catch our livestream w/ J WIZDUM over @ the Boston Hassle Instagram @ 8pm on wednesday 12/30
Dan Shea:
You’ve released a bunch of music this year! Was most of this music created during covid times or what?
J Wizdum:
Yes I always try and drop as much music as I can, the workflow was basically the same when COVID hit, there was a slight increase in actually messaging other artists that I hadn’t worked with before, and I got used to facetiming/calling local artists as opposed to the usual in person sessions. I released 3 projects when COVID struck, including what I consider as one of my best projects in, “Gathering.”
How is the beat and hip hop scene/community in Portland (during regular times that is)?
JW:
Don’t mean to correct you but it’s actually Westbrook, ME! On the outskirts of Portland but very close. The music scene is pretty cool over here, not too much lofi/boom bap as most people are focused on trap. But there’s a small collective of producers in Portland called “Re.Sample” who put on shows specifically for alternative hip-hop sort of sounds, they have a really dope vibe and help the community out a lot when it comes to that sort of music.
DS:
I see you making reference to wanting to work with “lyrical rappers” on some of your pages; what makes a rapper lyrical in your mind?
JW:
“Lyrical rapper” is a title I kinda came up with myself haha, basically anyone who has substance in their lyrics, and preferably has a beat choice that’s boom bap or lofi as opposed to trap beats.
Have you done many streams? Anything to tell us about the stream coming up? In “normal times” do you perform live much?
JW:
This is my 2nd live stream this year, first was through a booking agency that invited me on, for this performance on Wednesday I’m gonna be playing some of my personal favorite production from the past couple years, as well as unreleased music from the past few months. I was just starting to perform more when the pandemic started, had 2 shows in February before everything shut down, will get right back into it though when the time comes!
DS:
Care to guess when we’ll all be experiencing live music again together? What’s next for you and your music?
JW:
I’d like to hope maybe fall of 2021 there can start to be some in person shows, wouldn’t be surprised if it’s another year or so though unfortunately. As for my music, I’m gonna be going hard in 2021, expect to see more work with new and bigger artists, as well as more solo projects of course, stay tuned!
