What’s your stage name and where are you from?

SMJ from Grand Rapids, MI

What’s the story behind your stage name?

SMJ consists of my first name Sam (S), next (M) Master – for always seeking more knowledge to lead, finally (J) Jay for how the letter J appears cursive. It reminds me of John Hancock’s boldness to sign his name so large.

Describe your musical journey in three sentences.

I started making music as an after school activity with one of my close friends. The music was silly, but gave me an escape from life at home. Eventually, I took a break to pursue school, but never stopped making music because I knew deep down it was my therapy

Share an interesting experience you had while creating your latest track.

Player X was an interesting concept where I wrote the first verse in 1 week, but took 3 weeks to write the second verse! Needed time to reflect on how I wanted the story to end.

What message do you want to convey through your music?

I want my audience to know that anything is possible with the right creativity. Determined minds can achieve greatness. Finally, life can feel like a rollercoaster, but these ups and downs allow us to appreciate the journey. Let’s enjoy the ride while we are on it.

Tell us about a challenge you faced during production and how you overcame it.

This production was the 5th time I had attempted to mix and master my own tracks. Prior to this I had almost given up on doing it, but I decided to take another angle and watched a funky Audio Engineering video from the late 90s early 00s. This video sparked in my mind the ability to visualize the staging of music elements. When I realized that, it felt like I finally cracked that code.

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

BigXthePlug – his music inspired me when I thought rap music was no longer creative. His album AMAR inspired me to make a few songs I plan to drop in the future.

Where do you see your music taking you in the next year?

My plan is to drop my 4th project next year. I have dropped 2 other projects so far and received great love and support, but I believe my album dropping on May 31st this year will expose more of my versatility to the world.

What’s the next big step for you as an artist?

My next big step is to drop my “Trees” project this year May 31st. My goal is to follow up this project with a live performance.

Where can we hear/watch your most recent work?

I am available on all streaming platforms.
Here is my linktree: https://linktr.ee/smj_original?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=1199dc2c-1f7a-4945-8bcb-61eca351cb11