Today we’d like to introduce you to Jas “D’jai Ehm’C” P..
Jas, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started Lovejasmusic Productions & Entertainment in 2017 so that my content could have a home, a brand, and team that truly supports and represents it. As a local rapper, I always had a goal of getting someone to invest in my talent, but my focus, however, was always to be respected for my creativity, expression, and originality (CEO). I’ve been invested in the arts since I was 7. Rap was introduced to me at age 4 growing up in a household of hip-hop heads. Not to mention, my dad, who was a part of the local rap group, The “Hardheadz”, in the 90s and early 2000s, gave me the blueprint on how to construct flows and lyrics while I was still in my most impressionable stages. Seeing him do shows and being in the studio with him, from time to time, made me be like, “yeeaaaaa, that’s EXACTLY what I want to do.
From that point, unbeknownst to my younger self, I became a rapper. Then there was the church choir at age 8, orchestra, where I learned to play piano and violin, from age 10-17, dance was life from age 12-16, and last, but certainly not least, theater and creative writing became another creative outlet for me when I attended Texas Wesleyan University fall 2015. Even though I have the ability to do all of these things, I am a rapper first, and being a rapper is how everything, from my YouTube Vlog series, “Road to Dreamville”, to my blog site, lovejasmusic.com, to my previous music project, “I Can Do All Things: The Free mixtape”(2016), to my upcoming music project, “Category: Black Girl Majic” (2018), all got started and ultimately created, what is, Lovejasmusic Productions & Entertainment.
Lovejasmusic protects me as an artist and allows me to put out music, and content, when I want and how I want. I took the power of “no” away from people when I realized that to get even greater opportunities, I have to create some of my own. No more waiting around for a stamp of approval. The moment I realized that was the moment my artistry grew and my brand was born. And a year later, after years and years of challenges and obstacles, Lovejasmusic Productions & Entertainment is seeing the projected success intended for it and then some. With God, everything I set out to conquer, and accomplish, is possible. : )
Has it been a smooth road?
Oh Gosh No! LOL , I wish! My closest friends and family have seen tears, frustration, and irritation. I’ve had promises fall through and have been disrespected for being a female rapper that doesn’t look like the typical female rapper. I’ve invested money, lost money, and have been penny pinched by greedy people that I thought had my best interest….. and that’s not even the half! But nothing (and yes I mean no THING) worth having comes easy, right? A lot of the obstacles I face come from my concrete need to always be genuine and honest and operate with integrity.
When you have a passion and talent for an industry that doesn’t always recognize the three, then BOOM, here come the potholes, the uneven lanes, and the construction cones and signs that go on for miles and miles. For the record, this is not me saying that this only comes for an artist who operates “like me”, if you will, they come for anyone dedicated to reach their destiny. However, I am saying that when you are an artist that operates against what the industry would encourage, there’s just a few more roadblocks ahead of you.
But a dead end doesn’t scare me because , literally and metaphorically, I know that for every new road, new street, new highway paved, there was once open land on the other side of a dead end road that looked like the stopping point to everyone else until someone said, “let’s just add more road, all we need is cement!” Which, in turn, created another way to reach many of the familiar places the old roads took us to. That’s why , though the road isn’t always smooth, I still travel it at the same pace at all times. I could have stopped when the only orchestra instructor I sat under passed away when I was 16, but I kept going.
I could have stopped in 2013 when I lost scholarships and had to drop out of school and move back home, after being a Dean’s list and President’s list recipient and honor’s college student for 7 consecutive semesters, but I kept going. I even could have stopped when I got back in school in 2015 and I had to withdraw TWICE (I have the horrendous mustard yellow withdraw slips hanging on my wall to prove it lol), when I could no longer afford higher learning, but I kept going. I could have stopped when in 2014, a year after dropping out, I was still unemployed and miserable, but I started uploading freestyle videos and I have gotten so many opportunities from them. I could have stopped when I saw everybody else’s videos going viral but mine, instead, I kept posting and, to this very day, with over 50 freestyle videos that STILL haven’t gone viral.
I’m still posting on faith that each time I post, I’m closer to my moment. I could have stopped when none of the material I submitted to big companies got invested in; I’m still sending them material. Can I keep going? LOL. I could have stopped when I traveled to New York for an opportunity and came back broke with nothing but the bank statement to show for it, could have stopped when I got messed over at a very popular venue in Houston, where they tried to charge me an additional $200.00 to perform and cut my set time in half because I wasn’t a “certain type of artist”.
I could have stopped when my mixtape didn’t perform like I thought it would, could have stopped during all of the times that I didn’t have a job or money, could have stopped when people stopped commenting, liking, and sharing all of my videos and views went from 1K to 100, but I didn’t because I know what I am destined to be and purposed for. With that understanding, a loving mother and grandmother, and super supportive producers, friends, family, and my DJ, I face the challenges and find a way to pull a lesson from them and keep on up the road. I appreciate the obstacles just as much as the successes, because without them, I wouldn’t have an inspiring story to tell.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Lovejasmusic Productions & Entertainment – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I’ll start with the last question first, What sets me apart from others, is my dedication to provide truth and space for conversation. I could always just look at it from the angle of, “I want people to hear what I have to say” but I want to hear what people have to say as well, Lovejasmusic Productions & Entertainment has allowed me to be the voice and ear. The company and brand is for the culture, for the people. It may sound cliché, but everything I produce, from mus to blogs, to vlogs, to skits and short films, all come from me and the people.
Period. Lovejasmusic Productions & Entertainment is known for its diverse talent and open platform. With Lovejasmusic, I like to give options, because I like options. “Oh you don’t like the raps? (which I hope every does lol) here’s some signing.” “Oh you don’t want the music because you like to read? Well, here’s some well thought out, relatable writing you can give me your thoughts on.” “Oh you’re tired of reading now? Here are some video and a vlog series you can kick back and watch until you realize the music in it is poppin’, now you can go back to the music if you’d like!”
Although I am the sole face of Lovejasmusic at the moment, I hope to one day be able to be the home for other writers, creators, and musicians as well. Since I never even thought that having my own company as an artist in the beginning stages would be something I’d be talking about, I am proud that it is established now so that it can grow to become something even bigger the bigger I become.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I like that, with Fort Worth still developing, I have the opportunity to be apart of it’s growth and contribute to it’s culture and reputation. What I least like, is that fact that it still isn’t a big market for the arts and artistic opportunities.
Pricing:
- Category : Black Girl Majic (COMING SOON) is $10.00 for a hard copy. Release TBA.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lovejasmusic.com
- Email: jasmine.phillips.0615@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magneticstrip/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasgotbars/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOQhmkF-CGLOQ-OePXHdbHA
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/user-755513659
Image Credit:
Shakeya Porter-Briggs
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