J Money (My Music)

[Andreas Tanis]

Right off the bat when? When he first started rapping or when it was discovered?

When he first started rapping, he's been lying from the get go.

And I have no idea what the lies about money is related to, but that kind of shit isn't exactly unique to Ross.

50 Cent exposed him, I've seen the papers & what not showing that Rick Ross was in debt.

[glue]

So if he'd come out and said he was a CO before "Hustlin" you'd be fine with his career or do you feel his time as a CO should preclude him from making coke rap? Both seem pretty silly, honestly.

And how about this, what if it's discovered that Ross was actually using his position as a CO to make connections with criminals?

The debt thing is a big bag of whogivesafuck. Rappers are, for the most part, broke. I don't really see why that matters.


Were you upset that Pac didn't explicitly announce in 93 that he would be performing the role of Bishop for the rest of his career? How about the fact that he was constantly rapping about killing people but didn't even hold heat until Juice?

[Andreas Tanis]

So if he'd come out and said he was a CO before "Hustlin" you'd be fine with his career or do you feel his time as a CO should preclude him from making coke rap? Both seem pretty silly, honestly.

It's essentially the first one, because I think to be a successful rapper you should tell the truth, & be upfront & honest about anything. I'll reiterate that I've never sold drugs before in my life. I've seen it happen, & I know people who have, but I didn't, so it'd be moot & rather fake for me to paint a portrait of myself as being a drug dealer.

And how about this, what if it's discovered that Ross was actually using his position as a CO to make connections with criminals?

I'm not really sure how to answer that, honestly.

The debt thing is a big bag of whogivesafuck. Rappers are, for the most part, broke. I don't really see why that matters.

I'll give you that, but at the same time, it's pointless to say how much money you have if, behind the scenes, you're broke. And then going on to beef with someone as powerful as 50 Cent is just plain stupid.

Were you upset that Pac didn't explicitly announce in 93 that he would be performing the role of Bishop for the rest of his career? How about the fact that he was constantly rapping about killing people but didn't even hold heat until Juice?

Actually, 'Pac was holding heat before Juice. As far as I know 'Pac always had guns, even before the fame so that's something he never lied about. And I don't see it as he was performing the role of Bishop for the remainder of his career. Think about it like this; Bishop was a psychopath that didn't give a fuck about anyone, not even himself, he had no compassion, 'Pac had compassion. There were things that 'Pac did that Bishop never would have. Truthfully, I view 'Pac as being THE epitome of what real is. He lived the lifestyle he rapped about, & he had an immense love for his people.

I'll cut Rick Ross a little slack simply based on the fact he didn't do some of the asshole-ish things Soulja Boy did to his people.

[glue]

You're right he had compassion. That's because he was just pretending to be Bishop, he wasn't actually him. He wanted to get a certain message across and realized after 2Pacalypse that people just weren't interested, so he added Bishop to the mix. He says as much, although not in those words, in Tupac: Resurrection.

I'm not knocking him, he wrote some terrific stuff and knew how to present it to people. Unfortunately, a lot of his fans completely miss what made him so special and what he was really about (not including you in this).

Also, the government killed Pac. Biggie could possibly have been to add to the Bad Boy/Death Row rivalry being the cause, but my guess is that was all Suge.

And with that, I'm done discussing the realness of rappers (because it's a silly thing to care about). If you add anything else I'll read it, though.

[glue]

Ok, finally listened to "Ice Cream Paint Job". I'm not up on Detroit slang, but I'm assuming "tuba player" is slang for gun toter. Is that right? Ahhhhhh I kid.

Seriously though:

Got a big glock.
Get your ass popped.
I'm a black-hearted killer, my only purpose is to kill.
Stay banging on these streets.
I keep dumping.

And you wanna give Ross shit for not telling everybody he was a CO?

That being said, 1:20~2:00 is easily the best stuff I've heard from you, I actually enjoyed it. The mix is pretty awful but that can be fixed with time. Glad to see you jacking beats.

[Andreas Tanis]

I'll admit the mixing could have been better, & I did the mixing myself. I won't kid myself, I am a novice at it, but with "Cold Wind Blows" & "Unthinkable" I did a damn good job mixing & mastering it. And that's not to sound arrogant, I just love the way those two came out, & I put a lot of work into both. I did put a lot of work into "Ice Cream Paint Job" & to be honest, I don't think it's terrible, but at the same time it could've been better.

As for me rapping on other beats, I'll be doing a lot of that. Right now, I'm working on my own version of "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" which will be like "Ice Cream Paint Job" where I spit throughout the song's entirety, but it's not a diss. I'm also doing my version of "Over" which I sat down & wrote tonight in a quick timespan, & I finished recording my first verse about 20 minutes ago. I like where it's going as well as the former, so I'm happy to say that I've got some good shit coming. Right now I'm focusing on developing myself as an artist, & I see music as a way of releasing any anger I have or whatever emotion I have, so I have a lot of things planned. I feel like I'm finally stepping into my zone, & I'm being more lyrical. I got some warm up songs out the way, & now I'm ready to hit harder.

As for 2Pac, I can safely say I understand what he was all about. I'm not completely denouncing that maybe he took on some of the characteristics of Bishop, but at the same time, based on what I know of the man, I also believe it was latent in him, & just came out after doing the role & after experiencing some of the things he endured. I can tell he was still trying to get a message out, which he did, but just in a different way than he previously planned. When all the chips fall, though, I still can say that 'Pac is probably the realist rapper to ever grab a mic, & in my own opinion, the best to do so as well. That's why I've studied his music so heavily. I'm not trying to emulate him, per se, but learn from him, because truthfully, I think I share more similarities to 'Pac than any other rapper.

Basically, what I'm getting at, is that, like 'Pac, I don't want to rap about anything that isn't me. If it isn't coming from the heart, then I'm not going to do it. That's a pivotal reason I believe my music has potential to go far, & not just me, but TJ as well. We've both been through a lot, & we both have a lot of views on a lot of things, so there's so much ground to cover right now. I don't think I've even scratched the surface as to how far I can go musically. I never even knew I had a music side to me, but TJ brought it to the surface, & now I want to elevate myself to the fullest.

This may sound hard to believe, but because of everything I've done already, I have a lot of people backing me that support me & think I can change the world in some way. That's not to say I necessarily believe it, but like I said, I do want to at least get the message across that no dream is too big. I want all of the youth that are either my age or younger to see that anything can be accomplished, especially if you have people supporting you. This may sound odd coming from me, but I'd rather we all come together in some way. Like I was telling TJ, you're always going to have your differences with people, & I've had a lot of beef with certain people, but on a whole, I think we should unify ourselves, & not necessarily with the people we dispute with, but everyone else.

I guess that's how I'm most like 'Pac. I have a violent & angry side that tends to get released more than I'd like, but at the same time I have a more compassionate side that wants to be unified & peaceful, but those sides of me conflict, & that's where I have a problem, & that's where my music may sometimes be contradicatory, but I think that's okay, because we all struggle with something. My struggle is an inner one, & I'm trying to balance out the different sides of myself without struggling too much with the complexities that are within my being.

If you listen to "Deeper Than Rap" closely, I kind of touched on that. I touched on a few of my problems in that song. I have really had visions of my death on more than one occasion, I've had problems within my household, I've been a fighter for as long as I can remember, & there's just a lot of drama surrounding me. That's why I've tried to draw more attention to songs like that, & do more songs like that, because there's a lot on my chest that I've never released, so I want to do more songs like that down the road.

I guess that's all I have to say at the moment. I just thought I'd get a few things off my mind.

[Andreas Tanis]

Here's the newest song:

For My Town

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yerR2s4XNyQ

[Andreas Tanis]

Throw It In The Bag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YEKp429-ys

[glue]

Man that beat is atrocious. Is that an Alicia Keys song?

[Andreas Tanis]

Nah, if it were I'd have kept her vocals on there somewhere. Funny you say that, because I chose that beat because I really liked it, so I wrote my verses & recorded it all in one night. I'm happy with the way it came out. Not the best beat out there, but not the worst, & I liked it enough to do a song so there it is.

[Andreas Tanis]

No Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pumKXY1c-O8

[Andreas Tanis]

EDIT: Removed song (long story that involves copyright issues & such)

[Andreas Tanis]

Here We Go (Remix)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SoBt88Alyk

Still sampled the Joker in this one, & I even added something in at the end.

[Andreas Tanis]

Two new songs:

J Lethal - First 2 Bomb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXo0srWRQdM

J Lethal - Thug N**** Swag: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OolipNZKZbE

My Hip-Hop heads here should know that the first of the two is a remix of 2Pac's song, & that the latter is a remix of Soulja Boy's song. I just definitely had to remix the latter, because he's such a horrible rapper. I initially thought the song would come off as silly because I couldn't think of a good concept, but I love the way it came out. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing.

It wasn't planned....I listened to Jeezy's version, sat down, wrote my lyrics in about 15-20 minutes, recorded it with very few bad takes, mixed it & mastered it & there it was. I'm really, really proud of the song, & I hope the people that check it out are happy with it as well.

Also, anyone here following my music will notice I'm using a new name, & that's mainly because I got tired of people thinking I "stole" the name, but truthfully, it's been my nickname for half a decade, & I was completely unaware of this other guy, but I changed it anyway. I'll be using the "J Money" moniker very little now.

[Andreas Tanis]

J Lethal - I Don't Like The Look Of It

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmAFBP2m8Rs

Recorded this earlier in the week, & I was really battling getting it to come out as clear as possible. I think I won that battle, & I'm extremely happy with the results of this song.