Mr. J. Medeiros
As a Los Angeles-based rapper, producer, singer and songwriter, Mr. J. Medeiros has carved his own path in hip-hop. Known for his unique poetic rhyme style, cinematic story-telling, and strong social commentary, Mr. J’s sound is genuine, timeless, and profound.
Medeiros got his start in 1998 when he formed the Hip-Hop group, The Procussions, in his hometown of Colorado Springs, CO. Following the buzz of their first single, Medeiros spearheaded their relocation to Los Angeles. The band would go on to enjoy four successful years in rap’s underground scene, touring the world and garnering critical acclaim for both their recorded and live performances. Some of their more notable achievements include touring with hip-hop icons A Tribe Called Quest and The Roots, and collaborating with Talib Kweli on their single "Miss January". The trio had two independent releases, As Iron Sharpens Iron and their EP Up All Night. Their sophomore album, 5 Sparrows for 2 Cents, was the first release on Rawkus Records’s revamped label. The group disbanded in 2007 on good terms.
Later that year, Mr. J. Medeiros dropped his debut album, Of Gods and Girls, on Rawkus Records. Challenging himself to grow as a musician, Medeiros used this time to take on the roles of both producer and rapper. These two facets came together brilliantly on the ground-breaking single "Constance", where Mr. J. took aim at the ills of human trafficking and internet pornography. To help raise awareness on this issue Medeiros formed the iamconstance.com campaign, which partnered with international non-profit organizations to fight human trafficking and sexual abuse. Being the first song of its kind, “Constance” gathered enough attention to land itself on the CBS Evening News in an expo on sex trafficking. Though the music video was considered by MTV to be "too controversial to air", Medeiros found commercial support via VH1 and a guest appearance on TLC’s T.V. show "Miami Ink". “Of gods and girls” is considered by many Hip Hop enthusiasts to be a classic album and provided a strong foot forward for Mr. J.’s emerging career.
In 2009, after a two-year standstill with record labels, Mr. J. Medeiros decided to take his career into his own hands. He formed DeMedeiros LLC in the spring of that year and released an EP titled The Art of Broken Glass soon after. Produced by YouTube phenom Boonie Mayfield and distributed exclusively through Mr. J.’s website, the EP found critical acclaim, praising Mr. J.’s heightened lyrical ability, along with Boonie's “Golden Era” production style.
In the summer of that year and building on the word-of-mouth success the EP achieved, Medeiros released his highly anticipated sophomore album, Friends Enemies Apples Apples. Medeiros partnered with former bandmate, Stro Elliot, on the production while he focused mainly on perfecting his skill as a songwriter. Being crowned a “Rapper’s Rapper” this album served as proof that Mr. J. Medeiros is a career artist and not a one-album wonder. “Friends Enemies Apples Apples”, was widely celebrated and landed stellar reviews in major music publications, which is a testament to the strength of Mr. J.’s music.
With the ever changing music industry, and the race to find new ways to promote independent music, Mr. J. Medeiros took a creative approach to releasing his third full-length album Saudade. In the summer of 2011 he worked exclusively with “indiegogo”, a crowd-funding resource site, and handed the role of executive producer to his fans. In three months Mr. J. fans gave triple the asking amount, an event large enough to be referenced in a “Business Insider” article on crowd sourcing. MTV also got involved with the release as the music video for the lead single, “Neon Signs” won the MTVu.com Freshman Video challenge, putting the video into regular rotation on MTVu, yet another testament to the strength of Medeiros’s fans base. From an artistic perspective, “Saudade” reveals a wealth of musical and personal experience. Written by himself and introducing his production team The Stare (consisting of Mr. J. Medeiros, Stro Elliot, and Luke Atencio) “Saudade” received high honors from numerous publications sighting the albums diverse yet cohesive nature and frequently describing the result as “beautiful” and “original”.
Mr. J. Medeiros is considered one of hip-hop’s most innovative and insightful artists. He has spent his career building a name that is synonymous with quality and consistency. His most recent EP, Pale Blue Dot, exposed his artistic prowess, as he took brave steps into a new sound. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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