Music for THA JUST is a drug and addiction citing the reason why he was attracted to music in the first place, in-turn, creating his own material. He began writing poetry prior to making music, and says, “Music is poetry captivating a feel and or reflecting an emotion of that moment in time.” Music in general got him through a lot of down times, while having him at the highest of ups in his life to date. As his music is mostly hip-hop and R&B right now, he continues, “The genre really is just a preference of the delivery that we prefer.”
Growing up on both coasts of the US, it allowed THA JUST the ability to relate to many different types of people and cultures, not limiting him, but allowing him to be a bridge of communication where there may be a misunderstanding between two different parties, which led into his music, firstly making tracks for himself yet the same tracks will resonate and touch many listeners.
As THA JUST is his stage name, he tells, “My friends used to call me Justify when I was young because I was so true to them and also to who I was as a person.” And as time went on, people would call him JUST for short. Going back to his childhood, his favourite wrestler was The Rock, and he would use his phrase but say, “If you smell what THA JUST is cooking.”
When asked about his musical influences growing up, and whether things changed over time, he says, “my influences are too many to name.” Some are musical acts from before his time from the likes of The Wu Tang Clan, 2pac, Bigge, The Doors, Nirvana, Sound Garden, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Prince, Jay Z, Busta Rhymes, Sean Price, Gorge Michael, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, The Whispers, DMX (Rip), Metallica, Drake, Tribe Called Quest, Bon Jovi, Marc Antony, Selena, T.I. J Cole, Gucci Mane, even Migos.
He says, “I am a Gemini,” so with the list being crazy long, it makes sense but depends on his mood. Whereas his musical influences in current time depend on the artists that continue to follow their dreams and do it. “Sometimes it may not be the most popular type of music, sometimes it is,” he says. But overall he has great respect for all musical artists and tries to appreciate their art by the way they have created it.
He has released his new single 'Problems' featuring Ike the Writa which is different from other songs he has released. This hip-hop and R&B track is about working through the madness of love, when it's worth everything.
“With so much love and positive feedback around my last single, I decided to give something back by presenting my fans with this brand new song 'Problem'. I’m very proud of the end result that adds a new chapter in this saga that ties everything together," he adds to the broad spectrum of his music discography.
He's also been slowly but surely gaining steam across the globe with multiple tracks crossing 2 million streams on Soundcloud, Spotify, and other streaming platforms. In 2021, THA JUST will continue to build on one of his most successful years so far.
With the idea and beat for the hook created by DJ Pain1, he connected with R&B single Ike the Writa to sing the hook, he says, “I was online searching for different beats to write and rap to. I came across DJ Pain1's page and that was the first beat that played. I already was hooked from the first drop of the beat, but once I heard the hook, I was so inspired to write.” Going on to say he wrote the song in about one day, the melody and hook made him think of his own recent relationship with all the good and bad things that he wished he would have said and done. He is transparent with his feelings expressing his passion for love that shows his effort to try and make things work. He continues, “I also thought of couples, that I knew that were going through trying times, but trying to work things out.”
His passion for music and to be the voice of the voiceless is what drives him forward as an artist. “To believe that someone out there feels it even when many may not,” he says, continuing on to speak about his desire for peace and to help others who are less fortunate with the success of his talents.
As the global pandemic of COVID-19 has put a stall to most things in life, when questioned about how THA JUST has kept his creative juices flowing, he shares, “For me, I was a delivery driver on the side. So while most people I knew were stuck at home, I was delivering food. Driving on quiet roads allowed a lot of time to think and listen to beats as I was driving. This in turn, would create ideas for songs. There were many times that I was the only contact for people.”
“They would be so grateful and thrilled to just hold a conversation with me. And a lot of them did not look like me and by the signs in their yard, may have not voted the same as me. But, in those few minutes we found a simple relation to being human. And that felt good. I also appreciate how grateful people were.”
This helped to remind him that there are so many good people of all colors and gender, etc. That sometimes we get blinded by a bad situation or certain media outlets that push narratives. He continues, “When you see the real, you get a better sense of how people really are. As they were telling us to divide and hate each other, I saw a lot of unity. That in itself, is enough for me to write two albums from.”
Going on to discuss how he has so much energy to be contained and limited to the normal, basic, and obvious sounds of rap that can be great, there’s other times when he needs a little more. “This pandemic exposed a lot of us. Many people are hurting. They need to be heard. Many people have stories and frustrations with everyday life, love, loss of love, financial frustrations, the way we are being treated, the government, just life,” he continues.
Closing out the interview, when asked what sorts of projects we can expect from THA JUST in the future, he says, “I have many tracks that I was finally able to record recently. Fun tracks, Lyrical bars, Club Tracks all me. But, I have some tracks that some may find were not even rap driven. Almost like HipRock. Love Hip Hop. But, as I previously mentioned my influences are not only rap.”
Stream THA JUST music on Spotify, SoundCloud, Apply Music.