Death Chamberz Music Jonezen Interview
Death Chamberz Music Interview
Presents Jonezen
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How did you get your name?
Jonezen came about in rehab. When I was with my group I never had a rap name or alias. I was on the phone with my friend/clothing sponsor talking about moving forward in my career as a solo artist and he threw the name out there. Jones is my last name and being in rehab at the time the whole ‘jonezen for a drink/drug’ thing made sense. It all added up and I decided to run with it.
What inspired you to become a rap artist?
I always knew I wanted to be a musician. I wrote my first lyrics in 4th grade and started playing guitar a couple years after that. I used to blast House Of Pain “jump around” on the balcony of my apartment and rap the lyrics like I was doing a show. That shit was just in me from damn near as far back as I can remember.
When did you start? Tell me about your discography?
I started recording a few songs here and there my freshman year of college but had been writing for like a decade before then. My brother and a mutual friend of ours and I decided to start our group, Outta-Control, my freshman year of college. We packed up our stuff and moved to Cali. We wrote and recorded our first album “United By Divided Styles” and started booking our own gigs around town in S. Lake Tahoe, CA. My first show was in Detroit though where we are from. Outta Control did 4 albums: United By Divided Styles, our self titled, Daily Dose, and The Difference. As a solo artist I’ve done an album prior to rehab called P.eP Talk, released my single “Buried By Six” on Famous Records right after I left rehab, and the Live From Rehab mixtape, which just came out. Live From Rehab was recorded while I was in treatment. I refused to go unless I could bring my studio. I found a place that would let me bring it and laid down the album. Some REAL shit on there. My next full length is called Beautiful Disaster and will drop in Feb/March of 2014. All those projects you can find on itunes.
Favorite thing to do when you aren’t writing/producing?
I don’t even know…..it seems like I’m always doing something music related. When I’m not writing/recording/producing theres tons of ‘office’ or behind the scenes work that needs done. Booking, endorsement deals, radio play, reading bout the business…all those things make it so the music actually goes somewhere. It’s more than a full time job to stay on top of all that. But if I had to pick I’d say just kicking it with the homies…getting out of the house…going to grab some food…traveling Cali to visit friends.
Who are you musical inspirations?
Everybody from Hip Hop and Rock legends like Run DMC, House Of Pain, 2 Pac, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, and Stevie Ray Vaughn to cats like Classified, Em, Royce, and J Cole. I grew up listening to a little bit of everything and still do. I really look up to people that are business minded about what they do in this industry.
What kind of music do you listen to today?
Right now I’m bumping J Cole, Classified, Pusha T, Slaughterhouse, MGK, and some other stuff. But again, I switch it up a lot. You can easily catch me with listening to some rock, some funk, some blues, it’s all good.
What suprises would you find in your music collection?
John Mayer and Alicia Keys. I get down with both of them.
Todays music is about collaborations, what “hot” artist would you like to work with?
I’d be all about a track with J Cole, Royce, Crooked I, MGK, Kendrick, Pusha, any of those cats would be dope to get a feature from. Alicia Keys and John Mayer are pretty high on the list too.
What do you think listeners will get out of your music?
If they’re listening to Live From Rehab they’re going to get my story. Plain and simple. There’s some real, raw emotion on that record. I went from a successful career to almost dead and losing it all, landing in rehab, and then having a mental shift during the process. They’re going to see a lot of growth. Hopefully they get some inspiration from it. All that is packaged over some catchy beats with fire hooks though so it’s some stuff they can bump in their car too and just ride with.
What do you hope to do with your music?
I think any artist who really puts time and effort into making and pushing music wants to make a living and keep eating. That being said I really do this because it’s something I love and don’t know how to quit. If your not doing it for the love don’t bother. And if my story can help some people get through some struggles in their life than that’s the cherry on top. I never thought a few years ago during the first come up that I’d be in a position to really change people lives with what I’m doing. We we’re just animals living to party and perform. Now everything has changed and all I did was keep making music that reflected my life. There’s been times after a show people have come up to me almost in tears saying ‘because of you I know there’s hope”. And just today I got a text from this girl saying “ I was about to drink and your song came on”. That type of stuff is unreal and bigger than any amount of money or fame.
Where do you see the generation heading?
This is a DIY age. I think more and more artists are going to get business minded about their music and figure out ways to push without a major, or even having a deal be their goal. We’re in the digital age and cutting a demo can be done in your bedroom. Stuff is cheap and easy to do. The market is already flooded and new artists are going to keep popping up by the thousands. You’re going to keep seeing dudes like Trinidad James blowing up out of nowhere. Blogs already play a huge roll in breaking an artist and I think the role they play as the “filter” of what gets out there is going to get more important. That being said there isn’t a lot of things that money can’t buy these days. I hope we see some more artists like Cole and Kendrick pushing the envelope with real bars not just dope beats and trash lyrics.
Any advice for young rappers?
Learn this business. Be smart enough to know what you don’t know and learn how to do those things. Be persistent. Be professional. Network. Identify your market. And try and make that timeless shit.
What projects should we be on the lookout for in the near future?
Beautiful Disaster. Full length LP dropping Feb/March of 14.
Shout outs?
Big shout out to Death Chamberz and James @ DunnDeal. And everybody who rides with me. I’m not shit without my fans and people who believe in what I’m doing. If you fux wit me…I GOT YOU!
Los Angeles rapper/songwriter/guitarist/producer Chris Jones a.k.a. Jonezen presents the music video for “If I Die Young”, the Sombatts Productions-produced single from his album Live From Rehab. Told by doctors after an arrest that he may not live another year due to excessive drinking, Jonezen refused to go to rehab unless he could bring his recording studio. He found a treatment center in Los Angeles that would let him do just that and upon entering he began working on Live From Rehab. After leaving treatment Jonezen landed a distribution deal with Famous Records/ Fontana/ Universal. His single “Buried By Six” was produced by Father MC and released on Famous Records in August of 2012. This year Jonezen has done two independently booked tours, performed at the Speak Your Mind Hip Hop Festival alongside Blackalicious, been featured on several radio stations including The Weekend Top 30 ‘What’s Poppin Next’ and has been nominated for two Los Angeles Music Awards for Best Hip Hop Artist and Best Social Media. “’If I Die Young’ was written in rehab while I was waiting for some blood work to come back. At the time I really thought the results were going to point at only a little while left to live. About a year and half earlier I had gotten arrested, tried to get sober, and had some blood work done. The doctor came back with the results and pretty much said ‘if you don’t quit drinking you’re going to die’. I kept drinking heavily for another year and half and then found myself in rehab. I was scared waiting for those results.The track is really m e talking to the people that are close to me in my life telling them what I’d want them to hear if in fact the damage to my liver was going to be fatal.”
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