CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK: Jr Swiftz
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK | JR SWIFTZ
INTERVIEW @REALIFE.VALIDATED PHOTOGRAPH @ivy.league.hoodlum
VALIDATED: Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, what’s your earliest recollection of Hip Hop culture?
JR SWIFTZ: My earliest memory was moving around in the studios with my pops Jay Swiftz. I’m talking late 90s, so I’m seeing a lot of the greats like Busta Rhymes, AZ, and Kool G Rap, just to name a few. I’ve been around some dope things all my life.
VALIDATED: How did you get your start at making beats and producing?
JR SWIFTZ: Watching my pops get busy on his equipment… using the ASR 10, MPC 2k and the Digi001. I actually was an emcee first before producing. I started producing back in 2004-2005, and I was using FL Studio. I think it was 4 at that time.
VALIDATED: Besides your father, which producers influenced your style and what if anything did you borrow from them?
JR SWIFTZ: Producers that influenced me, definitely Dilla, Black Milk, Nottz, Hi Tek and AraabMUZIK. A lot of my sound is heavily Detroit based. I like what those cats do over there… the weird sounds, and the “off beat” sound. It’s a certain bounce. But I just take a little bit of something from my favorite producers and just make it my sound.
VALIDATED: In your opinion what’s the difference between a beat maker and a producer?
JR SWIFTZ: Beat makers really just sends beats out to artists and kind of sits around and waits for the play. But a producer is calling the plays and making certain things happen. I’ve been on both sides but enjoy producing a lot though.
VALIDATED: How has living in New York, Virginia and now North Carolina influenced your production?
JR SWIFTZ: I’ve really just been learning the sounds, the culture and blending certain things I like about the cities I was in together.
VALIDATED: How would you describe your production style/sound to someone who’s never heard your work before?
JR SWIFTZ: I would say it’s just a revamped familiar sound. I won’t say it’s gritty NY, or a soulful Detroit, or a soulful NC like a cole. I just blend my favorite time periods together… mid to late 90s to mid 2000s. Things you heard in those time periods.
VALIDATED: Who are some of the more known artists that you’ve produced for?
JR SWIFTZ: I’ve produced for We$tside Gunn, Conway, Elzhi, Skyzoo, Termanology, Juicy J, and Papoose, just to name a few.
VALIDATED: You produced the entire 2020 album “Seven Times Down Eight Times Up” for Elzhi that's been making noise in the Hip Hop community. How did that collaboration come about?
JR SWIFTZ: Man, really through Instagram. Just sending him beats through DM and that’s how that came about.
VALIDATED: What’s next for JR Swiftz?
JR SWIFTZ: Working on more albums where I’m fully producing. I have an album that I produced, “Expensive Taste” with the homie Kwam Corleone. We got another one on the way… and keep building my profile.
VALIDATED: How can artists looking to work with you reach out to you?
JR SWIFTZ: Through Instagram @JRSwiftz.