J-Zone
J-Zone | |
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![]() J-Zone in Hamburg, Germany in 2001. | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Jay Mumford |
Born | [1] | February 26, 1977
Origin | Queens, New York City, U.S. |
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 1993–present |
Labels |
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Website | www |
Jay Mumford (born February 26, 1977),[1] better known by his stage name J-Zone,[2] is an American record producer, drummer, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, and writer from New York City.[3][4]
Career
Known for his quirky lyrics and trash talk style of rapping, J-Zone released a string of idiosyncratic and critically acclaimed albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s that acquired a cult following.[5][6] Of these, the 2001 release Pimps Don't Pay Taxes, was particularly noted; it featured rappers Huggy Bear and Al-Shid,[3] for whom he would subsequently produce a number of 12" releases.[7] In 2003, The New York Times cited his J-Zone, S.A. Smash concert in Brooklyn, New York as a noteworthy pop and jazz concert in the New York metropolitan region.[8]
Not finding commercial success, J-Zone eventually walked away from rap, and in 2011 published the book Root for the Villain: Rap, Bullshit and a Celebration of Failure.[3][6] The book has been well received; the Los Angeles Times Music Blog stated that "Like his albums, it's equal parts hilarious, self-effacing and sharp. He's the sarcastic older brother putting you up on game. It's a love letter to rap laced with sulfur, the flip side of Dan Charnas' similarly excellent The Big Payback."[2] The Washington Post Going Out Gurus blog called it "a must for every curmudgeonly grown-up hip-hop head",[6] while Nathan Rabin writing for The A.V. Club called it "one of the funniest and most honest books ever written about the modern music industry and its luckless casualties."[3]
In 2013, J-Zone returned to music with the release of the album, Peter Pan Syndrome,[9] which was listed as the 17th best album of 2013 by Spin.[10] After learning to play drums seriously during his hiatus from music, J-Zone released the drum break album, Lunch Breaks, in 2014.[11]
In 2016 J-Zone landed a spot playing drums on new tunes from the 1970s funk band Manzel, his band The Du-Rites with Tom Tom Club guitarist Pablo Martin, and for personal drum break kits for Danger Mouse and others.[12]
J-Zone has continued working as a session drummer in recent years, appearing on Lord Finesse's Motown State of Mind album in 2020,[13] in addition to his drums being sampled on the 2020 Madlib single, "Road of The Lonely Ones".[14]
Discography
Albums
- Music for Tu Madre (1998)
- Pimps Don't Pay Taxes (2001)
- $ick of Bein' Rich (2003)
- A Job Ain't Nuthin but Work (2004)
- Gimme Dat Beat Fool: The J-Zone Remix Project (2005)
- Every Hog Has Its Day (2006) (with Celph Titled, as The Boss Hog Barbarians)
- Experienced! (2006)
- To Love a Hooker: The Motion Picture Soundtrack (2007)
- The Analog Catalog: 2001-2007 (2007)
- Live at the Liqua Sto (2008)
- Peter Pan Syndrome (2013)
- Lunch Breaks (2014)
- Backyard Breaks (2015)
- Fish N' Grits (2016)
- J-Zone and Pablo Martin Are The Du-Rites (2016) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- Greasy Listening (2017) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- Guerrilla Drums (2018)
- Gamma Ray Jones (2018) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- Soundcheck at 6 (2019) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- Break Bonanza (2019)
- A Funky Bad Time (2020) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- Concussion Percussion (2021)
- Pressure (2021) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
EPs
- A Bottle of Whup Ass (2000)
- The Hogs Sing the Hits: Pig Parodies (2006) (with Celph Titled, as The Boss Hog Barbarians)
- The 1993 Demos EP (2013)
Singles
- "No Consequences" (2000)
- "Zone for President" (2000)
- "Q&A" (2002)
- "5 Star Hooptie" (2003)
- "Choir Practice" (2003)
- "A Friendly Game of Basketball" (2004)
- "Greater Later Remix" (2005)
- "Steady Smobbin'" b/w "Celph Destruction" (2006) (with Celph Titled, as The Boss Hog Barbarians)
- "The Drug Song (Remix)" b/w "The Fox Hunt" (2012)
- "Zonestitution" (2013)
- "Stick Up" b/w "Mad Rap" (2014)
- "I Smell Smoke" b/w "Time for a Crime Wave" (2015)
- "Seoul Power" b/w "I'm Sick of Rap" (2015)
- "Funky" b/w "Go Back to Sellin' Weed" (2016)
- "Bug Juice" b/w "Hustle" (2016) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- "Bite It" b/w "Bocho's Groove" (2017) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- "High and Tight" b/w "Standing on Mars" (2017) (with Manzel)
- "Gamma Ray Funk" b/w "Fish Sammich" (2018) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- "The Mean Machine" b/w "Corinthian Leather" (2018) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- "Zodiac" b/w "Monster" (2019) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- "Neckbones (Live)" b/w "Gittin' Sound" (2019) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- "Mad Dog" b/w "Cheap Cologne" (2019) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
- "Jheri Curl" b/w "Du-Vibrations" (2020) (with Pablo Martin, as The Du-Rites)
Guest appearances
- Princess Superstar - "I Love You (or at Least I Like You)" from Princess Superstar Is (2001)
- Jehst - "Staircase to Stage" from The Return of the Drifter (2002)
- Danger Mouse & Jemini the Gifted One - "Take Care of Business" from Ghetto Pop Life (2003)
- Apathy & Celph Titled - "Nut Reception" from No Place Like Chrome (2006)
Productions
- Cage - "In Stoney Lodge" from Movies for the Blind (2002)
- Cage - "Too Much (Remix)" from Weatherproof (2003)
- Biz Markie - "Chinese Food" from Weekend Warrior (2003)
- Leak Bros - "G.O.D." from Waterworld (2004)
- 7L & Esoteric - "Neverending Saga" from DC2: Bars of Death (2004)
- MF Grimm - "Dancin'" from Digital Tears: E-mail from Purgatory (2004)
- R.A. the Rugged Man - "Brawl" from Die, Rugged Man, Die (2004)
- Prince Po - "It's Goin' Down" and "Meet Me at the Bar" from The Slickness (2004)
- Casual - "Say That Then" and "Hieroller" from Smash Rockwell (2005)
- Awol One - "This Far" from The War of Art (2006)
- Juggaknots - "Crazy 8's" from Use Your Confusion (2006)
- Sadat X - "X Is a Machine" from Black October (2006)
- Apathy & Celph Titled - "S.M.D." from No Place Like Chrome (2006)
- Akrobatik - "Absolute Value" from Absolute Value (2008)
- Del the Funky Homosapien - "Funkyhomosapien" from Eleventh Hour (2008)
- The Lonely Island - "Santana DVX" from Incredibad (2009)
- Mr. Lif - "Gun Fight" from I Heard It Today (2009)
- CunninLynguists - "Cocaine" from Strange Journey Volume Two (2009)
- Canibus - "Free Words" from C of Tranquility (2010)
Books
- Root for the Villain: Rap, Bullshit, and a Celebration of Failure (Old Maid Entertainment, 2011) ISBN 978-0-615-53227-1
References
- ^ a b "I turn 41 today but pops turns 70, so it's all about the OG today". Twitter. February 26, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ a b Weiss, Jeff. "Rap & Books: Underground iconoclast J-Zone 'Roots for the Villain'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Rabin, Nathan. "J-Zone lost his Wikipedia page—and his interest in being a rapper". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (October 21, 2016). "Stream The Du-Rites J-Zone & Pablo Martin Are The Du-Rites". Stereogum. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan (January 3, 2013). "J-Zone lost his Wikipedia page—and his interest in being a rapper". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ^ a b c Hahn, Fritz. "Nightlife Agenda: Holiday cocktails, rare beers and Nerd Nite". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ "J-Zone * New Music And Songs * MTV". MTV. 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ Sanneh, Kelefa. "Pop and Jazz Guide". The New York Times. p. E23. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ Soderberg, Brandon (September 11, 2013). "J-Zone's 'Peter Pan Syndrome': The Grumpy-Old-Man Rap You Need in Your Life". Spin. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
- ^ "J-Zone, Peter Pan Syndrome (Old Maid)". Spin. November 22, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
- ^ "J-Zone learns the drums and drops Lunch Breaks". Wax Poetics. November 10, 2014. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
- ^ "J-Zone's Wild Ride from Rapper to Funky Drummer". The Village Voice. August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
- ^ "Old Artists are Still Crafty". Passion of the Weiss. August 12, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ "The 5 Best Songs Of The Week". Stereogum. December 18, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
Further reading
- Miller, Matthew. "Music: J-Zone – Queens rapper is cheap and nasty...and pretty funny, too". Lansing State Journal. p. 6. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- Reed, James. "Hip-hop rulers combine kingdoms. Jay-Z and Kanye's 'Throne' album and tour show the power of the genre". The Boston Globe. p. 22, Living Arts section. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- Mylnar, Phillip (August 16, 2018). "J-Zone's Wild Ride from Rapper to Funky Drummer". The Village Voice. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
External links
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- Living people
- 1977 births
- Alternative hip hop musicians
- American hip hop record producers
- Record producers from New York (state)
- Rappers from New York City
- 21st-century American rappers