Suge: welcome brother, thank you for giving me your time. For those who don’t know who you are how bout you tell them who you are and how you got your name?

Jayson Johnson:

My name is Jayson Johnson, but in battle rap, I go By John Jay. I had many aliases growing up but I went with my real name because I want people to know me, music is a business but building your audience and connecting with your community… that’s different energy you can’t buy with numbers.

Now as far as the battle rap arena is concerned, John Jay is my number one alias where I get to use real-life references, extensive knowledge in hip hop & battle rap.

Suge: that’s pretty dope I like the separation of the two intertwining personalities. Gives depth to your music because you could be getting Jayson or John Jay. You hear a lot of the boom-bap, old school era in your rap style who and what inspired you to start rapping?

Jayson Johnson: One day I listened to the best of 94’ playlist Gang Starr – DWYCK, Nas – One Love, Everyday Struggle – The Notorious B.I.G. & Method Man – Bring The Pain. Hearing that back to back sold me on wanting to rap.

Most of my inspirations came from It was Written by Nas, Reasonable Doubt by Jay-Z & Life After Death by The Notorious B.I.G. These classic projects were instrumental in shaping my sound and love for the culture.

Suge: Lets switch gears over to battle rap, Being an older cat from a different generation of rap where lyricism reigned supreme; is it a tough experience battling in this new era of punchline heavy battle rap?

Jayson Johnson: The younger generation and their new style of battle rapping, it’s a wonderful experience. You get to learn today’s style upfront. There are some who very creative, some who are very personal, some who are straight disrespectful.

I would rather stick to the format of the battle rap OGs before me like Redman, Pharaoh Monch, Joell Ortiz and for the present day of battle rappers: Daylyt, Chilla Jones, Xcel, JC, & Lux which is battling for the best pen. There’s no fulfillment in getting personal.

Suge: So, who is Jayson Johnson? If you had to break it down like chemicals what makes you, you?

Jayson Johnson: Jayson Johnson is A True modern day embodiment of the Golden Era of Hip Hop & A man who is living in his Peace.

Suge: So I see on social media you are doing this #NoPenNoPad campaign tell me more about that. What was the inspiration behind that?

Jayson Johnson: I just like sharing my art and skill with the world and To me it’s a quick and easy way to do that with out having to craft an entire song. Simply, I just wanted to create a freestyle experience. that’s really it.

Suge: I like that. It Keeps you sharp. So who inspired you in battle rap? It’s a Uber competitive field, what made you want to jump in the ring?

Jayson Johnson: It all started with my life bucket list. I just wanted to see how well I would perform. Honestly it’s great sport but I don’t see it as a 10+ year plan like most legends. It’s not like we have a created union and there’s a retirement pension that comes with it. Everything comes straight out of the mud so you gotta make it count when you get your payments and perks, set yourself up right for when it’s time to make your exit. That way you can leave with no regrets.

Suge: Bucket list huh? So what else is on this bucket list?

Jayson Johnson: my showings in the trap got invitations to other leagues, I’m gonna do a few of those and one more TrapNY battle. Afterwards, I’m relaxing for a minute and focusing more on audio engineering. Also, I recently got a offer that’s very special & intriguing, so 2022 is going to be explosive!

Suge: What is the legacy you want to leave behind musically? What do you want people to understand about you from the music you make?

Jayson Johnson:

I want every race to understand, in the end we all we got. Bob Marley once said before he died, “The people who are trying to make this world worse are not taking the day off, why should I?” That stuck with me forever in my journey. I notice the hip hop with conscious music and purpose is mostly independent because majority of the artists in the majors today isn’t really projecting that type of music out.

Unless you’re one of the top dawgs in the industry, it’s hard to get conscious content on a consistent basis because it takes quality time for creativity to reach a level of timelessness & longevity.

I want my music legacy to say he wrote it but he lived it. He’s not defined by his success, but how he gives back to his community and his culture. He didn’t have to cheat his way to the door, he got it out the mud and created his own terms of success.

I want my people to understand through my music that I’m just like you, we all we got & if I can be a testament for those that made it out… you can do it too. I seen enough division with my culture long enough. I can’t say nothing if I don’t get involved, so I’m getting involved.

Suge: Ok, we are about to wrap this, I appreciate you taking time out to chat with us. This last question is the most important one; it’s the question that tells us who you really are. Waffles or Pancakes?

Jayson Johnson: #TeamWaffles.

Suge: Ok last thing: anything you wanna say to the readers, the listeners, & the viewers? Everyone tuned into Jayson Johnson and anything to the ones who are not?

Jayson Johnson: follow me on Instagram: @iamjaysonjohnson for more updates & content. Website is coming soon.

Suge: Fasho, thank you again brother can’t wait to see what’s next for you.

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