Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessie Williams/Warfare J.
Hi Jessie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Washington Dc, I started writing poems/lyrics in the 6th/7th grade because my English teacher was big on poetry and my poems always stood out to her, at the beginning I never really thought anything of my work I just knew I was good at making words rhyme and blend together no matter what the subject would be. I always had a passion for music, growing up my Dad would blast music on his big stereo speakers and Dj in the house so in a sense music was instilled into me at a young age. As I grew up and discovered more music on my own I came across this one artist that stood out to me at that time his name was Short Dawg now he goes by Fre$h. When I first heard Short Dawg it was on his mixtape The Adventures Of Drankenstein and his wordplay, delivery, and storytelling is what stood out to me, also in all of his songs he doesn’t even curse and that’s what makes him a far better lyricist than most. Since then I started to take music seriously so I looked for options to try and record my first song, starting out I used to put 2 phones side by side with one playing the instrumental and the other one on voice record and I’d start recording my songs that way. Around that time there was this game called Rockband that came out and it came with a drum set, guitar, and microphone. Since I really didn’t have money to go to the studio each and every day back then I started to search for recording studio software online and I came across a mix pad in which I used the free trial option for 30 days, so every 30 days I’d make a new email for the free trial so I wouldn’t have to purchase the software. Mixpad is where I started to learn how to mix, record and master my songs, I’d record with my Rockband mic and experiment with the stock effects the software came with and learn how to compress and Eq my vocals. Although I didn’t have the best of knowledge on how to properly compress vocals and Eq them correctly I figured I was doing something right when I could make the vocals sit right on top of the beat and not sound too low or distorted. As time went by I’ve gained more knowledge on how to mix and master mainly through trial and error and some by youtubers. I graduated from Mixpad to FL Studio where I officially recorded my first song, and from that day I started to make music everyday, as I gained more knowledge of how to engineer I started my own business with one of my friends called A-1 America which is what our studio is called where local artist can come to get their song mixed and mastered by me.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some of the troubles I had was trying to find money to go to the studio, getting support from those around me, and just questioning if I could really do this all myself. As I overcame these fears and judgments, making music myself and teaching myself how to do it all is what drove me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a Rap Artist named Warfare J I specialize in Audio Engineering which consists of mixing and mastering songs. I’m best known for both my music and studio business A-1 America. My music studio speaks for itself, every song in my catalog I’ve recorded, I mixed and mastered myself all by being self-taught. When people hear my music they are pulled into my sound and my ability to give it such great quality all by coming from a home studio.
I’m most proud of working with other artists and being able to bring their song to life and give it what it’s been missing in my home studio. I also love touring other states and cities performing my music live and seeing the crowd’s reaction and gaining new fans.
What sets me apart from others is that I’m very hands-on with my music, I will literally record the same verse 20 times if I have to, to make sure it’s perfect or at least I’m giving the proper amount of energy I need to give on that specific song. With me being an engineer and artist I feel like I got the upper hand because I don’t have to wait on anyone or explain my vision to someone else when I can just create it myself and make it happen on my own. Each and every day I’m in my home studio creating something new, making new ideas while also learning something new every time I mix a song.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Early in my stages of becoming a full time Artist & Engineer was to actually learn the business side of the music industry. A lot of artists don’t learn the business side of the music industry and that’s what I feel can hurt your career because just having a hit song doesn’t mean all that much if you don’t know how to properly go about your business to make sure you can stay afloat also so you won’t end up being stuck with some type of deal that’s not in your best interest.
Pricing:
- Studio Time – $100hr 2 hour Minimum
- Song Only Mastering (Stems) – $375
- Promotion – $50
- Studio Deposit – $35
Contact Info:
- Email: areowilliams@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warfare_j/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WarfareJ
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/warfare_j
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChy-6d0OC57cTWkU72Aik0A
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/warfarej
- Other: https://www.dmvlife.com/warfarej.html
Image Credits
Heart 4 Success Photos
