Jev Happy New Year, and thank you for interviewing with Nefarious Supply. To get the interview started tell us about your self who is jev.
Well I'm a 21 year old rap artist based in Ontario, Canada. I started making music at the age of 9 and fell in love with the process of creating something beautiful and sharing that with the world. I was always in search of something that allowed to me fully express myself and I found that with Rapping. I am a creative at heart so my love for the arts does not stop at Rap, in my downtime I write scripts for tv and movie shows that I will hopefully produce in the near future. My creativity stems from my diverse background and a big goal of mine is to carve my own lane within the Rap genre.
Where are you based out of and how has this area influenced you and your sound?
Currently, I’m based out of Ontario, Canada. I was born in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) and I spent the majority of my adolescent years in South Africa before settling in Canada. Living in all 3 of these countries shaped how I create and digest music. These 3 countries all have their own genre and taste when it comes to music. This was very beneficial for me because it opened my eyes to new experiences and sounds. Most importantly it showed me that music is a universal language and I was able to witness how music is able to transcend language barriers and cultures. Not only did that motivate me to keep creating, it also gave me the confidence to think outside the box and incorporate different styles, sounds and rhythms in my music, which have helped me grow as an artists.
In addition to your location what artists have heavily influenced you, what are your top 5 album , and who is currently in your rotation?
There is a vast majority of artist that have influenced me and shaped who I am as an artist today. With regards to my location, artist like Drake have been a major influence, I always respected how he has been able to cross genres. Other artist like J Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Andre 3000, Kanye West have always been major influences in the music I make. I am not afraid to look outside of the rap genre for influence to, I listen to a lot of R&B and 80s Soul, which have helped a lot in terms of improving my melodies and even subject matter.
My top 5 albums!, that's a tough question because it constantly changes but as of right now, in no particular order my top 5 albums are, J Cole “Forest Hills Drive”, Lauryn Hill ”The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill”, Kendrick Lamar “GKMC”, Bryson Tiller “TRAPSOUL”, SZA “Ctrl”, and if I had to sneak one in there it would be August Alsina “TESTIFY” or DRAKE ”NWTS”. Right now I’m listening to a lot of Neo-soul, so anything Erykah Badu, Jill Scott or Rapheal Saadiq is in my rotation, there is so much good music out there and I intend to listen to as much of it as possible.
How did you get started as a musician and how has your experience been so far?
I started creating music at the age of 9 but at the time it was just for fun and as a side hobby, I started of as a singer, all I remember at the time is Usher was a big inspiration and as time went on I noticed a pattern in music, it was a formula most musicians were using at that time, having a singer do the hook and the rappers would do the verses, I saw this with Soulja Boy & Sammie ”Kiss me Thru the Phone” and Jay-Z & Alicia Keys ”Empire State Of Mind”. At the time this was a winning formula and I decided to do something similar I would sing the hooks and the plan was to find someone that could rap and do the verses, I wasn't able to find someone to rap and do the verses so I decided to do it myself and as time went on I became better and better with rapping until I eventually decided to leave singing and pursue rapping.
It was around the Young Money era where I really fell in love with it and decided to pursue it as a career, I released my first song at 13 it was a song called “They Know” and I was just rapping over the “5am in Toronto” instrumental, my friends, family and even people at school all seem to enjoy it so I decided to make more music and more music, and that’s what I’ve been doing since. My experience so far has been great, I love creating there’s no question about it. There is a lot of work that comes with being an artist especially from the business side but despite that I have had a positive experience and plan on continuing to have a positive experience.
What are somethings you’ve learned since your start, and if you could go back in time and give your younger self some advice what would it be?
The major thing I’ve learned since I started is that creating music is just 50% of being a artist, the other 50% is the business side, which a lot of artist including myself have neglected in the past. The two work hand in hand, you have to understand that you as an artist are a business and you should pay attention to your branding, marketing etc. just as much as you pay attention to your creativity and music. I don’t have a mentor or anybody to guide me, so most of the time I'm learning on the go but I'm thankful for platforms like Nefarious Supply, various channels on YouTube and all the people in the industry who release a lot of gems for upcoming artist like myself.
I also learned how important it is to diversify that’s why I started my own collective “LONER inc” and it’s a collective that specializes in music, film, tv, and fashion, with this collective I’m hoping to explore every thing my creative brain thinks of. If I had to go back and give my younger self advice it would be to be present, most artist chase result and when they don’t see those results they get discouraged, I was once like that when I was younger but changing your mindset is key in this industry, this is a marathon not a race, so be present in the moment, remove yourself from the end goal and enjoy the process.
About two years ago you released your project “Untitled 01,” tell us more about this project including what inspired it, the process of making it, and what some of your favorite songs are?
I recorded that project when I was 16-17, it was some of the best fun I’ve had creating, it was never intended to be a project, I was just creating music and then the end of the year came and I had a bunch of songs laying around, so I put some of the best songs together and created “Untitled 01” releasing that was very therapeutic.
I released it in 2019 that's 2 years after majority of the songs on the project were recorded, I had a lot of doubts because I wasn't sure what sound I was aiming for. If you listen to that project it has a variety of different genres and I experimented a lot with disco, rap and pop on that album. But like I said it was therapeutic, the songs were written during my high school years, and looking back it is almost like a diary for me, like a peak inside my mind and mindset at that particular time. Inspiration came from everywhere and I didn't shy away from that, I embraced it and created. I’m constantly growing as an artist and my sound now is very different from what it was when I released that project. All the songs on that project were recorded in my bedroom and the vocals were recorded on my phone and I had the cracked version of FL studio on my computer and I would spend all night mixing and mastering these songs, I spent a lot of time on YouTube watching tutorials on how to mix, my goal was not perfection, I mixed it until it was decent enough and that was good enough for me.
I learned a lot from creating that project from how to mix, how to structure a song, how to create visuals, how to create album art and even how to promote your releases. Everything I didn't know I googled and it was the most frustrating, fun process because it forced me to learn about the industry. Some of my favourite songs on that project are “Jays”, “Diamond Rose”, “Revelations” and “Conversation”.
What's next for you in 2022 where do you want to be by the end of the year, and what's the long term goal of your career?
I’m scared to answer this question because I don't know what the future holds, but I see myself releasing way more music, a goal for me is to be more consistent than I was in previous years. The main thing I want to do this year is release my project “when angles cry” it has been something I've been working on and I'm hoping to release it this year. I want to connect with more people in the industry it would be amazing to have friendships with people that are in the same industry as me. The long term goal for me is really to have longevity, I also don't want to limit myself to just Rap/Hip-Hop, I see myself exploring other industries whether that’s Hollywood or Fashion. I honestly just want to look back on my career one day and be proud that I did everything I wanted to.
Any last words?
Thanks for having me on your platform, I’ve been watching you guys for awhile now and you guys are amazing. We need more platforms like yours. I also wanna thank all the people that have been supporting me thus far, I appreciate all the love and I can't wait for you guys to hear the new music.