Crack Music. NYC Native. Europe Bound.

 You’ve heard the story before! Dude from the hood has talent: hoops, rhymes, etc. But, is never seen or heard because of certain “non-relationships” or other type of fuckery.  So what does he do? He finds a way! One that doesn’t conflict with who he is, or what he’s about. Meet JUMZ. That’s his story.  By leaving his stomping ground in Washington Heights (NYC), he flew over “the pond” to Europe, got his grind on there, built a TRUE fan base and is back in the States to get it poppin’.

So for those that don’t know JUMZ, talk to us about where you grew up? What was your upbringing like?

Well I was born and raised in Washington Heights, NYC. A small neighborhood right above Harlem. A lot of Dominicans populated the area during the late 70′s and 80′s so it has become more of a mini “Santo Domingo”. Living in the Heights really taught me about being Dominican and I was always exposed to its culture. My parents were into all kinds of music, including Pop and R&B, and growing up I would hear Merengue, with some Billy Joel or Michael Jackson, and even some Soca before the day was over. My dad had a real eclectic taste in music. 

And you used to tag and b-boy…

I wasn’t heavy into tagging, meaning I didn’t do it for the art. I did it for vandalism. You wanted to leave your mark to let other people know you were there. B-boying was a little different because everyone around me was into house music, many of the B-boy moves would be incorporated into the whole HOUSE movement we had when I was a pre-teen.

Where’d you get the name JUMZ from? How is it pronounced?

JUMZ, pronounced like “drums” replace letters “d&r” with “J”. JUMZ is what they use to call crack a long time ago.  When I was playing basketball a lot of the older fellas would make fun of me because I was such a skinny kid. So, they would joke around and say I looked like a crack vile. I know it’s not the greatest story, but it’s the truth. At first, I didnt use the name JUMZ as a rap name. Instead, I was used it as a signature when I drew pictures in my sketch pad. Later on in High School was when it crossed over into music. 

Now you were on Grandmaster Flash’s latest effort (The Bridge) alongside Q-Tip on “Shine All Day”. How did that come about?

That actually came about from having my music online. I was chatting with someone periodically, and it ended up being Grandmaster Flash’s personal assistant.  They were diggin’ the music and had requested for me to be on the album.  At first, I was only going to to perform the verse in Spanish, but I was called back to do it in English. Now, they released an EP with both versions.

What made you decide to get your grind and hustle on in Europe?

I had a desire to be heard and I knew that Europe was always interested in what American Hip hop had to offer. As soon as I had the right music I just started to make connections on the internet and organizing shows for myself. Till this day it’s one of the most greatest experiences I had in my career, not taking anything away from working with Flash and Q-tip of course.

What was the illest shit you experienced in Europe, that you probably wouldn’t have experienced here?

At the end of the day I know in my heart I am still an unknown in this business. So when it comes to performing in New York the ears are very critical. Either because you are performing around other artists or the crowd has friends and relatives trying to do the same thing, so even if they like what you do they would act “too cool” to let you know they enjoyed it. When you perform in Europe the crowds have a different response, they actually commit to the experience and that energy gets conveyed back to them in a positive manner. Then the shows just become an event where the whole room sounds like your friends or your hypemen, and you don’t ever wanna get off the stage.

How many mixtapes and albums have you dropped already?

I only dropped one official mixtape and I’ve been featured on many tapes all over the world. I’m not really big on the mixtape scene because it’s been done already. It’s more about creating one great song at a time for me these days. I’m not knocking anyone who does, but spitting your heart out every 2 months and no one is putting a deal on the table is a bit counterproductive. What artist accomplish in 12 mixtapes I’m gonna try to accomplish in one song.

Not too long ago in Hip Hop, being signed to the Roc-A-Fellas, Def Jams, Bad Boys, Rawkus, etc. is what aspiring artists were striving for. But, that doesn’t necessarily seem to be the case of late. Would you consider signing to a major, or do you prefer the indie route?

I still have the desire to be part of a major. You can’t beat the resources they already have when you’re an indie. But, if you want to be part of a major under your own terms, you don’t have much of a choice but to prove yourself as an indie. This is the new criteria to get you in with these labels. You wanna have a product ready, so that the labels can put you out there without the artist becoming a financial burden. 

Why rap? Why not something else?

Thats a good question, I have no idea why not “something else”. This music is so addictive, it controls every aspect of my life. It’s consumed me like a drug. I don’t need anything else, nothing is more gratifying then pulling words from the air and laying them on dope beats. This is my fuckin’ high. If you had the chance to be high all the time and make money off of it, wouldn’t you go all the way with it too? There is nothing else, should i just move into the corporate world and fall in a routine? Hell no! I can do this forever. It’s too late to do something else. I am this. 

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