J. Wells

J. Wells
Birth name Jon Wells [1]
Born 1983
Origin Chicago, Illinois
Genres Hip Hop
Occupations Producer, Rapper, Businessman
Years active 1999–present
Labels Warner Brothers (2001) Bonzi Records/Rocswell Entertainment / Fontana Distribution / Universal (1999–present)
Associated acts Kurupt, Roscoe, Snoop Dogg, The Dogg Pound, Keyshia Cole, Goodie Mob, DJ Quik, Tha Alkaholiks, King Tee, Dungeon Family, Wu-Tang Clan, Xzibit, Lil' Scrappy
Website http://bonzirecords.com

J. Wells (born Jon Wells in Chicago, 1983) is a record producer, businessman, and occasional rapper. He is a member of the Likwit Crew.[2]

Contents

Biography

Wells was born and raised in Chicago but moved to California in his early years, then later to Lithonia Georgia. He started producing music at the age of thirteen. He took the alias J Roc when he began rapping in local clubs. A high school friend introduced him to K-Boogs, Young and DJ7 with whom he later formed a 3-men group Rocswell (with supporting contributions by DJ7) along with a production company under the same name (Rocswell Entertainment).[3] The group formed their first album Chilahyork in 1997 and sold 5000 copies out the trunk. They had created a second album Tha Classiks in 1999 and topped the first one with 8000 albums sold out the trunk. As time went by Wells took his productions to other groups and in the summer of 2000 he managed a new Dallas-based hip hop collective of Stylz and Versatile (both Wolfpac affiliate) named Virus by supplying them with instrumentals through the internet since Wells was a resident of Los Angeles those days. After only 6 months working together they were signed to Warner Brothers in 2001. Due to Warner Brothers political problems the label dropped all hip-hop oriented acts thus their first album Outbreak was shelved for unknown reasons. In 2001 He also studied music at Cal-State Northridge during this time he worked at nearby Wolfpac studio and met J-Ro a founding member of the rap group Tha Alkaholiks . Encouraged early on by J-Ro, J. Wells was invited to join the legendary Likwit Crew which includes Tha Alkaholiks, (E-Swift, J Ro and Tash), King Tee, LootPack, Phil Da Agony, and Defari as well as the extended Likwit family of Xzibit, Dilated Peoples, Planet Asia, Madlib, Evidence, amongst others. The next year they took him on the road within Snoop Dogg's 'Puff Puff Pass' tour, where he met Kurupt from the Dogg Pound (with whom he later formed a duo and released an album). He went on to work on the Wolfpac's "Roger Troutman Project" and has put together his own Wolf Pac Mix tape Volume One. This features an all-star cast of Kurupt, Young Assassins, Roscoe, Shyheim and Sun of Man of the Wu-Tang, J-Ro and Tash of Tha Liks, Styles and James Debarge. The Wolfpac Mixtape sold 25,000 copies out the trunk. After creative differences with Wolfpac Records he went on to launched another record label of his own Bonzi Records in 2005 at the age of 22[4] He then completed his debut album, Digital Master, which was hugely successful throughout the West Coast. This was his debut release on his own label, Bonzi Records. It features new Artist signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records Bishop Lamont, as well as other artists including Method Man, Mitchy Slick, Goodie Mob, Tha Liks, Jayo Felony, Kurupt, Roscoe, and Planet Asia. That year J. Wells also produced the Goodie Mob single, "Play Yo Flutes", featuring Sleepy Brown, for Goodie Mob's album One Monkey Don't Stop No Show. In 2007 J. Wells produced Work It Out on Keyshia Cole's album Just like You. He also produced songs for Snoop Dogg's EP & animated DVD "The Adventures of The Blue Carpet Treatment" He later produced many tracks including music featured in taste maker TV shows such as, The Sopranos and Six Feet Under, and F. Gary Gray's blockbuster film and soundtrack Be Cool. His songs are also featured in the video games: EA Sports, 2004 Tiger Woods Golf and EA Sports, 2006 Fight Night, as well as commercials for major corporations including McDonalds, Smirnoff, Starbucks, and Coors Light. He released his collaboration album with Kurupt, "Digital Smoke", under his own label Bonzi Records / Fontana Distribution. This project garnished great reviews in The Source, XXL, Allhiphop.com, LA times and many other media circuits. The album sold massive throughout the US and abroad. He went on to release Digital Master Vol. 2.1 in 2009 which featured Snoop Dogg, Estelle, Rah Digga, WC, Mack 10, and Da Brat. The single Already Famous featuring Da Brat and Kurupt was released on Bonzi Records March 2009 and the video was released without Da Brat due to her incarceration in Georgia state prison. His first solo studio album will be Inebriated and is under construction.[5][6][7][8]

Establishing Bonzi Records

Bonzi Records is an American record label founded by Wells. Fontana Distribution is the distributor for Bonzi. In 2005 after leaving Wolfpac Records Wells' established Bonzi Records and began to release a series of rap music compilations to establish the new brand. In 2006 the label went on to sign a distribution deal with Fontana Distribution, and in 2007 released a Kurupt collaboration album Digital Smoke. Wells then began signing more acts to Bonzi like Q Parker of 112, D. Woods, Kokane, Slimm Calhoun, Lil' Scrappy & Kenny Lattimore. [9] [10]

Productions discography

[12][13] [14]

Discography

Commercials music composed by

[15]

References

  1. ^ http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=1582996&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1
  2. ^ "New Members". Playback Magazine. ASCAP. Fall 2004. http://www.ascap.com/playback/2004/fall/new-member-jwells.html. 
  3. ^ Cover of second record Tha Classiks, 2001, printed in the US
  4. ^ according to lyrics in Digital Smoke, 2006, no link available
  5. ^ JWELLS PRESENTS: THE WOLFPAC MIXTAPE VOLUME 1 | RAPINDUSTRY.COM FEATURE
  6. ^ "Exclusive interview with J. Wells". DubCNN Magazine. DubCNN. February 2008. http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/jwells08/. Retrieved 2008-02-29. 
  7. ^ "About J. Wells". Source Magazine. The Source. February 2009. http://www.myspace.com/jwellsmusic. Retrieved 2009-02-29. 
  8. ^ James Robinson. "Virus...". Wolfpac Records. Archived from the original on 2004-02-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20040302195244/www.wolfpacrecords.com/01artist_virus.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-29. 
  9. ^ BET.com - Lil Scrappy - Atlanta, Georgia - Hip Hop / R&B / Pop - http://www.bet.com
  10. ^ - D Woods - http://ifelicious.com
  11. ^ Be Cool (2005) - Soundtracks
  12. ^ ProdBy // The Net #1 Source for Hip-Hop Productions and Discographies
  13. ^ dubcnn.com // West Coast News Network //
  14. ^ Canibus - For Whom The Beat Tolls
  15. ^ MySpace.com - Bonzi!! - Likwit Atlanta, Georgia - Hip Hop / R&B / Pop - www.myspace.com/digitalmastermusic
Likwit Crew
Groups
Barbershop MCs · Lootpack · Tha Alkaholiks
Members
Chuck Hustle · Declaime · Defari · E-Swift · J. Wells · J-Ro · King Tee · Montageone · Phil Da Agony  · Styliztik Jones · Tash · The Barber Kiz · Xzibit
Releases
Act a Fool · At Your Own Risk · Tha Triflin' Album · 21 & Over · Coast II Coast · IV Life · At the Speed of Life · Likwidation · 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz · Ruff Rhymes: Greatest Hits Collection · Soundpieces: Da Antidote · Rap Life · Focused Daily · Restless · Andsoitissaid · X.O. Experience · The Kingdom Come · Blunted in the Bomb Shelter Mix · Secondary Protocol · Shades of Blue · Odds & Evens · People Person · Aromatic · Conversations With Dudley · The Ruthless Chronicles · Firewater · Street Music