J-Kwon returns with HoodHop 2.5

In 2004 St. Louis rapper J-Kwon had “errbody” in the club getting tipsy from his debut album “HoodHop” (So So Def/Arista). Now 5 years later, he returns with the sequel, HoodHop 2.5 which drops in stores nationwide on July 28^th. J-Kwon achieved monumental success by climbing to the top of the charts in 2004 with his drinkers’ anthem smash “Tipsy.” He also rose to heights many only dream of at the age of 17 by having a song featured on the soundtrack for the film “XXX: State of the Union” with his single “Get XXX’d” with Petey Pablo and Ebony Eyes.

Success was not always in hindsight for young Jarrell “J-Kwon” Jones. His mother kicked him out of the house at age 13 where he lived in the streets selling cocaine. He had to sleep over friends’ houses and sometimes in cars. When he decided to pursue a career in music, friends and family did not believe in his dream. He found support of his vision from Sean Caldwell who was a young exec that gave J-Kwon a place to stay and helped the young lyricist build his music catalog. Within two years, local production celebrities the Trackboyz heard J-Kwon’s song “Personality,” and his world opened up.

At that time the Trackboyz were already pumping out hits for Nelly and Nappy Roots, and in their attempt to get their production company going they signed J-Kwon for a $1,000 advance. From there, things moved quickly, as the Trackboyz introduced J-Kwon to the now-defunct Arista Records A&R MeMpHiTz (now at Jive). MeMph then arranged a showcase for Antonio “L.A.” Reid, Jermaine Dupri, and their team of A&R executives. After wowing the Arista team, Jermaine Dupri gave J-Kwon the opportunity to pour the last four years of his struggle into song for the world to hear, and at just 17-years-old, J-Kwon created Hood Hop. His debut release on So So Def/Arista featured production by the Track Boyz, Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox, and hit #7 on the Billboard 200.
While J-Kwon recorded the song “Get XXX’d” with Petey Pablo and Ebony Eyez for the XXX: State of the Union soundtrack, an EP remix of “Tipsy” with Chingy and Murphy Lee and appeared on Bow Wow’s popular “Fresh Asimiz” single in 2005, things were falling apart behind the scenes. Arista Records folded, and even through a series of negotiations, the Trackboyz and J-Kwon were left out in the cold.

“The experience was crazy, because it was what I had dreamed about,” explains J-Kwon. “I had dreams like wanting to make it to Saturday Night Live and Jay Leno - and I did that. Repping St. Louis was quite easy, because I had my friends and I was doing it. You’ve got Chingy, Nelly, then you’ve got J-Kwon. The city was on fire, and it was like a dice game - we were rolling too many 7’s and 11’s, and the industry turned that magnet off.”

J-Kwon did not let the setback fade him. He remained on good terms with the majority of his industry contacts including Jermaine Dupri and the Trackboyz. The now 22-year-old J-Kwon has already set out on his venture as an independent artist. He now works with a new manager, Keith Matthews of Skot Fre Music, and has teamed with Gracie Productions and EMI to digitally release his new projects.

Working without limitations, J-Kwon has been developing his production skills as well. “I actually sit down with the MPC, the new Tritons, Blue Tube and plugins, I work it all. Then after I work with it, I pay someone to work it behind me, so we’re gonna make this extra nice. I play the drums and piano too, I’m kind of nice. I’ll play the harmonica if they pay me enough,” J-Kwon laughs. “My brother was telling me ‘you just got an ear for it’ when it comes to the instruments, and maybe I need to start running with that. I mix records too, I’m an engineer.”

True to his entrepreneurial spirit, J-Kwon also launched Hood Hop Music, and has his own roster of fresh talent including Gino Green, Lou Kane and the group The Showoffs, which J-Kwon is actually a part of. “I still work with the Trackboyz, I never really needed anybody but them. They’re hit makers, and of course I do production by myself too. I’m just going to put out Hood Hop 2 right quick, and then spread myself out with everybody else. I’ll be following with Hood Hop 2.5, which will come this Summer.”

J-Kwon’s journey to where he is now has been an adventurous ride. It seems as though he is just getting started. In retrospect, he may have liked some things to go differently in his life, but he knows in the end that he’s a better man for his experiences.

“I didn’t get to graduate high school, and I can’t sit up here and say I never got to the point where I wanted to quit, because I have gotten to that point, I have been at that breakdown stage. I really work so hard for this, and people don’t know I put everything on the line just for my fans. I just work so hard for them - I transformed myself from the same type of ni**a from the south side of St. Louis toting guns and selling dope just so I could be out here for my fans. I really have a passion for music, and I want to give people what they need to be listening to. I don’t feel like anybody can do that better than me.”

Check out J-Kwon’s new single “Louie Bounce.”

Check out the video for J-Kwon’s new single “Louie Bounce (I Smacked Nikki)”