Windy City Sounds: Ajani Jones
Windy City Sounds
Ajani Jones:
Ajani Jones is bringing thought back to music
Thought provoking music can be hard to find these days and it hides in niches that can be difficult to reach. Ajani Jones is looking to change this (while still creating entertaining music) as he prepares to drop his first project, the Astrals EP, as he discusses with us below. The talented writer and poetic mind has been working diligently on the EP and he touches on some of the inspiration he’s bringing to the tape and what he hopes people take away from his work. Check out our conversation below.
You only have a handful of songs out at the moment, but they’re all high quality, thoughtful tracks. What is your process like when making a song? How did you come to the deliberate, poetic style you have?
Firstly, thank you! The process is really just listening to a beat and using the inspiration that the producer puts in his style. Usually when working with producers I like to bounce off of their ideas and add what I feel would help me get a flow going. My inspirations are Lupe, MF DOOM, and Common so I developed a love for words and poetry from songs like the Intro on Lupe’s “Food and Liquor” and Common’s Be album.
I got in touch with Femdot through BanksTheGenius whom I work closely with on all of my music. We made a song called twelve:fifteen and have been working since then. He also bodybags everyone on tracks and I love that competition, it makes for a destructive record. I met orgenA through my good friend x-ray because we all had been attending Columbia College. That process is amazing as well because he’ll come in the studio hear a beat and just go “yo I got something to this” and I’m like “what do you mean??”, He’s nuts.
You can expect that project this week actually, be sure to stay tuned on my Twitter (@ajanisway) because I’ll be dropping the cover art and announcement REAL soon without warning. It was definitely different working on this project because I usually choose my production in a way that lets me be more lyrical and thought provoking but I challenged myself to structure songs differently and take an ascension in the way I create records. I wanted to create music that was entertaining while maintaining what I love to do most- good raps! The whole thing was produced by BanksTheGenius.
I want people to vibe, smoke and be able to get a message from what I’m saying. I started this journey to save kids from committing suicide. Two of my friends suffered from depression and music was the only that helped them not pull that trigger. I can admit myself that Kid Cudi’s Day N Nite saved my life in 09. I’m out to speak the real, tell my story and get people moving again while doing that.
Who are some other artists you feel deserve some more recognition?
I definitely feel Roosevelt the Titan, orgenA, Noah Sims and BanksTheGenius deserve more recognition. They’ve been cultivating a great stance with their sound and they work day and night; they deserve it.
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