for a hand out not even from government.
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?
I would tell them that i put my all in my music, very passionate in my craft and all that i do. I would tell them how diverse iam and how much of a critic iam of putting out the best quality of music that will always catch a listener’s attention. I come from a music background and i study very hard about the ins and outs of music, The things that i know will make you be like man where did he think of this from, what made him attack this song this way. I will always tell them that i never think inside the box when it comes to music i think as far out as possible.
If your music could be described in five words what would those five words be?
More Fire than California Wildfire
What do you bring to the game that is unique and different?
I bring my own originality of thought and not sticking to one flow or being the exact same sound on every track.
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?
I would tell them when you write, freestyle what your trying to say so u dont catch your self sticking to one topic, i would tell them to never let anyone tell you that your not good enough or that you can’t make it or be great because 9 times out of 10 they know that you can and they can’t so they want to keep you on their level. Also to stay connected to social media dont get so stuck on hometown music make sure to put it on all platforms where the world can hear you, you can learn a lot and meet alot of really good producers and rappers/singers who will encourage you to keep going.
What are your social media profiles and where can people purchase/download your music?
Twitter: Jk47_20
Instagram: Omijai
Facebook: Jairus Ponder
SoundCloud: Kid.Jai
Youtube: Jaiguymusic
Spotify and itunes music will be added very soon, but to find me on there my page will be under the name of The_Kid
What are your final words you would like to say to people that you have left out?
I would like to say that i was one who many told that ill never be good at making music or even being one who would be talented at such a thing but i kept pushing my self, i kept writing, i kept recording, i kept posting on all social media accounts, i kept performing, and i never gave up and now im answering questions about my music journey for a major organization and company, I never gave up or folded just kept persevering and i believe that staying humble and working hard all day writing and coming up with new material even while im at work at my 9 to 5, and even when im tired and want to sleep, I kept working on my craft to get better and be better