S.T.I.L.L.: I'M SURE A LOT OF "NEW YORKERS" KNOW WHO "JIMMY AGE" IS, BUT NOT EVERYONE HAS HEARD YOUR MUSIC YET. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT WHO YOU ARE AND HOW YOU GOT INTO HIP HOP.
JIMMY AGE: Well, I’m just a normal kid from Brooklyn. I got into music
since I was little. My mother’s Puerto Rican, so I was inspired by her
listening to House music, freestyle music, and salsa. So, I used to
listen to that while she was cleaning up the crib, and my father is
African American, so I listened to Hip Hop and Soul and some Rock,
too. What made me want to be a rapper is that I have a cousin that
used to rap back in ‘96, and it made me want to be a part of this
whole movement. I actually remember crying when I was little because
my father wouldn’t let me go to the studio when he would take my
cousin (he was my cousin’s manager). So, I just started writing for
myself. When we had family gatherings, we'd always have cyphers. So I
had show & prove to let them know I'm passionate about this.
S.T.I.L.L.: WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS WHEN YOU WENT IN THE STUDIO TO RECORD “PLAYAS BALL”?
JIMMY AGE: You know, any rapper’s initial thing is to ‘rip the track’. Everybody knows that a “Timberland” beat is unique, so I wanted to switch up my delivery and get a little more witty with my lyrics. I really just wanted to do ‘me’.
S.T.I.L.L.: WHO HAVE YOU WORKED WITH AS FAR AS PRODUCTION AND/OR COLLABORATIONS?
JIMMY AGE: Well, production-wise, I usually produce for myself and just produce my own stuff. But, for collabos, I’ve collaborated with a rapper named “R-Y Dinero”, another artist is “Dirty Get-Inz”…“Kid Cody”, and that’s not to be confused with “Kid Cudi”, but “Kid Cody” has had his name for a LONG time. I’ve also worked with my partner, who’s on my label also, “Free Narm”, and other up-and-coming rappers in NY like myself. But, my future collabs will be with “Pete Rock” from “Pete Rock & CL Smooth”, “Mike Geronimo”, and “Q-tip”.
S.T.I.L.L.: IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE OF RAP, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE IT?
JIMMY AGE: I don’t have a style. I just make good music. And, what I mean by that is, I have party tracks and street joints for the people in the street, and then I have the storytelling songs for a particular audience, so I touch all audiences.
S.T.I.L.L.: HOW DID YOUR MUSIC REACH THE EARS OF “Q-TIP”?
JIMMY AGE: (Laughs) Wow, that’s a good question! How I met Q-tip was at Santo’s Playhouse in Manhattan. I went there on a regular club night to chill, and I seen him there. So, a week later, I went to visit my mother at her job and, as I go in her building, I see him standing outside of there. So I introduced myself, and we had a little small talk, and I asked him what he was doing around there, and I described my mother to him and asked him if he knew her, and he said, “Yeah”, and the conversation opened from there. So, he told me to hit him up online, and I did, and then I met him the next week after he heard my music. And, thanks to him, I got to meet “Grand Puba” and “Mike Geronimo”, and a lot of other people.
S.T.I.L.L.: WHAT RAPPER(S) INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME A HIP HOP ARTIST AND IN WHAT WAY DID THE ARTIST(S) INSPIRE YOU?
JIMMY AGE: Wow! (Chuckles) Well, in all honesty, I’m inspired by everybody from “Melle Mel” to even “Soulja Boy”. And when I say “Soulja Boy”, a lot of people be like, “What you mean?”, but he’s a young, black male doing his thing. He has his own style and his own sound, so I respect him for that, as far as doing my own thing. But, artists that are directly inspirational would be “Ghostface Killah”, “Andre 3000”, “Common”, and “Ludacris”. Those four, in a nutshell, are my favorites; they’re my direct inspiration because they’re not afraid to be themselves, and they’re very creative. A lot of people do what the label says to do, and they’re afraid to do ‘them’.
S.T.I.L.L.: HAVE YOU RELEASED AN ALBUM, OR ARE YOU WORKING ON ANY PROJECTS RIGHT NOW, THAT FANS CAN PURCHASE?
JIMMY AGE: Well, actually, I’m working on my album right now, which
will be called “The Coming of Jimmy Age”. As far as purchasing goes,
the fans don’t have to worry about that because I’m gonna be doing
free downloads from my mixtape called “Jimmy Age: The Lost Tapes”. It
was originally gonna be called “The Coming of Age: The Prequel”,
but...I’m working on an EP that will consist of beats by “Madlib" from
many projects he's done, so they can check out my music and do free
digital downloads for the mixtape tracks, but they’ll have to buy the
album.
S.T.I.L.L.: YOUR “AS I EVER BEEN FREESTYLE” VIDEO ON YOUTUBE IS PRETTY HOT. DID YOU USE THIS FREESTYLE TO BUILD ON AND CREATE A FULL SONG, AND WHO PRODUCED THE TRACK?
JIMMY AGE: The song “As I Ever Been” I just left as a freestyle, and the whole purpose of me doing that freestyle was to get a “buzz”, and it’s working. Since doing the freestyle video, “Noreaga” saw the video and put it on his blog, and it was on Thisis50.com, and a few other artists’ sites, so it’s working. And, the track was produced by “Oddisee”.
S.T.I.L.L.: IF YOU COULD WORK WITH ANY FEMALE R&B ARTIST, WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COLLAB WITH IN THE STUDIO?
JIMMY AGE: (Laughs) Uh, I would work with any female artist, to be quite honest. I’m about this music, so I don’t care who it is as long as they can sing. But, if I could pick a few, I would pick “Chrisette Michelle” because she’s dope…I like “Keyshia Cole” and “Jazmine Sullivan”, too, ‘cause she’s dope. I’m a real soulful guy, so don’t let the rapper image fool you! (Laughs)
S.T.I.L.L.: HOW CAN YOUR FANS AND OTHERS INTERESTED IN HEARING YOUR MUSIC CONTACT YOU?
JIMMY AGE: Hit me up on myspace.com/