Justis
Gig Seeker Pro

Justis

Band Hip Hop Jazz

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Beats & Rhymes"

Check it out in full here:

http://exclaim.ca/musicreviews/generalreview.aspx?csid2=865&fid1=31413&csid1=122


Justis
Just Is
By Omar Mouallem

When the intro’s horns erupt and Justis delivers his first two bars, you get that rare feeling that this is going to be something special. The Kitchener-Waterloo rapper and producer gets everything right on his debut, finding a delicate balance between personalisation and audience inclusion. On “I Am Hip Hop,” he raps, “Despite asthma, I rip mics and write chapters.” Whether he is making a good point (“Try’n To Live,” “Music For A Rainy Day,” “Cocaine”) or just having good time (“Down,” “Get it Right,” “Weekend”), Justis has the cadence, lyricism and production skills to make him a defining voice in Canadian hip-hop. Just Is is just one of the best rap debuts in recent memory. (Do Right!)
- Exclaim! Magazine


"Extended Play"

Check it out in full:

http://www.eyeweekly.com/extendedplay/article/31091#celebrate



‘A Tribe Called Quest changed my life. All hope of me having a normal existence was over after I heard The Low End Theory.”

Hailing from Kitchener-Waterloo, Justin Vail was raised on a musical diet consisting of his dad’s jazz and his mom’s soca and reggae, but he fell for hip-hop at the age of 10. MCs like Common, Nas and Black Thought (The Roots) also inspired him as Vail began to turn his poetry and short stories into rhymes.

Speaking from his home, Vail explains that he was also hugely influenced by regional hip-hop acts including Fraction, Pro-Logic and, in particular, Embassy.

“I was taken under the wing of a group called Embassy,” he recalls. “When I was a new jack, like 14 or 15, they’d have shows and tell me to come up and do a song or two.”

A decade later — after the recording experience of contributing to an Embassy-led CD compilation titled The Northern Horde — Vail has released his debut solo album, Just Is.
He wrote the album over a number of years, including during a period when he was a student at Ryerson and then at Trebas, and had taken the initiative to hand out free four-track EPs to anyone who would listen. T.O. hip-hop heavyweight DJ Fase was impressed enough to pass a copy to Do Right Music label boss John Kong, who released Justis’ Jazz Music EP mid–last year. Response was strong.

“To tell you the truth, I was just geeked to have vinyl,” laughs Vail. “I never thought I’d have a record out so I definitely spent a couple of hours scratching my own voice and indulging in that.”

Jazz Music, which features the playing of jazz band Ace Kinkaid, immediately signalled that Justis was coming with something a little different for hip-hop created in the late 2000s. Just Is follows on that promise, with much of the album’s production — courtesy of Mantis, Hajah Bug and Justis himself — bringing forward jazz samples and atypical beats. I wondered if Vail had any concern that the jazz leanings might pigeonhole his music?

“A little bit, but at the same time, I had fear for the whole album,” he admits. “I’m not afraid to say that I was terrified releasing this. If you spoke with Mantis, he’d tell you that I almost had an anxiety attack when I gave John the album, thinking that some of the tracks are a little older — they weren’t recorded in the last six months — so I started to worry, ‘Does it sound dated?’ I don’t want to be one of those guys that everybody says ‘This would have been wicked in 1994.’ I definitely had a big fear of that, but at the same time, it’s jazz. How can you not love jazz? I love the freedom of it. There are so many different places you can go to in jazz.”

To these ears, Just Is sounds entirely of the now. It may be a descendant twice removed of hip-hop’s mid-’90s glory period, but the beats and feel are entirely contemporary. Vail also scores points for his cadence, flow and ability to balance thoughtful, introspective rhymes with more playful party material. His current single “Try n to Live,” produced by France’s Drum Brothers, is as hooky as it is heartfelt and filled with life lessons.

“The music I do is very cathartic for me,” says Vail. “I’m really honest with what I try to say. I’m just telling people about myself and I want to be relatable. I find there are a lot of people in hip-hop who tend to almost rhyme at you or even rhyme down to their audiences. I’d much rather converse with listeners and make quality music that speaks to people’s lives.”

“You know,” Vail continues, after I ask for his take on what listeners are responding to in his music, “Some people may just really like the production, others may really be listening and like how I write and what I’m saying. I know I’ve been getting very good feedback on shows I’ve been doing, with or without the band. I try to be very energetic. I love being onstage and having fun with the audience.

“It’s hard to pinpoint what draws people, but whatever it is, I’m glad it’s there.” - Eye Weekly


"Justis - Pick of The Week"

Check out the full article here:

http://londononburgeoningmetropolis.blogspot.com/2009/04/pick-of-week-14-justis.html

(I'm a big fan of this album cover... reminds me of Little Brother's The Listening ... maybe its just the colour scheme...)

If you're coming across BM for the first time this is where I introduce a hip-hop album by explaining that I used to be really into hip-hop, but am not really plugged-in any more... but, really, 3 of my last 4 picks of the week have been "urban" (for those of you unwilling to click on the link, its Stanley from the Office): K'naan, the Tor/Suf Stevens Mashup, and now Justis.

So, anyways, usually my obligatory "when I was a kid..." intro is followed up by how said new hip-hop artists, in this case Justis, reminds me of someone that I used to listen to. Who does Justis remind me of? Well, the soul beats/jazz samples/live instrumentation(?) remind me a little of 9th Wonder (who started with Little Brother, but has produced for EVERYONE now - Jay-z, Beyonce - and has put out a couple of stellar remix albums God's Stepson and Black is Back), but I can't really put my finger on what Justis' actual flow(?) sounds like... again, not really plugged-in any more...

Like most hip-hop albums, it follows along a pretty standard schedule of songs: song about how real the rapper is to establish credibility, song encouraging bitches to dance, song about how they are strugglin', etc., but I guess that would be an issue if I felt like it was over the top, trying to rip someone off, or otherwise - I think the term is 'biting' - someone elses material.

Regardless of what Justis is saying (although there are some great punch-lines), the topics he covers, the combination of his flow and over the jazzy, often Stevie Wonder-esque beats, left me with my head nodding for somewhere around an hour...
- LBM


"Justis - Just Is"


Check it out in full here:

http://www.herohill.com/2009/03/reviews-justis-just-is.htm



If you aren't as old as some of us around here, you'd likely be forgiven for not knowing there was once a very strong and very active connection between Jazz and hip hop. Not to say that some connection between the two doesn't remain, but once upon a time the biggest acts in the game, like Tribe and Gangstarr made Jazz a pretty regular, and overt, part of their sound. And the biggest names in Jazz took an interest in hip hop as well, with some even doing some collaboration, like the Branford Marsalis-helmed project I mentioned in yesterdays OSM, Buckshot LeFonque, which featured DJ Premier production, and rhymes from rapper Uptown.

But hip hop has changed (for better of worse depends on what side of the ridiculously large, iced-out medallion you reside on), and I, for one, had assumed that the connection between hip hop and Jazz was a thing of the past. Well, it seems I might've been wrong about that. There are signs that jazz is making a welcome return to hip hop production. Last week I reviewed Dragon Fli Empire's new album, Redefine, and there was jazz influence aplenty to be found there. There's even more jazzmatazz this week, as I bring you the sounds of young Canadian rapper Justis and his full length debut from last year: Just Is.

Somehow I missed Just Is when it dropped, but I'm certainly glad it was brought to my attention. Although still relatively young, mid twenties from what I gather, Justis has the charisma and flow of someone that's been doing this for a long time. He's adept at uptempo tracks that celebrate hip hop, like the three songs that open the album: I Am Hip Hop, Down, and Get It Right. But like many of us, Justin Vail also uses hip hop as an outlet to escape the monotony of his day to day, as thoughtful, passionate songs like Tryin' To Live, Power of One, Music For A Rainy Day clearly show.

Those are all solid songs, but it's the aptly-named Jazz Music that I'd have to tab as my highlight. It has a cool, dark-sounding intro but once the keys come in it becomes a sunnier ode to the Jazz musicians Justis clearly has an affection for. And I buy it, it doesn't just sound like someone dropping Jazz-names - it sounds like a real appreciation for the genre. There are other highlights too, like I Am Hip Hop which is a rundown of Justis' devotion to hip hop over a solid beat with some nice horns on the hooks, it sounds like a sped up version of something Tribe might've done. Get It Right is another nice beat, with thick drums and some female vocal snippets, it also features a verse from Mantis, who Justis will be doing a collab with for his next release. Just rocks a doubletime rhyme scheme on Let It Ride that, if I'm being honest, isn't my favorite, but the track has a nice beat (that I know I recognize from somewhere), and he slyly references the Outkast song ("Got up, got out and rocked something") that blew up on the hill recently.

There's a lot to like about Just Is, not the least of which is how listenable it is - it goes down pretty smooth. If I had any complaint, it would be that things get a little same-y by the end of the album - it would benefit from a bit more variance in the types of beats and lyric content. But that is really small potatoes, as the songs stay pretty strong all the way through from one to fifteen, and that is impressive in today's hip hop climate. So there you go, jazz in hip hop isn't a thing of the past, and one of the best examples is from a hungry young Canadian MC. Have to like that. - Hero Hill


Discography

"Just Is" - 2008 - 15 Tracks - Distributed internationally by Do Right! Music

"Jazz Music" - 2008- 6 Tracks - Distributed internationally by Do Right! Music

"DJ Flash's One Mic Mixtape" - 2004- 1 Track

"The Northern Horde" - 2003 - 1 Track

"The Berlin Experiment" - 2002 - 11 Tracks

"

Photos

Bio

With only 25 years under his belt, Justis has positioned himself to leave his signature on hip-hop for good. Armed with a passionate love for music and the culture, Justis brings a unique presence to the people. Mix that with a tone of soul and a lot of hard work, and you get an emcee, a producer, and an artist that slaves for the music and lives to vibe for hip hop heads around the world. No rest for the weary.

Born in Toronto, Canada and raised in Kitchener – Waterloo, Justin Vail was recognized as a talented writer at a very young age by teachers and peers. With an interest in writing poetry and short stories, he was placed in many enrichment programs in an attempt to nurture what was seen as flourishing promise. Still a child, Justis discovered and fell in love with hip hop even before making the move from briefs to boxers. By the age of thirteen he made the transition to writing lyrics and freestyling. Through natural ability and a young teenagers hunger for rebellion, an emcee was born.

What truly separates Justis from the norm? That’s for you cats to decide. Some have said it is the time, effort and love that goes into everything. From toiling over every verse, working with and creating beats that truly vibe with the musicianship and essence of real soulful music, to taking creative approaches to recording in the studio. Others have felt it is his honesty as an emcee. No fronts, Justis speaks on life, love and music from a perspective that real people can relate to. Justis has also been praised for his charismatic and incredibly high-energy stage presence. When performing, the hunger and excitement of this up and comer is contagious. Audiences are electrified as mic stands are lifted high overhead, and Justis proudly chants his songs.

His musicianship is not limited to rapping either. Over the years, Justis had taken up playing the harmonica and saxophone. With a natural ear for music, production was an obvious step. Now, Justis bangs out almost as many beats as rhymes. His development as a beatsmith and producer was furthered after receiving an education in audio engineering. Now, all of these tools are put to good use in his quest to craft real hip-hop music for real people.

Justis has been involved in numerous compilation projects including co-producing the street acclaimed “Berlin Experiment” and appearing on the “Northern Hoard” album. Both successful small run projects released in Canada and distributed by tape dubbers and backpacks worldwide. However it was in 2008 when Justis released his debut album “Just Is” that he was informing the world he was here to leave a mark. The album is currently distributed internationally by Do Right! Music and has been selling out in stores across Europe & Japan. In Canada the album has been gaining in popularity as it continues to reach audiences across the country. Whether it’s through a live show or by college radio where he has continued to crack the top ten charts for multiple weeks, “Just Is” is finding its way to the masses.

Justis has performed on many stages across Ontario & Quebec and has been a featured artist for some of Canada's largest music festivals including “North By North East”, “Toronto Jazz Fest” & “Canadian Music Week”. He has opened for and shared stages with many artists such as K-OS, hip-hop forefather DJ Red Alert, Scratch (from the legendary Roots crew), DL Incognito, Choclair, Brother Ali and an abundance of other International hip-hop heavy weights. His live performances have raised hands, opened ears and shaken heads as he has become known for his ability to offer two different types of shows. His “True School Hip Hop Show” which features himself along with fellow emcee “Mantis” and DJ “Pangea Delphi” & His “Live Jazz/Hip Hop Show” which features himself along with a four piece Jazz band known as “Ace Kinkaid”.

In 2009 Justis will be releasing his sophomore album as well as a joint project with fellow emcee “Mantis”. There is no doubt that these albums will continue to build on his worldwide platform, allowing him to spread his message and share his love for music.

For more on Justis please visit:
www.justismusic.com
www.myspace.com/justismusic
www.youtube.com/justismusic
www.dorightmusic.com