Posted on 09/25/2007

Rare is it when an artist, especially in the overly macho realm of Hip Hop music, can convey a variety of emotions and ideas that don't border on the line of becoming mawkish. This elusive accomplishment was flawlessly demonstrated by Mr. J Medeiros (member of the Hip Hop group The Procussions) on his stellar solo debut Of God and Girls. With a high level of compassion and an alarmingly intense focus, Mr. J expanded the limits of what the often maligned genre can achieve by sheer willpower alone.

Okayplayer caught up with Mr. J. as he vividly described his experiences as of now and what's to come with his current solo and group endeavors.

Okayplayer - Many people associate you as being with the group, The Procussions. Now that you've embarked on this solo endeavor, how does this compare to what you've previously encountered?

Mr. J. - It's different in a group. I love working with Stro and Rez and they have amazing talents that I can't even imagine touching in any way. And I hate to say that I was the leader of the group but we were based in Colorado and I sort took initiative for us to move to California to get things moving. But we're all grown men so I don't take the "front man" title that seriously. When it came to direction and the Web, I oversaw all of that. It was tough to do that, then try to write good song and enjoy what you do in some ways. But with the solo stuff, I was able to look over it all in its entirety and have it flow exactly how I wanted without compromise. Then too, I wanted to get socially active about things and within the group I didn't have time for that. To go even further, I think the group felt what I was trying to do but they had their things they wanted to work on too. So beyond us being a group, we were friends and I wasn't about to force any of them to follow my lead or play in my lane. Like I said, we all had our own things within and outside the group.


Okayplayer - In the live element, you always seemed to stand out from the group with. You're known to dance wildly and hop off stage and the whole nine yards. Seeing that as a fan, some would say that your solo progression made sense. But do you feel most comfortable in that group setting or is going solo going to give you what you're looking for now?

Mr. J. - Well you know that's a crazy question, because we The Procussions are in a crazy time now. If anyone cares to know, Rez left the group to pursue his web and art design career. He's always had this passion so it's not a shock to us. But he wasn't really focused on the performing and recording element but that's where he is and I support it totally. With Stro, he loves touring and he loves to rap but all of that pales to his desire to produce. So what people are seeing is just me doing what I love, which is to perform. I grew up doing improv, I grew up acting and I just love being on stage. I like the opportunity that the stage gives me to release energy but also relate to the crowd in some way. I like working the merch tables and meeting fans. It's all fun to me. Stro and I are doing another record with all of his beats; in fact it's already done. Essentially, The Procussions are me and Stro. But I definitely think that me being solo for a while is a safe bet.

Okayplayer - So how do you replace the element that Rez brought to the group?

Mr. J. - Well he's a brother to me. It took guts to say it to us that he wanted to be out of the group. But for him to go into his new phase, that's beautiful. I support him in what he's doing. But now, it's like this with us. Stro has new stuff, I'm better at what I do so now The Procussions is going to just be better and stronger for it. Rez didn't want to hold us back from doing what we wanted as a group.

Okayplayer - With your solo record, Of Gods and Girls, you took some risks and made an LP that by many standards do not fit in even the underground's current landscape much less the commercial realm. What exactly did you intend to convey with this release?

Mr. J. - Well, it's crazy. I'm about to turn 30, you know? What I was hoping to do, and I really didn't have an agenda, but I just wanted to talk about all of the things that touched me on a human level. Like the human trafficking thing and all of that. When I learned about it, it just made me want to know more. My parents worked two or three jobs at a time and I've had some rough times when I was doing early Procussions stuff. But now that I have this platform and a whole lot more time to dive into the issues, I could find a way to use my genre - Hip Hop - to convey thoughts that matter to me. I took this opportunity to get open on some issues and thoughts in my heart and just be bare with it. It wasn't easy, but I know I've touched some folks and that's all I really intended, man. And I'm not better at doing that than anyone else; there are a lot of good story tellers in rap. My free time let me bring up all these feelings and make something useful out of this talent.

Okayplayer - With the song "Constance", and the gripping subject matter behind it, how did you handle all the press - both good and bad - around it?

Mr. J. - It's hard for me to take anything personal as an attack on myself. I knew what I was doing when I made that song. But I can admit, if someone comes at me about how my messages come across, especially on message boards, I can admit I take it to heart but only because I know my intentions better than anyone. But at the same time, I can't take praise very well because I want to be humble. I don't want to take credit by saying that the song "Constance" is some calling card for me. Every part of the song is just pieces of a story. I'm not trying to be a champion against this cause but I can say I was obviously bothered by it. I mean I could've taken the song to some dark places but I kept it PG-13. All of the controversy surrounding it, I can't say that it hurt or helped. But are people talking about it? Good. Are people aware that this sort of human slavery goes on? Yes. It's all about getting a discussion going. The thing is this, folks jumped on me using a banner that had the word "rape" in it and not getting this up in arms about the fact that child porn is happening - that rape does happen. I don't see this type of mob mentality where it counts.

Okayplayer - There are other songs that are so left of what's going on. Songs like "Amelie", "Silent Earth" and "Changes". These aren't typical records underground rappers do.  Did you ever step back on some of the songs and think to yourself if people are prepared for this?

Mr. J. - I don't know if I'm stubborn or I don't know if I'm just passionate, but I just going to say this. I just decided that I'm going to all I can to be the best I can. You know how in your 20s you're all filled with angst and all these "what do I do" type emotions? I remember being a part of this one non-profit org and it taught me that as long as you're doing something that's real to you, do it with all you got. Don't worry about what it looks like or how it'll turn out. So I just went all out and, not to try to make myself a martyr, but I just wanted to inspire people with my work. My work is music now and so if I can make a song or address an issue on stage or meet someone while I'm on the road and touch their lives, then I did what I wanted to do. It's about protecting the sanctity of the human spirit. I mean I'm living off this music thing. I'm not meaning that it's lucrative. I've lived on basement floors, I've dealt with bankruptcy, and I've sold furniture. But what I wasn't getting in money, I was getting paid via my soul, my sprit. I mean, yeah, I wanted to make songs that touched folks but it was healing and helping me too. When it comes to this music, it all boils down to asking what kind of job do I want to perform or what kind of message do I want to bring to the listeners. Do I want to do a song for money or do I want to make a song that make a change? I mean there's no money in Hip Hop, we know this. I made more money being a waiter than doing this. So the fruit of the labor is having people saying "this means something to me" and that's more important.

Okayplayer - So you're saying that you don't care what it looks like you're doing, as long as you're doing what's from the soul?

Mr. J. - Look man, if you compared the Rawkus of old and then look at what I did with them with this record, would you think it'd make sense? Nobody would've thought about a record like mine on Rawkus 10 years back. Man, I've been called gay and emo and all sorts of things because of the things I rap about, how I dance, how I look. I'm just trying to be myself, so that's a big price I pay. And to be misunderstood is sometimes a lonely place to be. I appreciate Rawkus for taking a chance on someone like me. But I didn't want to continue in some old path. I mean I had some so-called hard songs that were all about lyrics and battling. I don't want to sound arrogant, but me and Stro could do songs like that in our sleep. I just didn't need or want to do that with this record. Stro could do any track you ask him to do. But, like me, he's stubborn and he wants his stuff to sound good to him too. I mean we stepped outside the Procussions box a few times and it wasn't us, man. It just sounded soulless. I mean we toured 200 days a year and I would be miserable living or being something I'm not 200 times a year when its harder just being myself.

Okayplayer - So what's next then? What do you see the genre heading and how do you fit in it? As an artist, what do you intend to add to the mix?

Mr. J. - I don't know, maybe it's time men are more vulnerable and do songs like "Amelie" or maybe just be honest about emotions and all that. I mean being a real human being just means embracing all those complex emotions and thoughts and all of that. I think with the title of the LP Of Gods and Girls was just me trying to make those in this male-dominated genre of Hip Hop think about balance too. I mean there's nothing hyper masculine about what I do, it's not macho and I know this. I'm talking about young girls being exploited, another song I'm talking about missing someone. Not exactly tough rapper talk and I get that. I mean socially oppressed people across the board have dealt with all sorts of things - and then comes along this genre that has a lot of stereotypes and putdowns and we're supposed to accept it because it's Hip Hop? It's not healthy and it doesn't promote anything positive so why continue to live like that? There are a lot of changes needed in Hip Hop and there's a lot of room for improvement. We need to redefine the purpose of the music and stop allowing ourselves to be limited and closed in.

I've been writing a lot of songs and getting into a good rhythm and I hope this next solo record I do helps answers some of those questions you asked about what's next for me. I hope I can at least touch more people and open more minds. I want to do what I did with this solo record but so much better, and I think I will. I'm not afraid to get vulnerable and I'm not afraid to show my so-called sensitive side. I'm all about trying to deal with some change. I have the stuff I'm doing with www.iamconstance.org and I'm just generally trying to be a better human being, man. That's what's next for me.

 

- D.L. Chandler