Where are you guys from? J Sha: I was born in Long Beach, California, and [my partner J Smilez] was born in Compton. I moved out here [to Vegas] in 1996 and pretty much started my career out here. There isn’t too much of a local rap scene in Vegas, is there? J Sha: Nah, we’re some of the first that are trying to do it. We’ve got an underground scene out here but there are a couple of us that are finally breaking through the mainstream. How would you describe your style? Does your music have a West Coast feel to it? J Sha: Our music is a mixture of sounds. We come from California and are based in Vegas, so of course it’s West Coast music. But it’s more of a mixture of Southern bounce, Hip Hop, R&B, and everything. We don’t try to put ourselves in a box, we just do good music. You do some of the production too, right? J Sha: Yeah, I write and do beats. I produced with Tony Touch; I’ve written stuff for everybody. How did you two link up and decide to form a group? J Sha: It all started with Chris Buck. My uncle G-Money was down with Tupac. He influenced me to really get into what I’m doing now. We moved out here to Vegas shortly after ‘Pac died. While I was out here, I got a job and was trying to change my life around. Through that, I met Chris Buck. He was kinda going through some things in his life also and was thinking about quitting music. I told him, “Nah, man, it’s a blessing,” and came to find out that he had been friends with Ray J and Brandy Norwood for years. He’s been around Hip Hop moguls for years and he basically is a Hip Hop mogul. He left his job and ended up getting signed to Virgin Records, but he always told me he’d come back to help my situation. I always believed in what me and Smiley were doing. We both come from the streets and had to hustle for whatever we had. Unfortunately Smiley got locked up for what he was doing in
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the streets. When you get put in that situation you start looking at life totally differently, as far as what you want to do and what choices you want to make when you get it. God blessed him with the gift of doing music. He always had it in him, but he was like, “Yo, I’m gonna do it for real.” When he got out we met up again, and we’ve been doing music for over five years now with the help of Chris Buck. Shout out to Danny Boy and a few different people we have worked with. The name of the album is Fresh Work. We don’t have a set release date yet, but we’re getting all the records together. We’ve got records with Too Short and of course the single with Ray J called “Top Notch Chick.” We’re getting it all together and creating a buzz. Is there anything else you’d like to add? J Sha: Shout out to everybody in the Las Vegas area that’s helping us out. Ray J: I just want to say that Chris Buck brought the Enfamous Burnaz to my attention. He’s been bringing a lot of business to me out here in Vegas. He brought them to my attention and we all started vibing. I love the “Top Notch” record, and I’m glad we’re all gonna be able to make good records together and put out stuff that people will genuinely love, request, and call in for. I want to thank Chris Buck for that. I’m real excited about the stuff we’re going to do with the Enfamous Burnaz. God bless them. //