J.West Seeks Hip-Hop Fame In Chicago
July 19, 2017 at 6:04 p.m.
J.West Seeks Hip-Hop Fame In Chicago
By David [email protected]
Now the 22-year-old 2013 Warsaw graduate, whose real name is James Tener, is living in Chicago pursuing his dream. He’s released an EP and a full album, and is working on releasing another project this year.
“I started off doing a lot of covers. I did covers as I was writing original stuff, to get something out there,” he said.
He’d cover his influences, which range from Macklemore, B.O.B. and Eminem to American independent rapper Hoodie Allen.
“When I first started writing, I first started off going the Christian music route where it was like Lecrae ... but then I realized that once you do that, you get put in a box and your audience is so limited with that. So I just started writing about my personal experiences with life itself, and just whenever I felt inspired, just write what I was feeling about,” J.West said.
“Whenever you’re trying to pursue anything, you are a brand, like J.West is a brand. I’m a clear representation of that. So the image I put – obviously, I can’t be going to Walmart and doing something stupid like putting my pants down or something because I’m representing a brand that’s not supposed to be doing that – I do try to keep my image clean, but I keep it myself. J.West is James. I’m just me,” he explained.
He put together his first project, the EP “My Life,” in just six months. His newest album, “Destination Famous,” took him two years.
“I think (the album) was more difficult because I tried to make it more complex,” he explained.
The EP is available for free download on datpiff.com and can be found on YouTube. With the full-length album, he got a distribution deal and published it on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and other streaming services.
“Today’s music industry has changed so people don’t really buy music anymore. So the sales on iTunes is not as good as I’d imagined it would be, but streaming is decent,” J.West said.
He said the top three places that the album has streamed are South Bend, Chicago and Warsaw.
J.West isn’t sure another album is the way forward at the moment, but he knows another project is on the way. He’s just not giving too many details.
“I think it’s going to be an EP,” he said. “I’ve gotten two songs finished on it already, so it’s still pretty fresh, in the making. But I may be getting a feature on one track on the album and this guy opened up Macklemore’s latest album. So I know that. It’s definitely going to be a way bigger project than my other ones.”
J.West moved to Chicago a couple years ago for the sake of his burgeoning music career.
The hip-hop music industry’s eyes are on Chicago looking for talent, thanks to rappers like Chance the Rapper and Kanye West, he said.
“Plus, I feel like there’s a lot more connections to be made out there than here in Warsaw in that industry,” J.West said.
In the Windy City, he performs about seven nights a week. Between those, he gets in some studio time and appears on a radio show about twice a month. Recently, he appeared in a segment on WGN News.
Helping him with his career is a man J.West calls “the greatest mentor alive” – Add-2.
“His mentor is Common. He’s gone on a world tour with The Roots. He’s gotten songs with Kendrick Lamar out there, so I’m very blessed to have him,” J.West said.
Their paths crossed when Add-2 saw J.West performing at a show and told him he liked one of his songs. J.West told Add-2 about his album that hadn’t come out at that point. When he said the album was titled “Destination Famous,” Add-2 was impressed and thought it was cool, he said.
“He invited me to a studio he had, and it just went up from there,” J.West recalled.
Add-2 frequently gives J.West general advice whenever he asks for it.
In the Warsaw area, J.West performs when he gets invited. Before going off to Chicago, he’d perform at events like First Friday with a little P.A. system. He’s looking at doing freshman orientation at the high school this year and is trying to get main stage at First Friday as well.
J.West said he’d like to be on a small tour, maybe a tri-state tour, within the next year. He plans to release one single, possibly two, this year, but doesn’t know those dates yet.
Along with his albums, J.West has multiple designs of T-shirts and hats, available on his website at JWestmusic.com. He’s working on smaller items like wristbands.
J.West can be found on other social media, which he has links to through JWestmusic.com.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/therealjwest/
Twitter: J_Westofficial
Instagram: J.Westofficial
SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/jwestofficial
Now the 22-year-old 2013 Warsaw graduate, whose real name is James Tener, is living in Chicago pursuing his dream. He’s released an EP and a full album, and is working on releasing another project this year.
“I started off doing a lot of covers. I did covers as I was writing original stuff, to get something out there,” he said.
He’d cover his influences, which range from Macklemore, B.O.B. and Eminem to American independent rapper Hoodie Allen.
“When I first started writing, I first started off going the Christian music route where it was like Lecrae ... but then I realized that once you do that, you get put in a box and your audience is so limited with that. So I just started writing about my personal experiences with life itself, and just whenever I felt inspired, just write what I was feeling about,” J.West said.
“Whenever you’re trying to pursue anything, you are a brand, like J.West is a brand. I’m a clear representation of that. So the image I put – obviously, I can’t be going to Walmart and doing something stupid like putting my pants down or something because I’m representing a brand that’s not supposed to be doing that – I do try to keep my image clean, but I keep it myself. J.West is James. I’m just me,” he explained.
He put together his first project, the EP “My Life,” in just six months. His newest album, “Destination Famous,” took him two years.
“I think (the album) was more difficult because I tried to make it more complex,” he explained.
The EP is available for free download on datpiff.com and can be found on YouTube. With the full-length album, he got a distribution deal and published it on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and other streaming services.
“Today’s music industry has changed so people don’t really buy music anymore. So the sales on iTunes is not as good as I’d imagined it would be, but streaming is decent,” J.West said.
He said the top three places that the album has streamed are South Bend, Chicago and Warsaw.
J.West isn’t sure another album is the way forward at the moment, but he knows another project is on the way. He’s just not giving too many details.
“I think it’s going to be an EP,” he said. “I’ve gotten two songs finished on it already, so it’s still pretty fresh, in the making. But I may be getting a feature on one track on the album and this guy opened up Macklemore’s latest album. So I know that. It’s definitely going to be a way bigger project than my other ones.”
J.West moved to Chicago a couple years ago for the sake of his burgeoning music career.
The hip-hop music industry’s eyes are on Chicago looking for talent, thanks to rappers like Chance the Rapper and Kanye West, he said.
“Plus, I feel like there’s a lot more connections to be made out there than here in Warsaw in that industry,” J.West said.
In the Windy City, he performs about seven nights a week. Between those, he gets in some studio time and appears on a radio show about twice a month. Recently, he appeared in a segment on WGN News.
Helping him with his career is a man J.West calls “the greatest mentor alive” – Add-2.
“His mentor is Common. He’s gone on a world tour with The Roots. He’s gotten songs with Kendrick Lamar out there, so I’m very blessed to have him,” J.West said.
Their paths crossed when Add-2 saw J.West performing at a show and told him he liked one of his songs. J.West told Add-2 about his album that hadn’t come out at that point. When he said the album was titled “Destination Famous,” Add-2 was impressed and thought it was cool, he said.
“He invited me to a studio he had, and it just went up from there,” J.West recalled.
Add-2 frequently gives J.West general advice whenever he asks for it.
In the Warsaw area, J.West performs when he gets invited. Before going off to Chicago, he’d perform at events like First Friday with a little P.A. system. He’s looking at doing freshman orientation at the high school this year and is trying to get main stage at First Friday as well.
J.West said he’d like to be on a small tour, maybe a tri-state tour, within the next year. He plans to release one single, possibly two, this year, but doesn’t know those dates yet.
Along with his albums, J.West has multiple designs of T-shirts and hats, available on his website at JWestmusic.com. He’s working on smaller items like wristbands.
J.West can be found on other social media, which he has links to through JWestmusic.com.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/therealjwest/
Twitter: J_Westofficial
Instagram: J.Westofficial
SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/jwestofficial
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