S
imilar to the basketball player who shares his moniker, Bay Area rapper J Rich has been traveling a lot over the last couple of years. Though he still calls the Bay home, Rich had to do some jet setting to get his career going the way he wanted it to. He’d been soaking up game from the area’s well known independent scene for years before he even put his first project out, but it took a move to New York to get things going. “I moved to NYC in 2006, just me on my own,” he recalls, mentioning being the studio with everyone from The Game to Fabolous and sharing studio time at Sony Studios with both 50 Cent and Beyonce. “My nigga Sky Balla moved with me and he got a small deal. I was piggy-backing off him while I was out there and ran into everyone in the industry. I put together three projects in one year, a DVD and everything. I came back to the West Coast in 2007 with wrapped vans and everything, dropping all four of my projects.” Unfortunately, upon his return, J Rich saw a number of his friends and associates caught up in a deadly crime wave. Figuring that sticking around would be bad for business, he made another move, this time to Miami. “Niggas is used to what they’re used to,” sighs Rich, of his peers who are regional superstars, but national unknowns. “I’ve begged niggas to come with me, but they can’t leave home. They’re in love with their comfort zone. If they leave their comfort zone, they think they can’t succeed.” Dedicating the entire year of 2008 to networking (“I didn’t make any music,” says Rich), the 28-year old rapper forged a relationship with Young Money Records, among others, and says he was recently invited to open up on this summer’s Young Money tour. In addition, J Rich is currently promoting his new single “I’m A Trapper,” which uses the familiar hustler’s theme of comparing the studio to the trap. But, the sound of the song is something that you may not expect from a Bay Area artist as it sounds like something more suited for a Southern artist. “I’m diverse,” insists J Rich, the younger brother of Coleone, the man accused of killing the man who murdered Mac Dre. “I’ve lived in New York, Miami and Texas. I’m trying to please everybody. My block loves me for who I am so they know what it is.” Words by Maurice G. Garland Photo by Hiltron Bailey
8 // OZONE MAG