Official John Paul
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Official John Paul

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | SELF

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 2014
Solo Hip Hop Pop

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

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"Broward County Rapper John Paul Goes Hard Against Hip-Hop’s Status Quo"

John Paul doesn’t shy away from calling out the ugly state of hip-hop. Last week, the rapper from Broward County, Florida, released a video for “Controversy Sells,” his diss track about viral sensation Stitches and artists pulling stunts instead of focusing on making hits that stand the test of time. A lot of rappers boast about having criminal records, but John Paul’s rap sheet is easily verified on the Broward County Clerk of Courts web-site. He’s been arrested at least 14 times since 2001, including two pops for possession of marijuana with intent to sell while fleeing and eluding the cops. Driving under the influence was another recurring problem until he cleaned up a year ago. The 30-year-old rapper has opened for Flo-rida, David Banner, Birdman, and Lil Wayne and collaborated with Young Buck, Spider-Loc, Bun-B, and Ace Hood, among other notable hip-hop artists.

Serving Dope spent a few minutes with John Paul about hip-hop’s current shock jock mentality, getting sober and popping his cherry.

SD: Why call yourself John Paul?

That’s my real name. I used to go by JDot. There just comes a point that you just want to be original and be yourself.

Where were you born and raised?

Pompano and Margate in Broward County.

What was your childhood like?

It was alright. I come from broken home. I’ve been in and out of jail. I’ve seen some shit growing up.

What kind of trouble did you get into?

I’ve been arrested plenty of times. I’ve been in a gang. You know, just stupid shit you fall into.

When was last time you got arrested?

A year and half ago for pot possession. I couldn’t put it down bro. (Laughs)

How long have you been rapping?

I have been rapping 10 years. I was doing a lot of rapping out of high school with a group called Official. It was me and some neighborhood kids doing our thing during the myspace days. Then I got locked up. I did a year-and-a-half. I came out. My boy already had a studio so I jumped right in. A couple of the guys fell off. A couple fell into drugs. A couple couldn’t do it anymore. And some drifted apart.

Why did you keep at it?

Music is something I never stop getting good at. Every time I make music I work hard to make each song better than the last song. When I hear the final product and I know it is just getting better, when you never hit that plateau, it just gives me more incentive to keep pushing. - Serving Dope


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

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Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Currently at a loss for words...

Band Members