J Stalin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| J Stalin | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jovan Smith |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop, hardcore hip hop, hyphy |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper Songwriter |
| Years active | 2002 - present |
J Stalin (IPA: [dʒeɪ stælɪn]) (b. Jovan Smith[1] (IPA: [dʒoʊvən smɪθ]) is a rap musician from Cypress Village in the neighborhood of West Oakland in Oakland, California, United States.[1] In 2007 he signed to Zoo Entertainment Production Company run by Oakland, California artist Mekanix, who described his style as a variant of Hyphy known as "Go".[2]
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[edit] Biography
J-Stalin claims in an interview that he was born into poverty and earned money as a child by selling candy bars on the BART subway trains. Around age thirteen, he began recording and selling rap music.[citation needed][3] A member of Oakland's hyphy culture, he is described by a local magazine as a "rapper and sideshow participant".[4]
[edit] Musical career
Although young and boyish-looking, J-Stalin adopted a tough rapper persona.[5] He references Joseph Stalin in his stage name because they shared the same initials, and "he was short like me, but he was always smashin' on everybody."[6] In a recent interview he remarked about his home and lifestyle, "This is West Oakland, man. This is the bottom right here." He went on to say that the crime rate in his neighborhood was so high, the city had remodeled the housing units in his housing project to remove the back doors so that criminals could not escape from home raids by the police.[7]
J Stalin's first widely released performances arose when a DJ Daryl, a local recording studio owner, placed him on a track he was recording.[1]. A colleague of Daryl's, Richie Rich, was impressed enough to put J. Stalin on three tracks in his 2002 album Nixon Pryor Roundtree album and two more as a member of Rich's group, the Replacement Killers.[1] He later recorded and performed with artists such as G-Stack,[8], Beeda Weeda of the Hieroglyphics collective[9], Keak Da Sneak and San Quinn[10], E-40, The Luniz, The Team, The Frontline, Mob Figaz, Yukmouth, Numskull, Shock G, and others.[citation needed] As of 2006 he had released roughly 7 mixtapes and had four releases scheduled for 2007.[1] Mekanix and Zoo Entertainment released "On Behalf of the Streets" in early May 2007.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Garrett Caples (2006-04-25). Column: Ruling Party: Rising hip-hop star J-Stalin morphs from d-boy to Go Boy. San Francisco Bay Guardian.
- ^ Black Dog Bone. "The Mekanix (Dotrix & Tweed)", Murder Dog Magazine, June, 2007.
- ^ J-Stalin, Early Morning Shift (album notes), Demolition Man Records
- ^ Ty Callister. "Oakland Hyphy Sideshows Get A Supreme Court Reprieve, Sort Of", San Francisco Weekly, 2007-07-31. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
- ^ Rachel Swan. "MP3 of the Day: J. Stalin's "Banga Dance"", East Bay Express. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ^ Kimberly Chun. "2006 Best Of The Bay: A Vision Of The Future", San Francisco Bay Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
- ^ "Love in these streets: West Oakland", SLASH magazine, 2007-03-10.
- ^ Minister of Information JR. "Purple Mane: an interview wit’ G-Stack of the Delinquents", San Francisco Bayview, 2007-06-26.
- ^ Russell Morse. "Oakland is the New Oakland; Stem cell research and the Oakland rap revolution", Youth Outlook, 2006-07-10. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ^ Garrett Caples. "Out of the shadows: Shady Nate, the number two rapper of West Oakland's Livewire crew, emerges as a boss", San Francisco Bay Guardian, 2007-11-21. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ^ Garrett Caples. "The post-2Pac pack: Did the death of Tupac Shakur throw Bay Area hip-hop into a tailspin? And is there really a "New Bay" rising?", San Francisco Bay Guardian.
