JP WHITE - bouncing back
Featured in this article is my latest interview with the recent success that is the hip-hop artist JP White.
Nice to meet you JP and thanks for coming today. First question, what has inspired you and the lyrics in your latest smash hits?
Thanks for having me it's a pleasure to be here. Firstly I've been through a lot and I recently lost a friend who I was extremely close to and we both shared a passion for music, especially hip-hop, so I wanted to carry on doing what I was doing and take it to the next level in honour of him. He inspires me and my music and a lot of the stuff that I write is about him and my other mates and how close we are.
What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?
The highlight of my career has definitely gotta be when I had the opportunity to go on tour as a supporting act for Tinie Tempah, an artist who grew up quite close to me and knows what it's like to start from the bottom. It was great being able to perform as part of one of the most popular hip-hop artists around at the moment. What made it even better is that not only did I tour with him and his crew, but my boys that have stuck by me all along got to come too and it was kinda like a road trip for us. It was a right laugh getting to know Tinie and the crew and he's a great bloke.
I see you're wearing a pair of Air Jordans. Can you explain to me what sculpted your style and fashion?
When I was growing up I was a huge fan of American sports, especially basketball and my favourite sportsman has gotta be His Airness himself Michael Jordan. I try to infuse styles from old school hip-hop and new school hip-hop without trying to show off too much and flash the cash.
In your latest single 'On the Otherside', you mention a lot of references to drugs. why is this?
I just wanna say that in no way am I promoting drugs and I don't take drugs. The main reason why I've mentioned drugs in this song is due to the fact that my close friend who I mentioned earlier, got into some bad stuff and in the end passed away from an overdose of Oxycontin which is why I say 'I've seen oxycontin take a friends life' in the second verse. All the other references to drugs are purely to spark a realisation in my listeners brains that even if they think taking certain drugs won't affect them, it's bound to come back and bite them.
When you're not recording in the studio what kind of things do you get up to?
I like to be kept busy and feel like if I'm not doing something then I'm wasting my time. I love doing sports, especially basketball and football. Keeping active is very important to me so playing these sports, aswell as going to the gym, keeps me in shape. But who doesn't like to relax every once in a while? Every so often I'll just chill with my boys and play a bit of xbox. Whatever I do, I do with my mates and we're very close because of that.
What are your plans for the future?
Well at the moment, I want to focus on the release of my new album 'Bouncing Back' and just get used to being in the spotlight, maybe go to a few festivals with my mates, hopefully perform at some you never know! But for the future, I hope that I'll go above and beyond my expectations for my career and hopefully make it into the big league. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I'm in the position I'm in for a reason so I won't take that for granted. Life moves pretty fast and if you don't stop to look around once in a while you might miss it!
Thanks for the interview, I'm glad you were able to make it.
No problem, thanks for asking me to come!
Nice to meet you JP and thanks for coming today. First question, what has inspired you and the lyrics in your latest smash hits?
Thanks for having me it's a pleasure to be here. Firstly I've been through a lot and I recently lost a friend who I was extremely close to and we both shared a passion for music, especially hip-hop, so I wanted to carry on doing what I was doing and take it to the next level in honour of him. He inspires me and my music and a lot of the stuff that I write is about him and my other mates and how close we are.
What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?
The highlight of my career has definitely gotta be when I had the opportunity to go on tour as a supporting act for Tinie Tempah, an artist who grew up quite close to me and knows what it's like to start from the bottom. It was great being able to perform as part of one of the most popular hip-hop artists around at the moment. What made it even better is that not only did I tour with him and his crew, but my boys that have stuck by me all along got to come too and it was kinda like a road trip for us. It was a right laugh getting to know Tinie and the crew and he's a great bloke.
I see you're wearing a pair of Air Jordans. Can you explain to me what sculpted your style and fashion?
When I was growing up I was a huge fan of American sports, especially basketball and my favourite sportsman has gotta be His Airness himself Michael Jordan. I try to infuse styles from old school hip-hop and new school hip-hop without trying to show off too much and flash the cash.
In your latest single 'On the Otherside', you mention a lot of references to drugs. why is this?
I just wanna say that in no way am I promoting drugs and I don't take drugs. The main reason why I've mentioned drugs in this song is due to the fact that my close friend who I mentioned earlier, got into some bad stuff and in the end passed away from an overdose of Oxycontin which is why I say 'I've seen oxycontin take a friends life' in the second verse. All the other references to drugs are purely to spark a realisation in my listeners brains that even if they think taking certain drugs won't affect them, it's bound to come back and bite them.
When you're not recording in the studio what kind of things do you get up to?
I like to be kept busy and feel like if I'm not doing something then I'm wasting my time. I love doing sports, especially basketball and football. Keeping active is very important to me so playing these sports, aswell as going to the gym, keeps me in shape. But who doesn't like to relax every once in a while? Every so often I'll just chill with my boys and play a bit of xbox. Whatever I do, I do with my mates and we're very close because of that.
What are your plans for the future?
Well at the moment, I want to focus on the release of my new album 'Bouncing Back' and just get used to being in the spotlight, maybe go to a few festivals with my mates, hopefully perform at some you never know! But for the future, I hope that I'll go above and beyond my expectations for my career and hopefully make it into the big league. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I'm in the position I'm in for a reason so I won't take that for granted. Life moves pretty fast and if you don't stop to look around once in a while you might miss it!
Thanks for the interview, I'm glad you were able to make it.
No problem, thanks for asking me to come!