Ja-Bar SODMG

Soulja Boy Tell'em. When some hear the name they say he destroyed Hip Hop, while others say he makes good music. One thing is undeniable, Soulja Boy Tell'em knows how to make money and stay relevant while making music he wants to make. Two albums in Soulja Boy is ready to take the game to another level and his upcoming album DeAndre Way might be the project to do it.

In a brief phone convo Soulja Boy told Def Sounds he's ready to "take SOD to the next level in 2010". SOD consisting of Soulja Boy, Ja-Bar, Arab, Lil B & Lil Playboy you can expect to hear new material from all of them in the near future. SB's next studio album releases July 28th and you can expect to hear the lead single in a week or so. "Mark your calendars, I'm coming." Soulja Boy assured.

One of Soulja Boy's artists, Ja-Bar, who i also had the privelege of speaking to, talked to Def Sounds about how he got into music, to his influences and his upcoming album.

When asked about his musical influences Ja-Bar listed some southern superstars."I listen to Ludacris, Outkast, Lil Wayne. I also listen to a lot of underground artists." Ja-Bar claims he does it for the love of music. After only doing shows and sitting back and watching the process, he has decided to pursue a music career full force. He's been rapping since 8th grade, meeting up with Soulja Boy, Ja-Bar actually stopped rapping for a while due to people telling him "he would never make it."

He went on to focus on his clothing line, "Ja-Bar Clothes for men & Cupid for the ladies". Fast forward to 2010 with the clothing line going strong and two mixtapes out right now hosted by DJ Woogie, The Voicemail & Da Guap, Ja-Bar plans to release two more mixtapes before his album which is scheduled to release this spring. Its set to feature Soulja Boy, SOD, Keri Hilson among others. You can expect to hear production from Soulja Boy, Jim Jonsin, Polow Da Don, B-Don (Produced Pronto by Snoop Dogg feat. Soulja Boy) among others.

With Soulja Boy's first headlining tour on the horizon and a new book in the works entitled Teenage Millionaire, expect the Crank Dat star, with the help of SOD, to take everything to another level. - Defsounds.com

Nowadays music has been simplified with the touch of a button and the post of a YouTube video. Frankly such actions have many of you thinking that anybody can be the next Soulja Boy. The reality is that he is who he is exclusively. Be a fan or not Soulja Boy’s beat driven hits are too hard to deny.


Thirsty for more success Soulja Boy is onto the next by propping his CEO hat tall. As he readies his next full length LP entitled The DeAndre Way, he sows a new impression into the music biz by introducing his next diamond in the rough via newly signed artist JaBar to his SOD Money Gang Imprint. With a legion of minions in tow and a co-sign from Universal towards the distribution side, this is sure to be an unstoppable force. Soulja Boy and JaBar have duly cooked up another anthem that many will find equally appealing through his first major single “Daze.”


During a super busy day Soulja Boy and his protégé took the time to holla at AllHipHop.com to preview a sneak peak of what is coming to a city near you.


AllHipHop.com: JaBar so you’re actually the first artist to release a project under the SOD Money Gang so how did you first hook up with Soulja boy and SOD?


Jabar: Me and Soulja actually met a few years ago at a show in Atlanta and we’ve just been cool every since.


AllHipHop.com: What made JaBar worthy of being signed?


Soulja Boy: I think JaBar would have been successful even without my co-sign. However much time you put into something then that’s what you can expect to get out of it and JaBar has a good work ethic. I’m building an empire from the group up and I plan on putting out a lot of talent. JaBar has talent and he stays on his grind, I wouldn’t even waste my time otherwise. JaBar is a superstar who can hold his own.


AllHipHop.com: Now you had previously started a clothing line, how’s that coming along?


JaBar: The clothing line was doing really good. I started it in high school, but I decided to put it on hold right now to concentrate on my music.


AllHipHop.com: When is your album dropping and what can hip hop fans expect?


JaBar: It should be dropping sometime around March or in the spring. I’ve been influenced by a lot of Atlanta artist and I’m ready to do it and go to the top.


AllHipHop.com: Tell us about the hysteria building around the new single?


JaBar: My first single is out right now called “Dazed.” I wrote it back when we were out on the ISouljaBoyTellem tour. We have a lot of heavy radio support right now.


AllHipHop.com: So what type of lesson’s have you learned from witnessing Soulja Boy achieve so much in the music industry?


JaBar: I’ve learned that it takes a lot of hard work. It takes a lot just to make it to the top. We’ve been on the road together for about two years so I’ve been doing shows and events and I’m ready to get out there.


AllHipHop.com: Now Soulja boy you have a lot on your plate outside of the music. What else can we expect from you?


Soulja Boy: Umm Yeah I just shot two movies. Both were with Nick Cannon. One should be coming out this year and the other will start filming soon. All of my fans should enjoy it because I’m starring in it, with the other one I’m just playing myself. It should be going down before I leave for my tour. I have a video game in the works it’s still in development.


AllHipHop.com: You were featured on the new Snoop Project for the song “Pronto” what was that experience like?


Soulja Boy: Working with Snoop was amazing. He’s an OG in the game and he taught me a lot. He’s one of the best who’s worked with some of the best so he really broke down the game to me.


AllHipHop.com: You seem to be gaining more respect at your craft how does that feel?


Soulja Boy: I had to earn my respect in the game, and I’m still having to earn it. It’s building me as an artist and as an individual. I’ve been hated on by the masses so I still have to earn mine and try to win people over.


AllHipHop.com: There are talks of you working with Kanye West can you elaborate on that?


Soulja Boy: Yeah I produced a few songs for Kanye’s album. Its really special for me and I think it’s going to be really amazing. We we’re in the studio in Los Angeles. I did one track that I know people are going to go crazy over.


AllHipHop.com: As far as Soulja Boy’s album when can fans anticipate it to drop?


Soulja Boy: I already have my single, which should drop in maybe two weeks. I’m coming back super hard, everybody is gonna be all over me.


AllHipHop.com: I know the Internet has been instrumental in your career what are some of your favorite websites and blogs to break your new music?


Soulja Boy: My favorite websites and blogs are well I’m really into Twitter and Youtube. Those two are the ones that I go back and forth with the most on with my fans. Of course my own website SouljaBoyTellem.com. Other than that I try and break new music on all of the popular websites HotNewHipHop, AllHipHop, WorldStarHipHop, Real Talk NY, and some others.


AllHipHop.com: Well they say fame can corrupt a person, but it’s seems to have had the reverse effect on you so how do you stay so focused?


Soulja Boy: I stay focused by just know what I’m here for and know what I want to do with my life. My mind set is so free. I’m just able to concentrate 100% and be dedicated to what I’m working on. - AllHipHop.com

Soulja Boy has arguably become the biggest teen sensation to hit rap music in recent memory, and like any soldier who rolls with a team, he’s paving the way for the rest of his associates. Ja-Bar (nee Justin Benjamin Alex Rucker), a 19-year-old Atlanta native, is the first artist signed to Soulja Boy’s S.O.D. Money Gang label to step out from Soulja Boy’s shadow and release his debut solo album, the first of what’s slated to be a handful of releases from the imprint. Ja-Bar, slated for a Spring release, sees the rapper teaming up with a heavy roster of emcees that includes Missy Elliott, Gucci Mane, Ludacris and the S.O.D Money Gang crew (Soulja Boy and Arab) as well as producers like Super Ced, K.E. and the Young Boyz.

It’s a pretty big step for a rapper who once put his dreams of stardom on the backburner after fielding criticism from those around him who claimed that he might not have what it takes to make it to the top. After focusing his sights on fashion and starting up his own clothing label Ja-Bar & Cupid, he decided to pick back up the mic, heading out on the road with Soulja Boy on Lil Wayne’s America’s Most Wanted tour and recording in the tour bus booth. With his first single “Daze” gaining some momentum and the album on the way, Ja-Bar hopped on the phone with Showing Out to discuss how the album’s shaping up, what it was like going on tour with Weezy, what he cooked up for Missy Elliott, how Soulja Boy’s co-sign has helped his career and what he’s looking forward to in the immediate future.

You were on tour with Soulja Boy for a few years. Why is now the right time for you to come out as a solo artist?

Really, my album was finished, my project was finished, and I already had my single ready and all that and was really the first one done with my project, so we decided to go ahead and push forward with mine first.

When was the bulk of recording done?

We had a studio bus on the Lil Wayne tour so I was recording a lot there, and then every chance we got a break, we were at the house. I’d be recording in the studio and we had studios built inside the house, as a matter of fact. So all we had to do was have an engineer come over and we just stayed recording all day and all night. Work, work, work.

You were on tour with Wayne. What was that like?

It was fun, that was the funnest tour I’ve been on, to tell you the truth.

Do you have any crazy tour stories, like one in particular that comes to mind?

Yeah, we had these little BB guns and Wayne and them challenged us to a BB gun challenge, all of the Young Money members. Like Lil’ Twist and Mack Maine and them, it was like, “Y’all wanna join the war?” It was like, “Yeah!” So we went and bought some BB guns and it was like Young Money against S.O.D., BB gun fights outside of places we’d have shows and stuff. That was fun.

There was an issue with those pellet guns, right? People mistook them for real guns?

I don’t know about all that, but I know we had to get rid of them when we went across the border. ‘Cause you can’t bring no type of weapons or play guns or pellet guns across the border to Canada.

Before you started rapping again, you stopped rapping for a while because people told you you would never make it. Was it difficult to overcome that mentality?

Yeah, it was hard. It’s always hard when somebody’s telling you you ain’t gonna be able to do something. It wasn’t like they was saying I can’t do it, they were saying it might not happen. You know what I’m saying? In the industry, it’s very rare that somebody make it. I was like, man. What are you gonna do if you don’t make music? So I’d stopped and started a clothing line.

Tell me about the clothing line. Who do you look to as inspiration for what you design?

My clothing line’s name is Ja-Bar & Cupid Clothing and my inspiration is from Diddy. He started his clothing line, and I looked at him and was like, man, I want to do the same thing. So I tried it.

Do you rock your own clothes?

Yeah, I used to, but I had to stop making them so I could do music.

You’ve got your debut on the way. What’s it called, when can we expect it?

First single “Daze” is out right now, on the radio, and it comes out March 2nd on iTunes. My self-titled album is dropping this Spring, and you can expect production from a producer named Super Ced who did “Pronto” for Snoop Dogg and Soulja Boy, a producer named Young Boyz out of New York. They did about three songs for my album. And look for features from Soulja and the rest of the S.O.D Money gang. Gucci, Luda, Missy…

Missy and Luda?

We’re working on them right now. It’s a blessing, really. Those are artists I always wanted to work with. When they gave me a list, they was like, “Just write down a list of all the artists you want to work with.” I was like, whoa. There were a whole bunch of artists who came to mind, but I narrowed it down to a few.

What kind of stuff did you cook up for Missy?

I got the producers, the Young Boyz, they’ve been making beats from scratch and made a beat that complemented my sound and her sound at the same time.

What’s the sound of the album so far? Is it similar to the Soulja Boy sound?

Nah. It’s going to be more like urban crossover almost. Hip-pop.

What are listeners going to learn about you on this one?

I share my life, my relationship problems, life problems… Things that go on in my everyday life.

What are some joints we can expect to make the final cut?

My second single’s called “Loving Living Life,” produced by Young Boyz, I wrote it myself. It’s just a song about how to live my life, like staying positive, always going on tour and new goals and stuff. And I’ve got a second single called “Party” produced by K.E., he did “Swag Surfin’” and “All the Way Turnt Up” for Roscoe Dash. It’s a real fun record, like a club song. Like a big Spring Break song.

Did Soulja Boy help you out during the recording process of the album?

I had creative control on my album, so I did it on my own, but he always told me to never stay on one track too long. It’s a waste of time, he told me to keep it moving. You never know what you’ll come up with next.

Do you think having Soulja Boy’s name attached to yours been more helpful than it has been hurtful? Do you see yourself trying to come out of his shadow at all?

It’s been more helpful, really. He always introduced me as his artist, so it really didn’t hurt too bad at all.

Looking towards the immediate future, is there anything you’re particularly excited about?

I’m looking forward to this cartoon that we’re doing, Soulja Boy did a cartoon series and I did my own voice for the cartoon. So I’m ready for that to be released, that’s real big. I’m excited about Soulja Boy getting his first tour, I’m going to be featured on it. So I’m ready for that.

Any parting words?

Shout out to all the fans, keep holding me down. Album dropping this Spring. Look for me on BET’s Rip the Runway, I’ma be on there this week. That’s about it. - Showingout.com

World meet: Ja-Bar, the protégé to pop sensation Soulja Boy. Ja-Bar is the first artist to be released on Soulja Boy's SOD Money Gang label. The 19 year-old Atlanta hip-hopper is currently riding high on the waves of his fast-rising single, "Daze," ft. Soulja Boy from his spring untitled release.

Ja-Bar who honed his skills opening for Soulja Boy on his tour for two years noted that the two have a deep connection forged by their mutual love for hard work and determination to succeed.

"We both work hard so that's one of the reasons he likes me so much and kept me around. I'm always in the studio or on the computer and so is he. We are both go-getters," Ja-Bar said.

With that go-getter mentality Soulja Boy is setting Ja-Bar up for the big time, but as Soulja's experience shows the big time is not without its challenges. Soulja Boy who has faced beef with Ice-T, made controversial Twitter rants and been a gossip target has prepared Ja-Bar for the industry's challenges.

"I think controversy and hate you got to handle that yourself. You can't let others tell you what you can't do. People always said I wouldn't make it but now I have hits. So never listen to what people tell you," he said.

a-Bar remembers one particular night when Soulja Boy's support inspired him to keep going until his dreams come true.

"One year ago in the club at Grammy Party there was Paris Hilton, Jimmy Iovine and Timbaland. Soulja Boy told me, 'One day all these people gonna know you and be here to see you and all this will be yours, but it takes hard work and dedication.' So I know it's not a game and it's real business," he recalled.

With that understanding the two are focused on taking over the industry and giving other deriving artists a chance to shine.

"I'm gonna put out different talent and show the world all the different styles we got. Ja-Bar wants to get into movies and his own label too. We trying to be icons in the music industry," Soulja Boy said.

With their common goals, industry insight and sense of brotherhood, it seems that there are no heights these two won't be able to reach. - JimmyJazz

Earlier this month, Soulja Boy publicly introduced his 19 year-old Atlanta artist Ja-Bar with the single “Daze . When asked about the euphoric emotions of releasing his new anthem Ja-Bar exclaimed, “It feels really good. It feels like I’m on my way to the top right now. It’s truly an unexplainable feeling. We plan on dropping the album around March or April. We’re still trying to come up with a name for it. I’m not sure what I want to call it yet. ”

By giving Ja-Bar a platform of his own, Soulja Boy is fulfilling the development of his SOD Money Gang. Having toured for over two years with Soulja, Ja-Bar (born Justin Benjamin Alex Rucker) wishes to make the most out of this grand opportunity. Ja-Bar commented, “I’ve learned that you’ve got to keep your business real tight in this industry. Everything is treated as a business. You have to be able to keep coming out with good music.”

Ja-Bar is gearing up to join Soulja as he embarks on his first major headlining tour. The two are equally excited as Soulja chimes, “I don’t know what I have in store yet, it’s no telling when it comes to SouljaBoyTellem. I just know that it’s my first headlining tour and it’s going to be the biggest ever. We’re going to do some big venues. I plan on hitting all of the major cities. I’m gonna be three albums deep in the game so I’m gonna have a lot of music to party with. I’m going to bring some great artist out on the road with me. I don’t have a name for the tour yet but as soon as I do I’ll let the people know.” - HipHopDX

Influenced by Stevie Wonder, R. Kelly, Ne-Yo, and Usher, singer/songwriter/producer Lee Carr first landed on record in 2006 when his track "Act Like That" made the Waist Deep soundtrack. In 2008 representatives from the Jive label signed Carr in the parking lot right outside of his day job. The label released his single "Stilettos" in the summer that same year. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide - www.winamp.com