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Life Is Serius Artist: Serius Jones Interviewer: ENIG MUE |
Life Is Serius
Serius Jones interviewed by Enig Mue 03-13-09
AmalgamDigital.com: Why So Serious? Seriously, you have a great sense of humor and are very engaging, why call yourself serious?
Serius Jones: A lot of people misconstrue it, and think serious, like the demeanor of serious, but really Serius is the name of the North Star, which is like the brightest star in the sky. That’s where I got the whole motivation for the name Serius.
Also it’s an interesting and clever play on words, cause people think it means serious, but that’s not what it’s all about, it’s about shining and being the brightest for the whole world to see.
AmalgamDigital.com: Growing up in Jersey, what artists did you look up to?
Serius Jones: The artists I looked up to, when I was just coming up, being where I’m from… I was always really a fan of the greats, the Biggie’s, the Nas’, the Jay’s and some of the underground people, especially from Jersey like Lords Of The Underground, Naughty By Nature, Redman, just cause I’m from Jersey. These were the dudes that were flying the Jersey flag and really reppin’ Jersey Hip-Hop. I’ve always been a fan of really good, hot shit that transcends culture, and becomes apart of the house hold; the Snoop’s the Dre’s. The shit that shaped the community, that’s how I was raised, around good music. I was always around hip-hop and the blues and the soul, from the Spinners, The Four Tops and the Marvin Gaye’s. My parents were hip, my pops is from the streets and my mom is a real cool person, I’ve always had that around me; that cool fly shit.
AmalgamDigital.com: How do you feel about the label of “Battle Rapper?”
Serius Jones: It just a way for people who don’t understand hip-hop to classify me, a lot of people are battle rappers and that’s the only way they know how to rap. I’m not mad at that, but at the same time I don’t have to defend what I’m not, because anyone with two eyes is going to see. Its like Kobe coming into the league trying to convince people he’s a shooter, you don’t say it you just dominate. Those are my intentions; it’s making sense to anyone who’s been online in the last few months.
Basically that’s a label that’s used for those people who need it. It’s applicable, but I’m an emcee who is also talented in that arena.
AmalgamDigital.com: When did you realize that you had a talent in battling? Is there an exact moment?
Serius Jones: I realized it when I was playing, but then really realized it when I stepped on stage and came in second in my first battle for $500. That showed me my talent for captivating the crowd was bigger than I knew. I started playing around and everyone else saw my potential. When I stepped on stage in that light, in front of that camera, that’s when I realized I could take this to the next level.
AmalgamDigital.com: What is Life Is Serius about? Is this a biopic?
Serius Jones: On March 9th, it’s all going to make sense. Anyone who’s doubted the fact that I’m a reputable voice of hip-hop will see. Life Is Serius is bigger than me but it’s a perspective of life that Serius has. It’s about Serius’ perspective on life but it’s also about how life is serious, in the real meaning of the word. Life could go any direction, you could wake up one day walk in the street and get hit by a car and be paralyzed, now your whole life changes.
It’s about showing the full spectrum of life instead of just showing the viewpoint of a hustler on the streets or getting money in the club. It’s a refreshing outlook on life, which is taking people out of the realm of entertainment, of hip hop and getting down to the real bottom line of life. We all have a life we living and have our own perspective and issues that makes us who we are. So Life is Serius is the name of the movement that I’m pushing, but its also the name of the individual projects that are going to bring attention to the movement. Life Is Serius: the movie, Life Is Serius: the “soundtape”, Life Is Serius: the album. I want people to take the time-out to pay attention to real shit. I can’t explain it all because it’s still growing everyday, I’m getting better at ways to convey my thoughts and ideas.
People are running up on me with shirts that I didn’t even make, they got their own Life is Serius shirts that they made! It’s a blessing though, cause I put my heart and soul into this grind, and it may not seem like a monumental thing to some, but it will. All the ground work I did to get to this stage where I’m important enough to be interviewed is an example that you have to chase your dreams and Life is Serius is just the blueprint; it’s a real monumental idea.
AmalgamDigital.com: Who did you work with on the corresponding soundtrack/mixtape?
Serius Jones: Shout out to Malay, who produced Green Light for John Legend & 3 Stacks, shout out to Certified, they scored the movie, they got the whole musical aspect, the orchestral shit and all that. I got vintage beats on there…I got a lot of people on there, I be forgetting though.
It s a real heavy look though, it’s a soundtrack and a mixtape so I’m calling it a “soundtape”.
It’s got a real organic feel to it; all of these songs make sense and are the inspiration of the movie. It’s about the vibe I was on while living these different chapters. When I was living these experiences, I put together the best collection of songs that represents that, so people could understand my perspective.
AmalgamDigital.com: If you had the chance to work under another platinum-selling artist on their label, what would you do this time around?
Serius Jones: Honestly, I would have to have more clauses than Santa in that bitch. I would need some real guarantees that I can man my own situation. I don’t want to point fingers or anything but I think the situation could have been handled different. The average platinum artist, regardless if they admit it, is threatened by the idea of the new superstar guy taking away their shine and becoming the focal point. That’s not something I can afford to deal with at this point in my career because people have been waiting for me to come out for so long, I need the stars lined up, literally.
AmalgamDigital.com: You made unexpected hip-hop headlines when you ate Charles Hamilton at SOB’s, has Sonic the Hamilton asked for a rematch or anything since? Would you?
Serius Jones: Oh hell no! You know he ain’t asked for nothing like that, he knows better. In reality that was a quick spanking for the sport, for the love of hip-hop. I’m not really entertaining battles right now anyway, its getting sloppy, the battles I had were like 3 years ago, on MTV, I won many times, won over 30-40 thousand dollars, these are irrefutable facts, this isn’t me trying to glorify, these were classic battles. You haven’t seen another battle that looks like that. I don’t know how to top those when there isn’t much competition that is respected for battling, and that people will respect me for battling. If I was to battle these dudes it would be a step down for me and it would look like “Oh Jones album isn’t coming out so that’s why he’s battling.” People would make up other reasons instead of taking it like he’s just nice and feels like battling and smashing a cat.
That’s how people think; they automatically look for the negative, and assume there has to be a desperate reason for doing something. When in reality I just want to embarrass a rapper just because; it’s a rush as an emcee to eat somebody’s food and make history while doing it. At the same time I got to look at it like a business at this stage, I cant be running wild just smashing rappers, I got to battle the game, instead of battling individual rappers that aren’t successful.
AmalgamDigital.com: Recently The Boondocks Bootlegs’ Tubesteak parodied all the brawling that’s been going on in rap battles. How do you feel about the increase of fights in the battle circuit?
Serius Jones: That’s definitely what it is. it’s to a point in entertainment where people are so hungry for fame (like that’s going to solve their problems) so they will do anything to be noticed. When it gets dangerous is when you get people who don’t respect the craft or the business of it. So when you’re standing in some dirty hole in the wall with a bunch of street nigga’s who aren’t about nothing but representing their hood, this is the kind of side effects you get.
I don’t have these problems because, by the grace of God, I command some respect, nigga’s know you cant just punch me in the face while I’m rapping. plus I don’t put myself into shit that isn’t official, like the most un-official shit I’ve ever done was Smack, it was seventy nigga’s and just me and a few of my nigga’s but I still held it down.
I definitely see you have to have a level of professionalism, and not act like one of these nigga’s running around with his head cut off just jumping into any battle. Serius Jones is a professional and that’s why you see me in the biggest arenas battle rap can be placed in. Not to gloat, but you’ve never seen battles on prime time MTV until me.
AmalgamDigital.com: You seemed to really step up your online hustle this year with GetSerius.com and more blog presence, how do you feel about this new online music business model for artists?
Serius Jones: I feel like it’s a great thing, its different, in terms of how it creates a new approach to music. I think you got to change with the times, you can’t always expect to move the same way; I mean life in general is more online now. You got actual people that only exist online, they talk online all day, they play games online, they watch online TV, they view movies online, they shop online…like shoutout to Needlz…this dude said he has to go food shopping, I figure he’s going to go somewhere, 20 minutes later there’s a dude at the door with the groceries, delivering everything he just did online, that’s grocery shopping now, but I embrace the shit.
I’m trying to make sure when I drop my shit, that I got an official push behind my shit. In term of awareness I’m way up into the millions of views online, and that’s not even counting the times I’ve been on BET, MTV, the MADE show, all those outlets.
Now you got to squeeze the money out of it and really have a central location for yourself, that’s why I got the GetSerius.com and brought everyone into the world of Serius Jones and be an outlet for those that are up-n-coming. That’s why I do these blogs and the Got Bars segments, where hot emcees come and rap. Also we doing Street Politics, where we talking about issues like the Ross/50 Cent shit, and getting the view of the streets, we just find real nigga’s and put the camera on them. It’s a beautiful thing because of the fact that you can reach millions by going right to your computer.
AmalgamDigital.com: What can the fans expect from you next?
Serius Jones: Classic shit. Life is Serius the Movie and Soundtape, out now. Life is Serius the album coming soon. I also got Rising Star which is another project that’s coming with a bunch of DVDs. Look for the singles “Can’t Stand Her”, shit is a classic, hilarious look. I’m dressed as a 40 year old man and shit. I got the “Smoke” video coming soon and for those who don’t know, Serius Bizness, is my street album and it is available now for free. If you go to GetSerious.com and just click on the logo of the mixtape cover, that’s available now for anybody who doesn’t have my music or who is not familiar with my artistry. I got a lot to prove because I really believe I’m bound to be the best artist to ever fucking breath. So look forward to classic shit from me and if it ain’t that, hit me up and let me know what I need to do to change. I’m a humble artist that’s really growing, so when I go we going together cause a lot of y’all are watching me come up.
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Tags: Interviews, Promo, Serius Jones
Comment by TRUTH — March 23, 2009 @ 11:03 AM
HIP HOP NEEDS THIS GUY. SERIUS JONES MUSIC BEEEN HOT!! LIFE IS SERIUS