Growing up in West Covina, CA Jah-Free’s musical journey began early in his youth. “I grew up on the R&B of the 80’s and 90’s with Michael Jackson definitely inspiring me early on and opening up my mind to the beauty of R&B music. That appreciation would continue with artists such as Bobby Brown, Jodeci, Shai, and Boyz II Men.”
While it was these artists who opened up Jah-Free’s musical exploration in the world of R&B, it wasn’t until he heard the riveting sounds of 80’s Hip-Hop and Rap artists, such as Doug E Fresh, LL Cool J, and Public Enemy that he began to fully embrace a wider spectrum of music. Still, this was just the beginning of Jah-Free’s musical and artistic exploration.
“For the first 10 years or so of my life, I was mostly immersed in the Hip Hop and R&B world, but as I got older I started expanding my tastes. Friends and family began introducing me to different artists with new sounds that would captivate me.”
During his early teenage years, Jah-Free began learning the basics of music while being a member of his middle school choir. Here is where he first began to formally craft and combine his love and desire to be a part of that music. Learning to harness his newfound talents he soon found himself singing the songs that he loved to listen to while growing up, and from that point on it wouldn’t be long until he began adding his own unique style and flare to those familiar melodies.
“You need variety. It makes everything stand out like a spectrum of colors. I always had to have variety once I tasted the diversity of music that’s out there. From that point on, I could never go back to the beginning but I always appreciated the beginning because those were my roots and the foundation of my love for all music.”
Jah-Free’s process of artistic exploration continued forward in this diverse setting. While growing up in the multi-cultural environment his hometown had to offer, this provided him with the necessary tools to continue his musical journey.
“Listening to a wide variety of music and being around so many different types of styles and cultures allowed me to better appreciate the differences in storytelling and the purpose of each style of music. One moment I’d be listening to something with a Hip Hop style, the next I would listen to something with an Alternative, Rock, or Punk sound such as Rage Against The Machine, Nirvana, Sublime, Metallica, or Jimi Hendrix. Rap also evolved as the years went on with artists such as 2pac, Biggie Smalls, and Snoop Dogg dominating the airwaves while a list of other artists kept the underground scene going. When I got older, I started to learn about the older generation like Donny Hathaway, Prince, Marvin Gaye and the Reggae sounds of artists such as Barrington Levy, Gregory Isaacs, Steel Pulse, and Bob Marley. Personally, for me it is a goal to somehow combine and mix all the different types of music that inspired me. I want to blend the soul of each style together and come up with something fresh and new… to somehow make them as one. I consider this one of the goals of my music career.”
A hint of this plethora of sounds and styles is evident even upon Jah-Free himself, from his trademark dreadlocks and earplugs to his unique fashion and style. And it doesn’t stop there. A person of hope, Jah-Free points to his relationship with God as the foundation and focus in his life. He wears his faith on his sleeve quite literally through various tattoos of religious icons which were recently featured in Hip Hop Ink Magazine.
While envisioning timeless music that would embrace every end of a multi-faceted spectrum, Jah-Free’s dynamic and lively personality began to earn him much admiration and respect amongst his peers and associates. His driven personality, intense love for music, and vocal talents allowed him to realize that furthering his dream of having a career as a recording artist was a real possibility. Upon graduating from high school, he signed with a couple of independent music labels and continued his quest that would eventually lead him to the gates of the highly revered Warner Bros. Records label in 2007. Since then he has been tirelessly working to make his vision a reality on his new album currently under works and set to debut in 2011.
“I’m excited because I’ve tried a lot of new things with the album that I’ve never done before and I still have a long way to go to realize the fullness of my dream. However, this is just the beginning. This is like part one of an epic movie saga, but for your ears. It’s that introductory album that will leave you satisfied but at the same time will leave you wanting more and there will definitely be more to come.”
So after many years of hard work and countless studio hours Jah-Free’s journey is finally reaching a new and exciting climax. This is the story of Jah-Free and he promises that this is just the beginning.
“My story is that I’m an artist. An artist of sounds, so get your ears ready…”
-Jah-Free
