{mosimage} HipHopRemix sits down with Serius Jones to talk about his deal with Ludacris’ DTP label, his new album, money, if he has ever used writtens in a battle, and why he isn’t doing the obligatory ‘new artist’ track with Akon. Lets get serius for a minute.
Soon enough Jones will be “seriusly” Disturbing tha Peace when his debut album, “Life is Serius,” drops late this summer. A renowned battle rapper who is mostly known for his appearances on MTV’s Fight Klub, the SMACK DVD, his 13 consecutive Fight Klub wins (which led to his dethroning of then battle king, Jin), and of course his laid back and comedic demeanor when clutching a microphone or shooting the breeze with an interviewer.
In a monotonous hip hop genre that is screaming for something fresh—Serius Jones offers a new, versatile, and un-expected sound that can please the radio audience as well as break the necks of old school hip hop heads that are still living in 1992.
If you have been sleeping on Serius Jones or had the thought come across your mind that a ‘battle rapper’ can’t make good music—than you ‘seriusly’ need to open up your ears and check out the New Jersey MC that definitely ‘got next.’
HipHopRemix sits down with Serius Jones to talk about his deal with Ludacris’ DTP label, his new album, money, if he has ever used writtens in a battle, and why he isn’t doing the obligatory ‘new artist’ track with Akon. Lets get serius for a minute.
Wreck HHR: From Fight Klub to Disturbing the Peace/Def Jam—how do you feel about the big jump from being in the battle scene to a major? Are you ready?
Serius Jones: (Laughing) I was born ready! So this wasn’t a surprise to me because this was the standard. I needed to be in a situation where I could get my thoughts and my artistry to the masses. It’s only right that I am in a ‘major’ situation that can back me. So, I wasn’t surprised…a part of me was relieved. I quickly learned that having a deal doesn’t mean anything in terms of succeeding—it really means the journey just began.
Wreck HHR: How did you get hooked up with Ludacris? How did the deal come about?
Serius Jones: First of all—DTP got hooked up with ME. They said I was building my name and building my status as a brand. I was buzzing crazy in the streets, I had millions of viewers online with youtube, my MySpace plays were over a million, and I was on T.V. every other day with Fight Klub, that quickly became one of the top shows on the whole MTV network based off my battles. Once they found out that I could actually make crazy songs it got to the point where it only made sense for them to make the move. When it came to what I felt that I needed—it only made sense for me to make that move. So, the rest is history!
Wreck HHR: It’s a common argument that rappers within the battle scene can’t make songs, can’t construct a solid album—how is Serius going to smash that misconception?
Serius Jones: Serius ALREADY smashed that misconception…unless someone is out of the loop and hasn’t heard a Serius Jones song yet. If you still live under a rock and don’t know that Serius Jones is the truth musically…you will. At the end of the day though, I don’t feel that people have done their homework as far as knowing what a true MC is in terms of real hip hop. If there are saying a so called battle rapper can make a song then why is Eminem selling damn near ‘diamond!’
There are a lot of different artists that came from the battle arena, especially if you’re from the east coast where your talent is tested on a battle ground. That’s where you really hone your talent if you’re from the hood. A lot of these rappers aren’t MCs…they’re just rappers. So, they haven’t even had a battle and don’t even understand the art of it. Then they try to talk about it, they try to speak on battle rapping but they don’t even know what a true MC is! Serius Jones is the ultimate MC. I do everything and anything as far as MCing is concerned.
Wreck HHR: What separates you from all the saturated sounds coming out of hip hop today—what do you have that’s fresh?
Serius Jones: Me! (laughing) I’m the freshest thing breathing as far as I’m concerned. In terms of music—my story is more diverse than your average rapper…period! I’ve dealt with so many aspects of life from college to jail, corporate America to the streets—I feel that I’ve been on so many different plains of life itself. I think that’s what gives me a broader scope in music.
Wreck HHR: Murder Mook and a hell of a lot of battle rappers seem to come equipped with writtens—is that something that’s just apart of the battle scene? Is that true that they are coming with writtens? Did you ever come with writtens?
Serius Jones: Of course. For an MC not to write a rhyme is like a painter not using a brush. There is nothing wrong with writing a rap. The only wack thing is when some pretend that they aren’t writing it (laughing) when they really are. Every MC that was actually on the top of their game has written before, but me personally—I CAN freestyle. I don’t expect everyone to freestyle every time. People got it confused and it’s a misconception that if you’re battling someone you are supposed to only be freestyling. It’s like being in a fight and someone says ‘no kicking,’ if you’re fighting…anything goes! If you’re fighting someone and they know karate and whup your ass…how are you going to say afterwards, “no fair…he was doing karate.”
Whatever situation I’m going into I go all out. Whatever I got to do to win I’m doing all of the above. That’s how any real MC and how any real competitor should look at playing any kind of sport as far as I’m concerned.
Wreck HHR: Did you see Jin just got his ass handed to him by Iron Solomon?
Serius Jones: I ain’t seen it but I heard about it. Poor guy…
Wreck HHR: You’re a new artist on the come up…are you going to have that obligatory single with Akon like everybody else?
Serius Jones: (Laughing) You know what’s funny…Akon is actually my dude! I knew Akon before he even blew up like that. What’s funny is I was actually supposed to do a song with Akon but I got the same attitude as you—if something seems so typical and so manufactured to do…I don’t even do it.
Wreck HHR: It’s like it has to happen for new artists…they got to do that song with Akon to get on or something…
Serius Jones: (Laughing) Like its in their contract, right?! I mean me personally…no one is going to expect what the fuck I’m doing. That’s how I like it. Even in battles…the reason I’m a step ahead of everyone is because the angles I attack things from. No one ever expects me to come from that angle. It’s like a punch or any type of attack—if you come straight forward and someone can see you coming, it has a lot less of an impact then if you don’t see it coming…or if you know its coming.
Wreck HHR: Speaking of trends, for people that haven’t had the chance to hear your songs yet, is it going to be about rims, money, and cars on your upcoming album, “Life is Serius,” or is the LP going to have some originality?
Serius Jones: It’s going to have all aspects of life. I’ve had rims, money, and cars…but it’s not about what you say…it’s about how you say it and what your experience in that area actually is. I don’t understand why a lot of artists come out and say the same exact thing the same exact way—getting money, their rims, their jewelry, etc. Me personally…I’m more of a substance type of dude. I like real shit and real life. I like content that will affect my mind and affect the way that I feel throughout my day. If it doesn’t feel relevant to me to what’s going on in my mind and in my life—I can’t ride up in my car listening to it.
I make music that is music to LIVE to…not just to club to or party to.
Wreck HHR: Who produced “Life is Serius” and who appears on the album?
Serius Jones: I don’t have a lot of guest features but I do have a lot of producers. I got a lot of dudes you never heard before, classic producers that you definitely know of—Trackmasters to Kwame, Buckwild to Melay…Melay is a crazy problem. He’s all live organic…drums, bass, horns, and spoken word. It’s going to be crazy…honestly.
I know everyone says that, but my shit is classic. That’s the standard…if it’s not classic, it would be a failure in the eyes of the fans. I’m putting everything that I’ve got in my motherfuckin’ soul in this album to make sure that this lives forever.
Wreck HHR: The media keeps on blaming Hip Hop for EVERYTHING it seems. Why do you think Hip Hop is such a popular scapegoat? What do you have to say to those that use it as one?
Serius Jones: What I have to say to anyone that blames hip hop first is of course—fuck you! But, in terms of people blaming hip hop this is the same thing that’s been going on since the beginning of time—they have always blamed black people and the black culture for the downfall of society because white American never wants to be wrong. They are allergic to the truth, because the truth hurts. They have attempted to destroy a whole race and a whole lifestyle. If you look at the American lifestyle it’s the furthest from natural lifestyle on the planet. At the end of the day they want you to be a consumer, they want you to believe your only purpose in this life is to contribute to this fucking matrix and make the people who control it richer.
It’s just a media tool and a way to keep the blame off of the people who the blame belongs to. If anything goes wrong—just pull hip hop out of the bag and make them the enemy again. And anyone that believes or goes along with that mentality/thought is either stupid, or just plain racist motherfuckers that already want us to be the bad guys anyway.
Wreck HHR: You went to Florida A&M and then wen’t onto rap. Is it surreal to go from a college student, to the battle scene, straight to Def Jam/DTP? What’s it like to work your way up in this cold ass industry?
Serius Jones: Yo! This shit is a hard grind…trust me. This shit is the grimiest, craziest game that there is to play. It’s worse than the streets. The entertainment game is so slimy and cheap you got have thick skin and really got to be a go getter. You can’t let nothing stand in your way that will stop you. I’ve developed that talent through my life by going through different situations, dramas in the streets, and by winning and overcoming. I always say that winning is a sport in itself—once you learn to win and surround yourself with people that are winners—that’s the setup that you need to get to where you want to be and that’s what I did with DTP/Def Jam and even my entire camp and the people that I have around me.
Coming from where I came from there was only one mindset and only one way to deal with each other, but when I went away to school when I was 17 it just opened up my eyes. Even though I wasn’t taking advantage of school, it opened my eyes to a lot of aspects of life that I never even really thought about. That’s what really made me the better artist that I am today—getting up out of the hood and seeing the better things in life.
Wreck HHR: Could money change Serius…perhaps make him less “serious?”
Serius Jones: (Laughing) Nothing can make Serius less serious…except for Serius. Money shouldn’t change people, it should change what people do, or change how people move, act, or think, but as far as the core of a person’s soul…if money can change that in a person than that person is un-worthy of the blessing of money—and a lot of people are like that. It’s not really the money; it’s the power that comes with the money and what you can do with it. A lot of people say it wouldn’t change them, but it’s a matter of what direction you change in.
Wreck HHR: Life is serious, the current state of hip hop is serious—tell us why your new album “Life is Serius” is good for hip hop and why should all the hip hop heads cop it A.S.A.P.?
Serius Jones: Life is “Serius” is actually bigger than the album…it’s a movement and basically a statement that I’m using to shed light on the fact that life IS serious. Even though we run around partying, spending our money, and trying to enjoy the time we have—it’s also important to us as men and as in people in general to put more into our lives so we can get more out of it.
“Life is Serius” as far as the album is concerned—it’s classic shit, it’s classic hip hop, it’s life, and if you don’t really know why you should buy my album than you really don’t understand hip hop and don’t understand where we are at as far as the game is concerned. Serius Jones is the only thing that is keeping hope alive for the pure hip hop fan that really appreciates classic music. I care enough to put everything I have into this. A lot of people don’t care enough and only do this because they want some money, or are only doing it because they want to be that dude…I’ve always been ‘that dude.’ When I dedicate my life to something and dedicate my life to an actual idea—I’m going to make sure that thing lives forever. So, whether or not you cop my album…soon enough you will know…
Wreck HHR: What’s next for Serius after this album?
Serius Jones: I got movie roles that I’m looking at, I’m producing a T.V. show, I got a clothing line that I’m apart of as far as the creative direction goes, I’m writing a journal type article for another hip hop website every other month where I get to basically zone out and say whatever I want to say, I’m also producing and making beats, and writing some hooks for R&B singers.
Wreck HHR: So, when can we hear Ludacris and Serius on a record?
Serius Jones: (Laughing) You tell me! Luda is my dude but because I’m so focused on Serius Jones I never really stopped to try to make that record happen…but definitely real soon!
Wreck HHR: Give us an outro!
Serius Jones: I just want the fans to know that If they are supporting Serius Jones I appreciate the love a 100% from the heart. This is not a gimmick, this is not your typical rap bafoonery—this is actual real life history being made from the bottom to the top. I’ve grinded from the streets to here and now I’m taking it to the next level…I hope you all are ready for the ride. This is Jersey 100%, LaFayette Ave., Englewood—anybody that understands my struggle will know why life is SERIUS!!!
