Words-Art Jefferson
Photography-Ben Styles

With so many people trying to take flight on the Hip-Hop scene daily, at times it can be hard to really put your money on who’s going to be the next emcee to rise above the thousands trying to fight for a seat in the front of the plane to stardom. Yet ever so often, the stars are aligned perfectly and the outcome is that one artist who is a golden child of the genre. J.Nolan has been blessed with the characteristics of everything that it takes to be “the one”. Born in New Haven, Connecticut but living in Atlanta, the 22 year old emcee has the lyrical talent that would keep the “purists” happy, the marketability that labels dream about and the flexibility and versatility that would always allow for being relevant and up to the times. With his latest CD “Chaos Theory” currently available, J.Nolan is not only ready to take a seat in first class but is also about to steer the direction of the craft towards a new destination.

AJ-Let’s start off by talking about your entry into Hip-Hop. You’ve been writing since you were a pre-teen correct?

JN-Yeah, I really started writing and trying to learn my craft at 12. I was emulating what I had already heard and manipulating lines to fit me, things of that nature. I didn’t get to actually record music until I was 16, though.

AJ-Which emcees were you listening to at a young age? You seem to embody that time period where lyrics had to be well written and the music had to be just as important.

JN-As a kid, I was mostly listening to Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and DMX in my personal time. But through the radio I was able to hear all types of artists that had different styles and approaches to their music. But the recurring theme I noticed was everyone had an emphasis on lyrics. The whole 90’s era was just a melting pot of the best emcees working with the best producers from their area to make some good music and represent who they were.

AJ-You’re originally from Connecticut but currently living in Atlanta. How do you view the impact that the city of Atlanta has had on Hip-Hop, especially for more than the past 10 years now?

JN-I’ve been in Atlanta over that 10 year period so I was able to personally witness the impact. I think it’s good that the city was able to earn their respect on a nationwide and even international level, but there’s pros and cons to everything. I don’t necessarily agree with the direction of a lot of the music and how people have kind of made it the standard, I’ll admit. But everyone’s got to make their own decisions and live with them. I’m down with the OutKast and Goodie Mob era of Atlanta.

J.Nolan- Cracked Cement(prod. by Alex Goose) by manifestmovement

AJ-Let’s talk about your album “Chaos Theory”. How was the process recording it and tell me about the producers that you are working with on it because as I mentioned before, the music is equally as good as the lyrics.

JN-The writing process came first. I wrote all of the records between August of 2010 to January of this year and then I recorded the whole thing by myself. I mixed it alone as well, which is very dangerous as an artist, to be responsible for all of those things and try to put out a quality project without much outside input. The primary producer for the project was Tuelv, he did 4 tracks on the album and the idea for the sound I wanted was influenced by Yung B Da Producer, who also happens to be my cousin. I wanted to make a grimy record that embodied the old East Coast boom-bap style and give it a new spin to where people know it’s still me. I’d like to think we succeeded in making it happen.

AJ-Because you execute a high level of skills lyrically, which was a prerequisite in Hip-Hop, do you ever feel any pressure to have to “water down” your lyrics due to whatever trend is hot on the radio?

JN-Not particularly. I don’t see my rhymes as overly complex so it’s not really a comparison for me. I can do what they do, but they can’t do what I do and I’ve come to understand that with time and experience. The stuff on the radio is more for entertainment and to appeases the younger minded crowd that wants to have fun. I’ll have my own records in the future that aren’t as lyrical as what’s on Chaos Theory. I just refuse to come wack on anything.

J.Nolan- Cosmic Cruise(prod. One Love Beats) by manifestmovement

AJ-With the internet being a major lane for music to reach people around the world, it’s not without its obstacles. Major labels have pointed the finger towards the abuse of the technology as being one of the factors for the decline of music sales, yet it has helped tons of artists create a buzz. How do you feel about the current state of the internet in terms of its pros and cons for a music artist?

JN-The internet is giving me an opportunity to control everything attached to my name and I think that’s incredible. Artists that are truly talented don’t have to go through sending demos that end up in junk boxes for 5 years before they get a shot anymore. It’s a lot more interactive and you get to go straight to the people. The downside is that everyone wants to do music and it becomes a struggle for the good stuff to shine through based on the amount of spammers, bad music, and extremely short attention span that’s emerged with the internet. Your record has like a 3 day window of relevance, if you can even manage to get in that window. I still haven’t made it into that window on a major level.

AJ-Finally, what will be next for you in terms of material that you are working on, shows and basically the future steps for J.Nolan?

JN-Getting Chaos Theory to as many people as possible is the main objective. I do perform, although I don’t have any dates locked in at the moment. I’ll be having a meet and greet event in Atlanta soon in order to get more people in tune with who I am and the album as well. The video for “Sharpen The Sword” will be out in a couple of weeks and I’m planning to shoot more videos for the album. I also have a music series called “#ArtOFaNolan” that I created earlier this year. I’ll be bringing that back going into next year and there will be new singles and videos that aren’t related to Chaos Theory.

Get Chaos Theory at here.

J.Nolan on Twitter
twitter.com/j_nolan

J.Nolan on Facebook
facebook.com/jnolaniscool

J.Nolan on Soundcloud
soundcloud.com/manifestmovement

J.Nolan on Bandcamp
jnolaniscool.bandcamp.com