Big Things Poppin: J. Osceola...

NAME: J. Osceola aka J dot O

 LOCATION: WorldWide via Columbus, OHiO (Yuppie!)

 So what do you do?/ What Industry are you in?

 Well.. I'm an up-and-coming Hip-Hop artist in the music industry.. Atleast 
 that's what most people know me as..

The rest, including a track, after the break...

Which is a good thing! But honestly, 
 I do a little everything fa real.. I hope I don't sound cocky lol, but I 
 guess you could say I consider myself a modern-day renaissance man.. 
 Besides just being a Hip-Hop artist (which is my #1) I am also a 
 song-writer for other genres (R&B, Pop, Rock, Soul, etc.), I produce, I 
 write poetry, I write books & short stories, I am an illustrator, I draw, 
 I design clothes, I paint, I'm a barber, I'm a business owner, an 
 entreprenuer, an athlete, a "father"... LoL.. Really just a jack of all 
 trades... But back to the original question LoL.. As I said, I'm a Hip-Hop 
 artist.. But ultimately... You can just call me a young dude who has been 
 blessed with a lot of passion and a lot of God given talent... Lucky I 
 guess... LoL


 How did you get into the Business?

 Well a few years back I was in a group with one of my friends from 
 Detroit. We did an EP and a mixtape and got a few things accomplished, but 
 as time progressed, we realized that we were on two different pages. We 
 split up and soon after, I got a phone call from an A&R from StarTrak 
 (Pharell and Chad Hugo's label) who wanted to meet with me out of nowhere! 
 This was about a year or so ago. She told me they were extremely 
 interested and wanted to hear more music from me and wanted to set up a 
 meeting. Mind you at this time, I really wasn't working on a lot of music 
 (because of my family situation), but I wasn't gonna let my momentary 
 hiatus or lack of new music stop me. So we set up a meeting a few weeks 
 from that phone call in Virginia Beach , VA. Immediately, I hit up my 
 homie and one of the most talented people I know on Earth, Eye-On from 
 Fly.Union (SHOUT OUT to da boi Iye!) and told him the situation. A couple 
 days later I went to the Chop Shop (Iye's studio), picked out 7 beats, 
 wrote 7 songs, recorded em, had Iye mix em, and put em on CD in a matter 
 of like 3 weeks. Meanwhile, I did a couple photoshoots, talked to Ro'shawn 
 (my current manager) and had him help me put together this crazy presskit. 
 Then I flew down to VA with a demo and some presskits a dream! I met with 
 the A&R and the other Star Trak people, they loved me (atleast that's what 
 they said..lol), we talked some numbers, and they proceeded to talk about 
 our blinding bright future! Everything sounded great so I came back to 
 Columbus to solidify my management so we could properly handle the 
 business and get the deal solidified. To make a long story short, the A&R 
 (along with some of the others I talked to in Va.) was no longer with the 
 company and the deal fell through. Nevertheless, I learned a lot from the 
 experience and it showed me that I was in the right field of business, as 
 heavyweights in the industry were showing interest and putting offers on 
 the table. Shortly after I got 2 of my songs put in rotation on one of the 
 top radio stations in the U.S. and got great responses to both. Though I 
 was doing music years before all this, I would say that these sequence of 
 events is when & how I got into the "business"...


 When was the moment you knew music was what you wanted to do?

 As cliche as it sounds, there was an ACTUAL event that really inspired me 
 to pursue music as my career. LoL.. Back when I was a little youngster, my 
 older sister took me to see my favorite Hip-Hop group of all time... 
 Wu-Tang Clan! I was definitely too young to be there but she got me in 
 somehow and I got to go backstage and meet all dem fools and all that! I 
 was lightweight star-struck fa real! LoL.. But I even actually got to 
 cipher with Ghostface, Method Man, and RZA.. It was only for like 2 
 minutes and I probably spit some wack ish, but they were like "Yo son.. U 
 nice widdit.. Keep pursuing it man and keep sharpenin' your blades tho 
 God.. You gonna be ill, worddupp.." Or something like that.. LoL.. Though 
 they probably were just gassin me and they probably wouldn't remember that 
 night, I took it to heart and ran with it!


 What/who is your biggest inspiration?

 Musically, there's soo many inspirations that I've had growing up. From 
 Stevie Wonder to Jay-Z, from The Roots to Nas, from Michael Jackson to 
 Timberland.. The list is really endless.. But to be 100% real, not to take 
 anything away from the inspiration that artists like the ones I previously 
 mentioned create, but my biggest influence and inspiration to my music is 
 LIFE. From struggling growing up, to things I've experienced and 
 witnessed, life has been THE single most influential thing that has 
 "molded" me, my music, and my perspective.


 What sets you apart from everyone else?

 That's a funny question.. LoL.. Really just because it's so debatable. I 
 mean I could say something that sets me apart is that I speak from the 
 heart in all my music... Or that I always have a distinguished message in 
 all my songs... Or that I'm a mainstream Hip-Hop artist that doesn't curse 
 or glorify negativity... Or maybe its my look that sets me apart from most 
 "rappers" or Hip-Hop artists.. I really don't know though because it's 
 really all perception. At the end of the day, I'm just a young man 
 learning life a day at a time and that loves making good music that people 
 can relate to and feel.


 Who do you feel is your biggest competition?

 Wow.. This answer is also gonna sound very cliche. LoL.. My biggest 
 competition is definitely myself. I am for sure my own worst critic, 
 especially because I'm a perfectionist and I don't settle for just 
 anything just to get by.. I mean don't get me wrong, the competition in 
 the music industry and in Hip-Hop will always be there, but my biggest 
 competition to me is ME! Worrddupp!


 What do you ultimately see for yourself in this industry? Like… what is 
 your end goal?

 Well in the near future, I foresee myself penning a great deal (not a deal 
 to get jerked or shelved) with a major record label. Or atleast a major 
 distro deal. From there, putting out a classic debut album and stepping 
 into the game and making a major impact. Next, after stacking up a some 
 bread, I wanna go and buy my mother a house and give her enough money to 
 retire so she can rest her aching arthritic bones. After that, as cliche 
 as it sounds, I plan to start my own entertainment company and come back 
 to my city and put on as many of the DOPE artists from Columbus as 
 possible (depending on who's on from my city at that time). Real talk 
 Columbus has a LOT of talent and I feel like once we get our foot in the 
 door, it's gonna be ugly. From that point just create an empire so that I 
 can make sure I can help out my family, my people, and my community.


 Tell Me Something We Should Know About You.

 About me... Well... Just listen to my music and you will learn about who I 
 am, my perspective, and where I'm from.


 I Also Need a High Res Picture And Any Links where people Can Get intouch 
 wit you/see/hear your work
 www.josceolamusic.com
 www.myspace.com/josceola
 www.facebook.com/j.osceola
 www.twitter.com/josceola

 For Booking Contact:
 JdotO@josceolamusic.com
 or
 Management: Roshawn
 E: Roshawn@josceolamusic.com
 C: 614.806.6824


 So what do you have coming up Next? what should we Look out for?
 I have a lot coming up next actually. I'm currently working on a gang of 
 new music. I have an EP about to drop really soon. I also have a couple 
 mixtapes that are coming out soon as well and an album in 2010 called 
 "Blind Man's Movie". In addition to that, I got whole lot of events, 
 shows, and appearances coming up, so everyone make sure you stay tuned in 
 to my facebook, twitter, and myspace pages! I promise you won't be 
 disappointed! Much love!