Wax (rapper)

Wax
Background information
Birth name Michael Jones
Born April 5, 1980
Washington, D.C.
Origin Dunkirk, Maryland
Genres Hip hop, indie hip hop, underground hip hop, reggae fusion
Occupation(s) Rapper, singer, multi-instrumentalist, producer
Instruments Guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards
Years active 2000–present
Labels AGP (2003–present), Def Jam (2011–2012) Scrublife (2011–present)
Associated acts Dumbfoundead, EOM, Herbal T, MacGregor, Traphik, The Grilled Lincolns, Hoodie Allen, Watsky, D-Pryde, The Palmer Squares, Breezy Lovejoy
Website http://www.waxdotcom.com

Michael Jones (born April 5, 1980), better known by his stage name Wax, is an American musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer.[1] He became a YouTube star after uploading several videos of himself rapping and singing. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Wax is widely known for his popular 2012 re-released single Rosana, which has been viewed over 30 million times on YouTube.

Early life

Wax is of Irish/Cuban descent[2] and hails from Dunkirk, in Calvert County, Maryland. He grew up watching music videos and live performances on MTV. His biggest influences from his early childhood were Guns N' Roses and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.[3] Soon after in sixth grade he picked up a guitar and started singing and rapping[3] Then in middle school he started listening to artists such as Eazy-E, N.W.A, and Too Short.[4]

Career

MacGregor

From 2000-2005, Wax was the lead vocalist & guitarist of the 6 piece band, MacGregor. The band toured throughout the United States in the Midwest, the South, and New England, receiving a lot of local buzz in D.C. and Maryland.[5] The group released 2 albums before entering a "super-extended" hiatus.[6] The split was because members had obtained other jobs or engaged in serious relationships. During this time, Wax also released his first solo EP, Biatch!

YouTube

In mid-2007, Wax and his twin brother Herbal T started posting videos of themselves rapping on YouTube and started building a buzz after uploading several YouTube freestyles and rhymes.[7] In early 2008, Wax made a name for himself after performing his song ("New Crack") while simultaneously driving a car over a Stephen Marley track called "Traffic Jam", which received over 1.98 million views to date.[1] He also began to collaborate with other well known musicians on YouTube such as Dumbfoundead and Prince Ea.[8] After he cracked YouTube's Top 100 Musician list, his subscription base tripled and averaged about nearly 1,000 new subscribers each day.[3] To this day he has collectively garnered more than 58 million views from his YouTube videos.[9] The famous YouTuber Ray William Johnson then asked him to make an outro song titled "Stalkin Ya Mom". The two later collaborated on a song called "Orphan Tears".[10] On December 6, 2012. On December 15th 2014 he appeared in the Epic Rap Battles of History episode Steven Spielberg Vs. Alfred Hitchcock playing Quentin Tarantino.

Independent venture

Wax and Herbal T released their first album together called Grizzly Season (2006) under AGP Records.

In 2008, an East Coast producer named EOM (Elements of Music) and Wax collaborated on a song called "The Adventures of Larry and Tina," written by Wax and produced by EOM. Eventually, they recorded an album, Liquid Courage, at the end of 2008.[11] In 2010 Wax released Clockwise, a collaborative effort with Dumbfoundead.[12]

On November 13, 2012, Wax announced a new album entitled "Continue..." that was released January 15, 2013.[13]

Def Jam Recordings

In March 2011, Wax announced that he was signed to Def Jam Recordings by Max Gousse when he released a joint venture mixtape called Scrublife hosted by DJ Skee and Dale Firebird.[14] EOM, The Fyre Department, Finatik N Zac and Jim Jonsin are featured guest boardworks for the mixtape.[15] His lead single is a song called Dispensary Girl[4] and the music video debuted on Entertainment Weekly a day before Scrublife released. Wax's debut LP with Def Jam Recordings was hinted to be released in October[16] Wax's second release on Def Jam, a mixtape, Eviction Notice was released November 28.[17] On August 24, 2012, Wax announced on his YouTube channel that he had parted from Def Jam Recordings due to creative differences.

Podcast

In August 2012, Wax began doing a weekly podcast where he discusses a wide variety of issues. The podcast has a few segments on a consistent basis such as "Call Someone and Fuck With Them", "Recommendations from Wax", "Wax's True Hollywood Stories", and "Fan Questions". The Podcast has held many guests such as Wax's Twin Brother Herbal T, Producer EOM, comedian Todd Rexx and more. The average length of the podcast is about an hour, and is generally released every Thursday. As of December 12, 2014, Wax has released 76 episodes.

Discography

Studio albums

Collaboration albums

EPs

Mixtapes

Singles

Guest appearances

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chandler, D.L. (March 1, 2011). Wax is world-renowned for having fantastic bars. "Newcomer Wax Looks To Make 2011 His Year". MTV.
  2. ↑ http://the420times.com/2011/04/wax-realizing-the-dream/
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Rodriguez, Nathan (June 22, 2010). "Wax - Next Great White Rapper". Glide Magazine.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Blauvelt, Christian (March 14, 2011). "Rising rapper Wax debuts his new video, 'Dispensary Girl'". Entertainment Weekly.
  5. ↑ Gutierrez, David (March 15, 2011). "Wax - Def Jam's Newest Artist". Urban Magazine.
  6. ↑ "macgregor". Archived from the original on 18 Oct 2005. Retrieved 18 October 2005.
  7. ↑ Ryon, Sean (March 15, 2011). "Maryland Emcee Wax Signs to Def Jam". HipHop DX.
  8. ↑ "Prince EA and Wax: "Get Busy"". YouTube. 2009-07-06. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  9. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/user/waxandherbalt/about
  10. ↑ ". Orphan Tears.
  11. ↑ White, Sudaara (March 15, 2011). "Wax: Let the Digital Era Reign". All Hip Hop.
  12. ↑ "WAX & DFD Are Clockwise". Knocksteady. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  13. ↑ "Continue... Announcement". Wax. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  14. ↑ LoPresti, Nicole (March 15, 2011). "Wax, [[Danny Brown (rapper)|Danny Brown Sign Record Deals]". XXL Magazine.
  15. ↑ S., Nathan (April 7, 2011). "Wax - Scrublife - Hip Hop Album Review". DJ Booth.
  16. ↑ Jones, Michael (28 April 2011). TSM Radio Show .278; Wax (PODCAST). Interview with Stu Stone. TSM Radio. Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  17. ↑ Jones, Michael (9 November 2011). "Twitter / @bigwax: i got a mixtape coming out ...". Retrieved 11 November 2011.

External links