Jonwayne Playlist
- Text by Alex King
- Photography by Ye Rin Mok
Hailing from La Habra, Orange County, Jonwayne burst out of the rich scene percolating around LA’s Low End Theory, the club night that unleashed Flying Lotus and Gaslamp Killer on the world. Although he’s rapped since he was seventeen, he started out as an instrumental producer. It wasn’t until a chance meeting with Stones Throw Records founder Peanut Butter Wolf that money was put behind his lyrical rhymes. But the huge positive response to his debut Rap Album One has confirmed Jonwayne as the shining light in an exciting new generation of hip hop.
The Come Up Ft. Scoop DeVille
Without doubt, this is one of the best hip hop videos in years. It also demonstrates Jonwayne’s considerable capabilities as both a beatmaker and rapper. There isn’t much music out there that sounds this fresh.
Not Really – Homeboy Sandman
Jonwayne produced this slice of mellow beatmaking for Stones Throw labelmate Homeboy Sandman. Both artists are pushing hip hop to new places, comfortable with sounding radically different to just about everybody else out there.
Low End Theory
In this mini-doc we get the inside story behind Low End Theory, the LA club night that gave birth to a generation of innovative electronic producers. The creativity revealed to the world at this Wednesday night institution means Low End Theory is likely to go down in music history.
Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton
Home to Jonwayne and Homeboy Sandman, as well as J Dilla, Madlib and many more, Stones Throw has been responsible for some of the best hip hop in recent years. The label has won huge respect for marrying an innovative approach to the genre with a respect for the old skool fundamentals and Our Vinyl Ways a Ton tells that story.
The Shape of Jazz to Come
Digging through the record crates during his shoot with Huck, Jonwayne revealed his huge appreciation for jazz. “Jazz is kinda fearless,” he said. “I feel that people who are immersed in music, if they ever become bored by it, they can always find something within jazz – especially certain artists.” One of the artists he singled out as having a particular impact on him was Ornette Coleman. This awesome BBC documentary puts Coleman’s revolutionary achievements on The Shape of Jazz to Come into the context of a period in which improvised music was pushed to new heights.
To hear more from Jonwayne, grab yourself a copy of Huck 43 – Street Photography with Boogie,
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