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 DOW JONEZ
UDC: Name? Who you are. Background Information? DJ: I go by Dow Jonez. I was born in Oklahoma City. My mother dropped out of college and went to the Air Force so you know that brought about moves; Indiana, Chicago, DC, Mississippi for eight years and now Texas. I was just a hungry individual trying to eat, simple and plain. UDC: Explain what Dow Jonez means 2 you? DJ: My name is derived from a number of different things. I used to go by golden child and around the age of twenty that became childish. Plus I spent about eight years of my life in Mississippi in a city called Greenwood; near this park called Industrial Park, where you worked if you were doing well. About three of the five factories closed down out there and that happened around ’86 or ’87. That was right before I moved to Mississippi into the crack era. Industrial park and Dow Jonez being money related, I took Dow Jonez and put a z on it. Meaning that I’m carrying the hood on my shoulder, “you catch what I’m saying”, when I’m down the hood is down when I’m up the hood is up. That is the way I’m starting to feel. It is almost a salvation type of thing. UDC: Who are your musical influences? Why? DJ: Top of the list, 2pac because of his substance, Nas because of his substance plus they were some ill ass emcees. Then you have the Big, Jigga, and Kool G Rap. For those educated cats that know who run hip-hop, Rakim. Stevie Wonder, Prince, Michael Jackson, the people who in music stamped their seal of individuality on it. These are my musical influences. UDC: At what point in time did u realize that music is what you want to do? DJ: I draw and do a number of different things. When your a kid in the hood; you stay in the house and develop talents. I’m real confident in my talents. I didn’t know that I wanted to do music until a freshman in high school. I knew I wanted to pursue it but I did not know it would bring about this kind of drive in my life. UDC: Is there a message or a theme in your music if so what is it? DJ: Hunger. I’m not going to front. My first album is going to be about that hunger. The Industrial album that I’m getting this interview based on is extreme hunger. The next album I’m working on is called “"Something's Got to Change"” and the theme of that is hunger. I can’t keep going the same way I’m going. Eventually there has to be that change that has to happen; I honestly don’t know what I’m going to talk to you about after that. I am hoping that God gives me something else to say. That is my theme I’m hungry; I want to let everybody know that it is attainable. Whatever you hunger for, you can get that, you just have to do it. If you don’t take the will at your fingertips; you’ll never have anything. UDC: How did you begin working with the label you are with now? DJ: I will tell you the most that I can. I won’t go into too much detail. Around this time last year, I ran in to a kid named Baraka, on the internet and we just kept running into each other time and time again. This kid's doing a lot of promoting for local heads around here and this dude is still in high school. He is on a scene that most high school kids aren’t on and so he asked me for copies of my music and what not. He runs into Large Professor, this kid is in high school and I know who Large Professor is, whoever is reading this interview knows who Large Professor is; knows that high school kids don’t get in contact with him. I’m thinking to myself, you are lying; don’t talk to me kid so get the f*#k out of here. It will not happen. I give him my cd and I get a call from this dude like a month or two down the line. The dude that I received the call from was Chaos Johnson, that is Large Professor’s partner with Hi-Rise Records, based out of Queens. They were basically telling me what they were doing with their label and gave me the details of the distribution and what not. I rode a train in January up to see them. He had the contract ready for me and I read the contract. The contract was stupendous for the levels were dealing on and that was it. I inked that joint. No questions.
UDC: What are the three most essential items that you need when at the studio? Everyday? DJ: I need substance; I need to be going through something. I don’t watch TV so I’m not going to be making punch lines about Seinfeld and Kramer and I don’t go to the club every week. I need God to be constantly testing me. When I feel like I’m not being tested anymore, spiritually and mentally, I feel like I need to be dead. I need adversity, confusion; I need life, and the ability to look at that with a fixed mind. As long as I have that I’m good. UDC: Are there any words of encouragement to artist looking for a deal? DJ: I’m going to put it like this, my deal did not come based off me moving units. I put an album out and my albums sold like 200 units max; when I got a thousand copies. My deal did not come from me entering any contest and winning that contest. My deal came from me doing what I thought was the best thing to do which was make my music the way I wanted to do it. Somebody heared that music, felt it and it got to the right hands. If it is meant to be where you are at and you believe in what you are doing and don’t worry about what it looks like. That is the only words of encouragement I can give you, because this is not an encouraging business. |
UDC: So what’s next for Dow Jonez? DJ: I told you about the Something’s Got to Change. I'm working right now on the initial tracks for that, I’m getting my budget up. Dow Jonez isn’t just Dow Jonez. I own Grimelife Records along with my partners Brandon Bowles and Randy Valdez, we started about a year ago. We just acquired a lot of different people, and honestly speaking; this is no offense to the people and artists in Dallas, but I feel that I’m dealing with the best. Everybody should have a similar mentality, to feel like they’re dealing with the best. Because if you don’t think you’re the best then I don’t want to deal with you. If you’re not the best at what you do, then don’t even walk in my direction. I’m not going to be offended by you telling me you’re the best. I feel like I'’m the best too, but just at what I do. That being the case I feel like what I have is huge. This i s a big thing on my priority list; I want them to shine in this industry in a way they want to; you got Young Veil, J Vic, Blade, One Xl, E.Wize, La Familia that consist of Max Payne and Castres and these are all emcees and producers. You got Playboy; he is a producer, Track Logics Productions. We have a big vision, a huge vision and this is not even the first step on the staircase or rung of that ladder we are trying to climb.
DJ: The internet is an extremely powerful thing. We get a lot of your sources of news from the internet, a lot of our sources of advertisement from the internet. Blackplanet.com is a extreme example of what buying and marketing power we have as an industry, as Black Americans, and as hip-hop heads. I can’t even begin to explain what the internet has done for us, I put up a website last year and there are people who hit my website once. They remember one key thing off that website and that makes them go out and buy my album. That’s crazy. That’s sick. You can do something with a website that you can’t do at a show. You create a visual that you can’t create at a show. I understand that concept. It is real hard to find people who know how to manipulate those tools correctly. So when you find people who do that, that is a good thing. I’m halfway decent with the pen and computer but I can’t design a website that will market something. So the internet is a huge tool. UDC: Describe Dow Jones five years from now? DJ: The way life is bringing itself about, I cannot do that accurately. I am very confused to what is about to take place. Like I just told you, once I get finished talking about this hunger and once I am not hungry; I do not know what's going to happen. It’s sort of like Tony Montana, the ni**a went crazy after he blew, went crazy got his ass popped up. Hopefully five years from now I will be more mentally sound, more spiritually grown. I want to be what God put me here to be. Honestly speaking, I am on this path mentally where I feel like I am covering some ground. Then when you realize how much ground you covered, it is a long way into comparison to where you started from but then you realize how much you have left to go, s*#t is crazy. That is a big question mark. UDC: What types of pressures do you face as an artist in hip-hop music? DJ: You have a extremely diverse planet, you have a lot of people that want to hear a lot of different things. Us being human and God putting us here, we are so carnally driven that we want to hear sex, money, murder, drugs, lies and videotapes. It is a difficult thing to be an individual and step from that and cater to the audience that wants to hear something aside from that. The reason they want to hear something different is because of the fact they realize that is not what we are suppose to be doing. I am not saying that I’m right but I know that isn’t right. If you want to be accepted you have to give these people something they want to hear. So me being an artist, the way I cope with that is I am one hundred percent man. I am not going to jump on the track and say I’m going to shoot you then play this hard ass role like I’m going to grab my cock and say I’m a gangster. I’m a man homeboy don’t get in my way. Then I’m not going to get on a track and talk about a girl and not tell her that there is a possibility that I might f*#k off on her. It's not all about love with me, I am hundred percent man. I am going to give you everything so everyone will have something to grasp because I’m going to relate to everyone on this planet in some way. Maybe not on this album maybe on the next one, you will get something finally from me that you can understand and relate to, but there will be someone that closely relates to everything. UDC: Do you have any words for your audience? DJ: This is my first formal interview. They are going to get what I’m probably never going to say again. I have been put on this earth just like everybody else has and we have been put here to be great by God. You were not put on this earth to get on your knees and scream out somebody’s name whether it be Allah, Jesus, or Buddha and I going to tell you why. God did not put you here for you to walk around this place and say his name. He did not create six billion people every hundred and fifty years, all these people to say his name that is arrogant and proud. You have been put here to be great and enjoy this place. Do it. I am going to do it and your going to watch it. If you don’t like it or you get in my way, you won’t face my wrath. You will face God’s wrath because I’m living his will. You won’t get that off of listening to “pullout” because I told you in "pullout" that I’m going to shoot you. That is where I’m at in my life and when it is all said and done. Dow Jonez will not be a regular individual in those books. DOW JONEZ
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© 2005 Uncommon Development Company