J-Doe is one of the most promising and hard working songwritters & producers of our generation. J-Doe has also made a great solo career with great singles & collaborations. Recently, we had the chance to chat with him about his upcoming songs, how he works in the studio and what differences he sees between R&B- and Hip Hop-ghostwriters. You can check out the full interview below:
Beat-Town: First of all, we want to “welcome” you on our website and thank you for doing this interview with us. Where are you currently at?
J-Doe: Home in Beverly Hills, CA.
B: What are your future plans for the rest of 2015? A lot of touring? Studio work?
J: The plan is to release two more singles this year with visuals and begin touring towards the top of 2016.
B: You spend a lot of time with Busta Rhymes and everybody watches both of you creating a great team. How would you describe your relationship with this legendary rapper?
J: I would describe it as big brother, little brother. He is like family to me and we have built a great working relationship which I am really blessed for.
B: The Greek audience loved your song “Coke Dope Crack Smack (Remix)”, a song which enlists two different artists (David Banner & T-Pain) compared to Busta Rhymes. How do you choose the rappers or singers you want to collaborate with?
J: It generally happens organically, very rarely do I hear my song and think of who I want on it. It’s more likely that I was in the studio with someone that heard the song or I was around that heard it and wanted to jump on it. So they both heard the song and they wanted to be part of the song because they thought it was dope. That’s pretty much how most of my features happen.
B: You have also been featured on “Fast Five: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” with songs like “How We Roll (Fast Five Remix)”. How did this participation happen? Are you a fan of the Fast & Furious franchise?
J: Yes I am a big fan of the franchise. I am on the Fast 5 AND Fast 7 soundtrack. One opportunity came through Busta and the other came from working with Sevyn Streeter and Atlantic Records so they both were individual situations.
B: You came pretty close in “snatching” a Grammy for your work on Tyrese’s LP in 2012. What are the differences between writing songs for an artist like Tyrese and writing completely different tracks like for yourself?
J: Writing a track for me, I really am only concerned with my own ideas and feelings, when you write with someone else like Tyrese you are translating their ideas and feelings, so its different because I have to be open to suggestions but with myself its all about doing what I feel and see fit so its easier and more natural.
B: What’s the difference between a rapper who chooses to proceed to a new track or album with a ghostwriter and an R&B singer who chooses an artist to write his songs?
J: Rap is to me suppose to be your vision, your outlook, your energy, your way of delivering a message to people in your own way, so if someone else is writing that for you then it becomes unauthentic and its not received well. With songwriting for singers, you don’t have to be a great writer to be a great singer, there are a lot of great singers who are talented with singing. With rapping it has to go hand and hand because its not a natural talent and you have to work on it and build on it. For singers you can sing anything and if it sounds good enough, someone is going to want to write on it. So its OK for singers to have writers but NOT ok for rappers to have writers.
B: Besides creating new music and writing new rhymes, how do you spend your free time?
J: I spend it with my son Carter or I’m with my friends.
B: Have you ever visited Greece?
J: Never but that is definitely on my list of to-do’s.
B: We want to thank you again for giving us the chance to chat with you. Any final words to your fans in Greece?
J: To the fans out in Greece – thank you and I cant wait to come out there and have a great experience with you guys, stay tuned for a show date!
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Ιf you want to keep in touch with J-Doe:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yeahjdoe
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/yeahjdoe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jdoeworld
Instagram: https://instagram.com/jdoeworld/
Hosted by:
Panagiotis Christoulakis & Hektor Apostolopoulos
