jonathan

Off Of his Upcoming EP “bertie, NC:THE MOVIE” - Carolina On The Rise

“Slow It Down” is a song about why the street life is happening. Why there are drug dealers, robbers, and crime. It’s A Song About Understanding The Street Life Instead Of People Shying Away From It Like It Doesn’t Exist. Only God Can Judge. - Carolina On The Rise

North Carolina native jonathan gives us the visual for “Slow It Down”, where he plainly discusses the current activities going on in the streets. Check it out below.
the message of the song is needed. I think a lot of people world wide can relate to the message. The video didn’t do a good job at keeping my attention. For newer artist, my advice would be to stick to shorter videos until the fan base grows. I watched the complete 5:03 video with credits and all. The highlight of this joint to me was the MUSIC! - Tasha(She Bloggin)

Growing up in a single-parent home in a small town like Aulander, North Carolina can be really tough. Growing up in a single-parent home in general is pretty tough. Despite the struggles and hardships he and his three brothers faced coming of age in a crime stricken town, Jonathan Boone made a way through education, spoken word, and music.

His mother was extremely strict on him and his brothers, but around the time he was in middle school, she wasn’t able to be around as much. “She was working two and three jobs. So for me I was into everything because I really didn’t have that guidance that I needed,” said Boone. “I was actually doing everything that I could get my hands into, until I got in trouble with the law.”

Boone was 17-years-old when he found himself in trouble. He was charged as an adult because he soon turned 18. The charges were later expunged.

“Things kind of turned around for me then because I realized that judges, police, and authorities don’t care about your life, or what you’re going through, they only care about what you did wrong,” said Boone. “So at that moment I realized I had to show people that therewas a good side to the bad, a counterpart.”

Boone takes his past experiences and ties them with things he’s experienced while going to college. He said, “I just want to show people back home that nothing can limit them but themselves.”

He’s currently a senior at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) and he graduates in May with a B.A. in english. Boone started out as a biology major because he wanted to be a veterinarian, but switched his major to english because he was really good with words. “It’s pretty easy writing music and taking English courses, it really helps out my music sometimes,” said Boone.

At ECSU, Boone is the president of Free Mindz, a spoken word organization. Last year the group competed at a poetry slam at Duke University and they will compete this year on April 18, at Duke. At ECSU, the group performs midnight poetry, and participates in other events on campus.

As an artist, he goes by his stage name: jonathan. He’s been making music for almost three years, and he’s working on his EP, a short collection of music entitled, bertie, NC: THE MOVIE, that will be released soon.

After graduation in May, he plans to continue his education in graduate school at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Calif., where he will pursue a Master of Fine Art (MFA).

His past performances include opening for rappers Lil Scrappy and Slick Rick. “Opening for Lil Scrappy was my first performance ever, it was actually the first thing I auditioned for and I was so nervous, but as soon as I heard the beat everything fell in place,” said Boone. He’s also performed for Def Jam and worked with producers who have produced music for rapper Fabolous.

Boone is also one of the founders of the Coalition of Outstanding Lyricists (C.O.O.L), a network of producers, singers, and rappers.

Fun Facts:

Favorite Artists: UGK, Outkast, and The Notorious B.I.G.

Long term goals: “I really want to get my mother out of N.C., wherever she wants to go. Everything for me is a new adventure. I want to continue my education. Music is an outlet to express my ideas and show people back home that they can do what ever they put their mind to. They listen to my music and they know that it’s real and that it really happened. It gives them hope.”

Advice to Artists: “Be yourself. You can be weird, you can be an introvert, you can paint, you can do what ever it is that you do, but when you aren’t being you, people are going to notice, so be yourself. Be productive, you can’t take any days off. Longevity is the key for anything.”

His next performance will be at ECSUs Vikingfest BET Blaze the Stage on April 8. - VALM4RIE