J-Billion

Hudson Mohawke, Mickey Factz, J-Billion & DJ Dials
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
330 Ritch

Better than: Anything else happening on a Wednesday night.

Last night, the longstanding 330 Ritch club and tastemaking promotions crew HellYeah Industries pulled together a night of weird beat music and hungry MCs based around one man from Glasgow, Hudson Mohawke. The act is the work of Ross Brichard, who was lauded as a scene leader even before Butter, the young producer's debut album of wonky soul tunes and fractured hip-hop beats, was released last year on the massive Warp label. It was exciting to have the chance to see the talented beatsmith and World DJ Championship finalist in a relatively intimate venue.

The night got off to a slow start, though. As ticket-holders slowly made their way in the door--while the rain waxed and waned outside--DJ Dials dropped appropriate bass-heavy jams from the likes of Nosaj Thing and Lazer Sword. After 10 p.m., the room was still filling slowly and people mingled with drinks in hand, seeming unexcited or unimpressed by the DJ.

?Not much changed in the club when opener J-Billion came on stage. Along with a couple friends sharing mic duties, the MC tore through his set with tenacity and disregard for the lackadaisical audience. The sweat on Billion's brow was possibly the only perspiration in the room at the time. The same proved to be true for the second act, New York's Mickey Factz. While his recognizable beats (which included loops copped from electro bangers by Justice and Sebastian) drew a little more enthusiasm from the crowd, the overall lack of participation with Factz's call-and-response routines proved everyone had arrived at 330 Ritch for only one reason. And that reason was up next.
- SF WEEKLY

By Eric Arnold in Clubs, Free Tickets, Music
Tuesday, Aug. 4 2009 @ 10:20AM

Promising young San Francisco rapper J-Billion, a member of skate-hop crew Hufset, releases his debut album, The Beautiful Loser, today. This is just a guess, but I doubt the album has anything in common with the Bob Seger song of the same name.

Anyhoo, J-Bil and his homies WNKK will be in the house-bring your cameras, girls--and copies of the album will be available for purchase at 300 Ritch's "Pacific Standard Time" tonight. Following the record listening party, resident Sake One welcomes special guest DJ Klean Kut, plus a live performance by one of SF's best contemporary Latin bands, Bayonics, who bring the salsa-funk-hop as only they can. Admission is only $5, but cheapskates with an Internet connection--hello!--can scoop up a slot on the guest list-o-rama by RSVPing here (as usual: no more than one name per RSVP; emails must be received by 5pm on Tuesday). - SFweekly.com

Features - Next In Line
Written by Paige Vermillion
Monday, 14 September 2009 10:08

This 26-year-old native of San Francisco is bringing true hip-hop back. With his swag like style and his natural instincts for beats and lyrics, he's making a name for himself. Based on the feedback on his most recent album and the fact that he has opened for Clipse three different times, he must be doing something right. People are definitely feeling the fresh and unique style he's bringing. J-Billion loves what he does and so will you. Now check out the interview he recently gave us and find out more about who J-Billion really is.



OSHHS: How did you come up with the name J-Billion?

J-Billion: Well I was in L.A. actually for a friends party, and we were all just chillin and they were saying, “Yo dude, what's your name gonna be?” And I thought of like Richie Rich, but that was taken and I also thought of Johnny Quest and all these superhero cartoon character names. And then my boy El-Rock, who is another fellow artist, was like “Dude, 'J- Billionaire, that would be sick.' So I shortened it up to J-Billion which is a play on my initials, which is J.B.

OSHHS: I checked out your album “The Beautiful Loser” and I really enjoyed it. What was your thought process in making that album?

J-Billion: The thought process for making the album was just being influenced by all kinds of music. And actually for those that don't know the title behind “The Beautiful Loser” is a group of people in the early 90's who were looked at as outcast and there were a lot of people in contemporary art and music and they were looked upon as outcast but they ended up being famous. And all these people who were looked about as new sense to the community they ended up being these people who are world-renowned now and they were nicknamed the beautiful losers. So I felt like that fit me and kinda how I approach things and how I'm coming from a inner city world looked upon as were not gonna accomplish much but in the end were beautiful losers.

OSHHS: What was it like making the “The Beautiful Loser?” Did you come across any crossroads?

J-Billion: It was a pretty smooth process. I have a great production team by the name of Risky Bizness Productions, which is a group of like three close friends who were doing music also, so it started off as gathering beats and the rhymes came kinda easy to me, which is just a god given talent; and very lucky to have. Writing the songs really didn't take long. I would just get a feeling and get a beat and just write to it. I had over 150 songs to choose for the album, but I knew the sounds I wanted and knew the feeling I wanted to convey to the people and looked for beats that expressed that feeling.



OSHHS: Do you write all your own lyrics?

J-Billion: Yea. I write all my own music. I'm definitely a MC's MC. Everything is written by me, hooks, verses, everything. No ghostwriting over here. But I will ghostwrite for somebody if they need help.



OSHHS: We have a few favorites on the album, tracks like Haterblockerz, Dope Man Sneakers, and Number 8. Do you have a favorite?

J-Billion: You like all the hard one's huh? (As he laughs). If I had to pick a favorite track it would be Hate: The New Love or Number 8 as well because everybody knew I was a rapper, but me not knowing if everyone knew I was lyrical. So Number 8 was just to show people I'm not playin and I really do rap. And that song is a good song for the MC's, a lot of play on lyrics.

OSHHS: When J-Billion isn't working hard on music, what do you do in your spare time?

J-Billion: When I'm not doing music I'm playing basketball, reading, watching movies and just chillin, or might be at a club somewhere just enjoying life. But I've really been reading a lot I like to read a lot on history nothing really factious.


OSHHS: Who are your influences in music?

J-Billion: Man. I listen to everything. My dad used to listen to all type's of music. So I listen to everything from reggae, hip-hop, r&b, classical and South American. I listen to it all. But my main influences coming up was like in rap, is was Jay-Z, T.I., Pharrell, Kanye West and I also listen to the older dudes like NWA and Tribe Called Quest. And one of my favorite MC's, and still is to this day, is Grand Poobah. He was nice on the mic. And I used to listen to a lot of r&b like Prince, Tony Toni Tone, and Raphael Saadiq. It's just a huge range.



OSHHS: What do you think about the direction of hip-hop and rap today?

J-Billion: I think that it's taking a turn for the better. It's had its dark day though. I think that the music will improve and is getting better. There's a lot of young artists coming out that are doing a lot of good for the genre. I think lyrics are gonna come back and make music from the soul. And I think people are gonna stop trying to chase a dollar and the fame and make music that reflects a social cl - http://www.onestophiphopshop.com