Jtrapz - Interview
The next chapter in Jtrapz has landed as he continues his non-stop music campaign this year. ‘Blue Therapy’ liberates a Drill infused track with the concept on what is expected of a man. Diversifying his topics across his singles, Jtrapz is growing.
Flying the flag for Midlands’s Drill, Jtrapz has been residing in Northampton since he was 14 and has been acting on his passion throughout his tough upbringings. Father of 4 was in and out of care as a child and is doing it for his kids, a path out of the streets. Taking his West Indie influence to a government funded studio in his hometown, he has grown his lyrical and musical ability. Beginning 2021 with ‘Straight On Smoke’, a popular collaboration with artist JS, accolading nearly half a million views on the music video (YouTube).
This new track ‘Blue Therapy’ remains in Drill parameters but experiments with an unprecedented message. Beginning the track with a female audio recording about what she “expects of a man” and this sets the topic off for the track. The beat has dramatic strings ringing around the powerful slapping 808’s. Combined with Jtrapz quick releasing bars, the track possesses a lot of rhythm and tells a story with Jtrapz remaining audible despite his rapid speed.
Wordplay Magazine: How did it all begin, what sparked your love for music?
Jtrapz: Back in the day my mum and dad used to listen to garage and stuff like that, R’n’B, dance, all that stuff when I was growing up so it started from there. Watching my sisters dancing around the house listening to music. Then when I hit school, well moving from primary to secondary, I used to mess around playing with bars on the playground. My bredrin on the playground kept telling me to take it seriously and here we are.
WPM: Who are some artists that influence you and you would like to work with in the future?
J: People that influenced me back in the day were people like; Kanal, Wiley, Chipmunk, Ice kid, that's about it. I’d like to collaborate with a couple of people, that’s good really, I don’t know there's definitely a few though.
WPM: Your new track “Blue therapy” dropped at the end of July, it's been really well received and the video is very cool. Can you tell me about the idea behind it?
J: The idea came from a series I was watching on YouTube and I enjoyed it so I thought I’m going to write something about it. It started with a little verse that sounded alright and it grew from there.
WPM: Could you describe your sound in your own words?
J: My sound, I don’t want to be seen as one thing, I don’t want to be just a drill artist, I’ve got a couple of garage songs coming and a couple of other things in the works.
WPM: What would you say is your proudest moment to date, so far as an artist?
J: Signing with J Records, that was very big! Before that I wasn’t taking it too seriously and that's got me to where I am now. Its real man!
WPM: Have you got any advice for our readers that might be looking to get into the mad game of music?
J: People getting involved in music should keep pushing and not letting people tell them “you can’t do this” - “you can’t do that”. Believe your good and keep pushing, keep striving and you’ll get somewhere and achieve your goals.
WPM: Are there any artists on your radar at the moment that people should be checking out?
J: Not really. Most of the people I like, I think most people would already know about to be honest. But people like M1llionz, Tion Wayne. A couple of my friends do music but they don’t take it seriously.
WPM: What albums/songs have you got on heavy rotation on your spotify playlists?
J: Daves new mixtape, let me grab my phone. A bit of the new Fredo music, those are the main two right now.
WPM: What do you like to do when you’re not making music?
J: Spend time with my family man, be with my kids and family. If not, I'll be with my bredrin. Trying to enjoy life!
WPM: Can you name 3 things you can’t live without when you’re not in the studio?
J: Can I be truthful, yeah? Has to be weed, has to be in the studio. I don’t really drink but I usually have a Magnum in the studio. The 3rd thing I’ve got to have is my phone with my bars in you know.
W: Can you tell us about any future projects or anything to look out for in the future?
J: I got a song dropping next week, and then from there I will be dropping a new song every month till December or January. And an EP coming with JS at some point not far away. Definitely been putting in some work. One of the videos was in Barcelona so hopefully everyone will like that.