Voodoo-Child

J.O is entering into the music industry with his own creative blend of Hip-Hop and Soul music that will make fans take notice of his diverse style. For those music lovers looking for something new, refreshing, original, and unique, the lyrical flow of J.O will take fans on a fantastic musical journey. In this recent spotlight with our Webzine, J.O speaks about his music and what has inspired him to pursue his dreams of being a Hip-Hop artist. Enjoy!

Isaac: We'd love to know about your inspirations growing up. I hear so many influences in your music. How old were you when you first discovered music? Is there any kind of musical history in your family?

J.O: Growing up, I was always attached to icons and legends, stories of greatness. I think that directly tied into the music, and that's what I try to reach for. So like, what inspired me was hearing stories of when Michael Jordan was cut from school and takes the game winning shot at Carolina when nobody expected him to and goes on the become this untouchable figure. I always envisioned myself being that or thinking about being that great or having that story behind me. I always found myself watching a movie of struggle and success and I would get wrapped up in it and put myself in that story, being a kid I knew eventually I would be doing something great.

Music has been an essential part of my life ever since I can remember. There is no musical history in my family that I know of, but there was always music around me. My parents always playing Sri Lankan music and then hearing everything my big brother and sister played, it left me an all around individual when it came to music.

My influences were, my family, and the people around me, just growing up and hearing the music that my brother and sister listened to it shaped me. It could go from; Boys to Men, Tupac, Michael Jackson, Kanye to Cyndi Lauper to Journey, to Alanis Morrisette to Tribe Called Quest, I always had a different soundtrack to my life.

Isaac: What drew you to pick up a mic in the first place?

J.O: I went out east to visit my bro and a friend of his was starting to record, he gave me a few beats and asked if we would like to jump on. At this point, I had been writing poems and raps for a while and from that point on, I knew that this was something I wanted to pursue. I came back home and hit it full force, writing and recording at every chance I could. It was then I realized the love I had for it.

Isaac: As you hit your teenage years, did you know that this was what you would be doing for the rest of your life?

J.O: I think it was through these years that the idea was cultivating, but it didn't really hit me until I was about 20. That's when I really knew that this was going to be my life.

Isaac: Is there a performer in any genre of pop culture that you would like to work with?

J.O: Hands downs, Kanye West. I followed his career before he was the ultra superstar and I feel more attached to his music because of it. He is our Marvin Gaye, he is our Quincy Jones, he is our Stevie, our Michael Our Lennon, he is the genius that Jay Z dubbed him to be and I truly feel that his passion for music and his ability to take pain and turn it into art is incredible.

Isaac: Who are some musicians that you really like, present or past?

J.O: I still listen to the legends. Tupac has always been in my life, but as I grew up, I started to branch out. Now I feel like I hear music in a different way. I love Motown, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye. R&B, and soul, new to old. I love old rock like the Beatles, Journey, Jimmy Hendrix, Elton John and the classics. Hip-Hop wise, as I stated in my lyrics, I was influences by Ye and Jay, raised by Big and Pac. I'm a product of the golden era of hip hop and I've grown to understand and to love both the mainstream and the underground culture. When I compare my music, I'm comparing it to the Greats. I never sell myself short and I feel like one day, I will be one of their peers.

Isaac: What is your ultimate goal with your music career?

J.O: My ultimate goal is to make music that lasts. Aside from hit records, aside from sales and aside from everything else, I want music that will stand. The music that has emotion that will always have the people's ears and I feel like making great music will sustain a great fan base. I'm not a preacher by any means, but if I can help people with my songs then I feel like I've accomplished something, I know how important music was for me as I grew up and changed, so hopefully I can make music that means that much to others.

Isaac: What has been some of the obstacles it has taken to get this far in your career?

J.O: I think the biggest obstacle has been myself. Growing up, all you hear is what everyone else wants you to do and what everyone else thinks is right. So when you realize that you want something different, it's hard to makes sense of it because no one ever told you to do what you feel is right - Junior's Cave

J.O., also known as Joey Werapitiya, is a dope rapper coming out from Saskatchewan. Knowing that the scene in Saskatchewan wouldn’t be able to help him much with his passion and pursuit in hip hop, J.O. decided to move out to Vancouver to fully chase his career in music. With unwavering passion, J.O. pumped out “Today’s Special”, his first album, after years of preparation. Why did it take so long? J.O. explains that he wanted to hone in on his skill set first before showing the world what he was really made of. The justalilhype! Crew met J.O. at this years Livestock Block Party. The Crew saw a fresh kid handing out CD’s with a case that was literally stapled together. They took the CD home and liked what they heard and liked his hustle. Fresh from Saskatchewan, now Vancouver, J.O. sat down with us for an interview about himself, his music, and his life.

Can you tell us about yourself?

Myself – J.O. – I come from Regina, Saskatchewan, originally, and then I moved to Saskatoon for school. I didn’t really like school so I finished up as quickly as I could and moved out to Vancouver to pursue the music bit full time. I’ve been rapping for about seven years but actually letting people know about it for the last two years. I kind of gone down low until I got my skill set to a point where I was confident enough to go, “OK,” because I didn’t want to come off sounding all whack and stuff. I’m a Saskatchewan boy and I got big dreams.

Why did you come to Vancouver out of all places?

I heard through the grapevine that they had a decent hip hop scene brewing, but nothing had popped off yet. So I wanted to be part of the movement and if it so happens that I can help something pop off, then that would be a good thing. In Saskatchewan, we have a pretty dope hip hop scene but it’s really really underground. You kind of have to fit a certain mould to be part of that and I don’t see myself as a specific person; I don’t want to do just one type of thing. I went, “Let’s move to B.C. and let’s be part of that movement.” You know Toronto has their thing going and slowly, other places will pick up and Vancouver might be the next hip hop scene. We’ll see what happens.

Yeah, throughout central Canada, it’s still very underground.

Yeah, it’s not a bad sort of thing; it’s just a sign of Saskatchewan. I always felt that we were a step behind, and that’s no knock on Saskatchewan, it’s just the fact that all the fads and styles that hit the States, it would travel to Saskatchewan months later, you know what I mean? You would go, “Oh, this is dope,” but the other guy is already done with it, so we’re just moving slowly.

It’s not so much faster over here.

Well, yeah, I see that, too. I came out here expecting a completely different vibe. I see it as the West still trying to catch up to Toronto because it’s just so much closer to New York, where they have that ability to get that hip hop influence. It’s cool though – I like it out here. There’s totally a different type of culture. The one thing I noticed is that, you walk downtown and you can see 10 different types of people. You won’t see the same type of people over and over again so you can definitely find out who you are out here.

Can you describe to our readers about your music style?

I think, on the first album we did, “Today’s Special”, the biggest thing I was going for was versatility. Overall, I didn’t want a sound that just generic or whatever. Personally, I love RnB music and soul music and I want to incorporate that, but I can’t sing. So, let’s try to pull all aspects of that music and blend it together. I’ll do a track, like “Brighter Side” and that’s because I really like acoustic guitar. Then I would turn it around and do “That’s Dope” which is kind of like a throw-back hip hop song, kind of fused with new school.

I think the biggest part is being a rounded artist – that’s what I want to come off as. I don’t want to come off as fake by any means. I said before, hip hop is a thing where if you don’t come real, people will see that you’re insincere about it. It’s really easy to see what’s insincere in hip hop because it’s a very emotional kind of music – you get your soul into it. So yeah, I think my biggest thing is versatility, for me at least. I want to be an artist that can do anything.

Do you think this comes from your influences, both from the East Coast and the West Coast styles of music?

Well, I think that was the biggest thing growing up. I remember the first time I heard Tupac and my brother brought it home. I was just a kid because my brother is eight years older than me. He played it and I had no idea what he was saying but I was rapping it like I knew what he was talking about. Then I grew up and I go, “Oh, OK, I get it.” Back then, my brother wouldn’t listen to Nas and Jay-Z because Tupac dissed them. Then, it was all over and you listen to everything and then you’re just like, “Everyone’s dope.” The - Justalilhype

J.O., also known as Joey Werapitiya, is a dope rapper coming out from Saskatchewan. Knowing that the scene in Saskatchewan wouldn’t be able to help him much with his passion and pursuit in hip hop, J.O. decided to move out to Vancouver to fully chase his career in music. With unwavering passion, J.O. pumped out “Today’s Special”, his first album, after years of preparation. Why did it take so long? J.O. explains that he wanted to hone in on his skill set first before showing the world what he was really made of. The justalilhype! Crew met J.O. at this years Livestock Block Party. The Crew saw a fresh kid handing out CD’s with a case that was literally stapled together. They took the CD home and liked what they heard and liked his hustle. Fresh from Saskatchewan, now Vancouver, J.O. sat down with us for an interview about himself, his music, and his life.

Can you tell us about yourself?

Myself – J.O. – I come from Regina, Saskatchewan, originally, and then I moved to Saskatoon for school. I didn’t really like school so I finished up as quickly as I could and moved out to Vancouver to pursue the music bit full time. I’ve been rapping for about seven years but actually letting people know about it for the last two years. I kind of gone down low until I got my skill set to a point where I was confident enough to go, “OK,” because I didn’t want to come off sounding all whack and stuff. I’m a Saskatchewan boy and I got big dreams.

Why did you come to Vancouver out of all places?

I heard through the grapevine that they had a decent hip hop scene brewing, but nothing had popped off yet. So I wanted to be part of the movement and if it so happens that I can help something pop off, then that would be a good thing. In Saskatchewan, we have a pretty dope hip hop scene but it’s really really underground. You kind of have to fit a certain mould to be part of that and I don’t see myself as a specific person; I don’t want to do just one type of thing. I went, “Let’s move to B.C. and let’s be part of that movement.” You know Toronto has their thing going and slowly, other places will pick up and Vancouver might be the next hip hop scene. We’ll see what happens.

Yeah, throughout central Canada, it’s still very underground.

Yeah, it’s not a bad sort of thing; it’s just a sign of Saskatchewan. I always felt that we were a step behind, and that’s no knock on Saskatchewan, it’s just the fact that all the fads and styles that hit the States, it would travel to Saskatchewan months later, you know what I mean? You would go, “Oh, this is dope,” but the other guy is already done with it, so we’re just moving slowly.

It’s not so much faster over here.

Well, yeah, I see that, too. I came out here expecting a completely different vibe. I see it as the West still trying to catch up to Toronto because it’s just so much closer to New York, where they have that ability to get that hip hop influence. It’s cool though – I like it out here. There’s totally a different type of culture. The one thing I noticed is that, you walk downtown and you can see 10 different types of people. You won’t see the same type of people over and over again so you can definitely find out who you are out here.

Can you describe to our readers about your music style?

I think, on the first album we did, “Today’s Special”, the biggest thing I was going for was versatility. Overall, I didn’t want a sound that just generic or whatever. Personally, I love RnB music and soul music and I want to incorporate that, but I can’t sing. So, let’s try to pull all aspects of that music and blend it together. I’ll do a track, like “Brighter Side” and that’s because I really like acoustic guitar. Then I would turn it around and do “That’s Dope” which is kind of like a throw-back hip hop song, kind of fused with new school.

I think the biggest part is being a rounded artist – that’s what I want to come off as. I don’t want to come off as fake by any means. I said before, hip hop is a thing where if you don’t come real, people will see that you’re insincere about it. It’s really easy to see what’s insincere in hip hop because it’s a very emotional kind of music – you get your soul into it. So yeah, I think my biggest thing is versatility, for me at least. I want to be an artist that can do anything.

Do you think this comes from your influences, both from the East Coast and the West Coast styles of music?

Well, I think that was the biggest thing growing up. I remember the first time I heard Tupac and my brother brought it home. I was just a kid because my brother is eight years older than me. He played it and I had no idea what he was saying but I was rapping it like I knew what he was talking about. Then I grew up and I go, “Oh, OK, I get it.” Back then, my brother wouldn’t listen to Nas and Jay-Z because Tupac dissed them. Then, it was all over and you listen to everything and then you’re just like, “Everyone’s dope.” The - Justalilhype