J. Stalin Explained

J. Stalin
Birth Name:Jovan Smith
Birth Date:1983 1, mf=yes
Origin:Oakland, California, U.S.
Genre:Hyphy
Occupation:Rapper, songwriter
Years Active:2002 - present
Label:SMC Recordings

Jovan Smith (born January 25, 1983), better known by his stage name J. Stalin (also J Stalin or J-Stalin), is an American rapper from the Cypress Village housing projects in West Oakland. In 2007, he signed to Zoo Entertainment Production Company run by artist Mekanix, who described his style as a variant of hyphy known as "Go".[1]

Biography

Smith was born into poverty and earned money as a child by selling candy bars on the BART trains. Around age 16, he began recording and selling rap music.[2] As a youth he sold drugs in his local housing projects and spent eleven months on parole for drug dealing.

Musical career

He references Joseph Stalin in his stage name because they shared the same initials, and "...He was short like me, but he was always smashin' on everybody."[3] [4] In a recent interview he remarked about his home and lifestyle, "This is West Oakland, man. This is the bottoms right here." He went on to say that the crime rate in his neighborhood was so high, the city had remodeled the housing units in his housing project to remove the back doors so that criminals could not escape from home raids by the police.[5]

J. Stalin's first widely released performances arose when a DJ Daryl, a local recording studio owner, placed him on a track he was recording. A colleague of Daryl's, Richie Rich was impressed enough to put J. Stalin on three tracks in his 2002 album Nixon Pryor Roundtree album and two more as a member of Rich's group, the Replacement Killers. He later recorded and performed with artists such as G-Stack,[6] Beeda Weeda,[7] Keak Da Sneak and San Quinn,[8] E-40, Luniz, The Team, The Frontline, Mob Figaz, Yukmouth and Shock G. As of 2006, he had released roughly 7 mixtapes and had four releases scheduled for 2007.[9] Mekanix and Zoo Entertainment released "On Behalf of the Streets" on October 31, 2006.[10]

Discography

Albums, mixtapes, collaborations, compilations

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Dog Magazine. Black Dog Bone. The Mekanix (Dotrix & Tweed). June 2007.
  2. J. Stalin, Early Morning Shift (album notes), Demolition Man Records
  3. News: San Francisco Bay Guardian . 2006 Best Of The Bay: A Vision Of The Future . Kimberly Chun . February 20, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080216014419/http://www.sfbg.com/2006bob/ent.php . February 16, 2008 . dead .
  4. News: MP3 of the Day: J. Stalin's "Banga Dance" . East Bay Express . Rachel Swan . February 25, 2008.
  5. News: Love in these streets: West Oakland . SLASH magazine . March 10, 2007.
  6. News: Purple Mane: an interview wit' G-Stack of the Delinquents . June 26, 2007 . San Francisco Bayview . Minister of Information JR . February 20, 2008 . October 20, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071020002021/http://www.sfbayview.com/20070626240/News/Panel/Purple_Mane_an_interview_wit_G-Stack_of_the_Delinquents.html . dead .
  7. News: February 25, 2008 . Oakland is the New Oakland; Stem cell research and the Oakland rap revolution . Youth Outlook . Russell Morse . July 10, 2006 . March 3, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193547/http://www.youthoutlook.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=6df0ee1eeaf50d450eb215ddb4bf1a44 . dead .
  8. News: Out of the shadows: Shady Nate, the number two rapper of West Oakland's Livewire crew, emerges as a boss . San Francisco Bay Guardian . Garrett Caples . November 21, 2007 . February 25, 2008.
  9. Web site: Column: Ruling Party: Rising hip-hop star J. Stalin morphs from d-boy to Go Boy . April 25, 2006 . Garrett Caples . San Francisco Bay Guardian.
  10. News: San Francisco Bay Guardian . The post-2Pac pack: Did the death of Tupac Shakur throw Bay Area hip-hop into a tailspin? And is there really a "New Bay" rising? . Garrett Caples .

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