By: Todd “DG” Davis
Rapindustry.com
Born in Flint, Michigan, Jon Connor, née Freeman Jr., unleashed his official debut mixtape, The Calling, Pt. 1: The Prequel, more than two long decades ago. The self-proclaimed People’s Rapper would later go on to ink a promising recording contract with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, where he would remain on the roster from 2013 to ’19. And although during his stint on the label an album of his own wasn’t to be, Connor was, however, featured on two highly touted projects; Dre’s Compton and The Game’s The Documentary 2.5.
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Q: Let’s hop right into this mixtape, Best In The World: The Appetizer — Conceptually, what does this title represent both to and for you?
A: The Appetizer represents a few different things for me; one, it represents my love for the sport of being a lyricist. It also is a service to my day 1 fans who enjoy when I do these “Best In The World” tapes…it’s my way of thanking them for supporting me by giving them something for free, but also giving them something quality and aligned with what my brand has always been.
Q: How then does Best In The World: The Appetizer either differ and / or compare to previous Jon Connor efforts?
And, from a lyrical standpoint, when you sit down to pen your rhymes where do you draw inspiration from?
A: It differs in the sense that every project I do is a representation of my growth, and where I’m at in that moment. So I hope people can hear growth in everything I do from project to project,. and this particular tape was very free-flowing; the execution of this tape was the same as the others though…have fun, don’t think too hard, say what you feel and hopefully educate along the way.
Q: Reflecting, tell me your whole inception into music — When did you first become interested in it? And, how did it all begin for Jon Connor?
A: So I was born into music; my father is a musician, so when I was little I would watch him rehearse and perform with different bands, and I knew at a young age that that was something I would like to be a part of. My sister was the Hip Hop head in the house, and it started off as me wanting to learn how to rap to be cool in the eyes of my big sister…and the more I studied Hip Hop, the more passionate I became about it.
Q: Now you’re a native of Flint, MI, correct? So growing up in ‘Vehicle City,’ who all did / do you consider to be your strongest musical influences?
A: Yes, born and raised in Flint, Michigan; much respect to the pioneers from my city…The Dayton Family, MC Breed, Skanbino Mob, Top Authority, Project Born, etcetera. Their music was always around of course, but I was heavily influenced by Southern Hip Hop; New Orleans especially. In the beginning, No Limit Records, Cash Money Records and Three 6 Mafia were my biggest influences; it wasn’t until later that I started to really explore East and West Coast Hip Hop.
Q: In having said that, how do you classify your overall sound and / or style?
A: I don’t know if I can classify my overall sound, or put it into a box. I feel like lyrically, as a songwriter, my approach is tailor-made for the music. When I write music, it’s based off of what the music made me feel when I heard it…so as far as my sound, the type of beats that I pick are the ones that make you feel a certain emotion before I even start rapping, and my raps are always gonna be a verbal interpretation of what the music made me feel, to the best of my ability.
Q: What particular string of events actually led to your initial linking up with Dr. Dre and later signing to / with Aftermath Entertainment?
A: Xzibit’s son was a fan of my music; this was during the blog area, and I was releasing music like every week…so Xzibit’s son told him about my music, he liked it, he invited me on tour, while we were we were on tour Xzibit said he would look out if the opportunity ever came. After my project Unconscious State charted on Billboard independently, I got a call from Xzibit saying he wanted to let Dr. Dre hear my music. Dre listened, and the rest was history.
Q: How come nothing ever really materialized product-wise from this union?
A: I’m doing a mini-documentary on that time period of my life where I go in depth about why that project never saw the light of day. There were a lot of factors that played into it, so it’s not as simple to just answer in a scenario like this…but I get asked that question from time to time, so it’s going to be cool to give people answers about that time period of my life in the doc so my fan-base can have closure about that project, put it all the way behind them and we keep growing forward.
Q: Switching gears here, what exactly do you want people to get from your music?
A: Honestly, peace. I want my music to be a voice of reason for people. I want my music to feel like the friend you call that you know Is going to give you sound advice. The friend who isn’t perfect, they’ve gone through everything you’ve gone through, but doesn’t judge you but always wants to push you to be better and do better.
Q: If you could collaborate with any one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
A: Ye – Kanye West – because I feel like Ye opened a door in my generation for Hip Hop artists to be their authentic selves, and a joint with him would be dope as a full circle moment for me ’cause he’s one of the artists that I looked up to that made me feel like, “wow, finally somebody gets it!”
Q: If you could play any venue in the world, which one would you choose and why?
A: Coachella, just because I can only imagine the feeling of seeing all those people gathered together; just watching it is a little overwhelming, so that would be a dream come true to rock with an audience that big!
Q: On a more serious note, are you happy with the current state of Hip Hop?
A: I’d say yes, anything that allows people to get money and take care of their families without the possibility of going to jail or dying I’m all for it, ’cause it seems like there are more artists than ever, and a majority of them are finding new ways to brand themselves and make a living from doing what they do, So, yes, I’m happy with the current state of Hip Hop in the sense that it provides an opportunity for my people to eat…I would like to see the overall message of modern Hip Hop to grow in a more positive direction though, but that’s another conversation for another day.
Q: What do you feel has and will continue to be the key to your longevity?
A: The keys are: I love music, and I love people and I love God. And, until I get a sign from the most high that I’m being called to use my gift in another way, I’ll be creating music until I can’t anymore…my want to help others through my music outweighs any personal accolades that I have or will receive from creating music.
Q: Do you have any other outside / additional (future) aspirations, maybe even completely away from music?
A: Absolutely! I want to grow Connor Culture Studios into a multi-purpose studio that produces film, television and everything in between. Also, I’m in the process of writing a book I’m super excited about as well.
Q:To date, what has been your biggest career moment(s), at least thus far anyway?
A: Biggest career moment? I’d say, what I’m doing now, having the courage and will to create an independent company start from the ground up in order to inspire young up and coming artists, so that they know it’s better to bet on yourself and get what you’re owed from selling your art as opposed to selling your soul to a big company; getting “famous,” but still not getting what you’re owed as far as compensation.
Q: What’s an average day like for you?
A: Wake up, hit the treadmill, breakfast, immediately hit the studio and record until I get sleepy, lol!
Q:Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans…
A: In this whole musician / fan thing, people lose perspective. We are all humans. Lol! Yes, we all have different gifts, but no one’s gift is any more or less significant. So, my interaction with fans is with the same love and consideration as I have for anyone else. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, and I give my supporters extra live because it means a lot to me that they support my music. They are the reasons my dreams get to come true, so I owe anyone that supports my music the utmost love and respect.
Q: What is your favorite part about this line of work? Your least favorite? And, why?
A: My favorite part is the love from the people, the actual creation of the music and getting to travel and see the world. My least favorite is how the majority of the people in this business aren’t genuine; I don’t like how money makes people compromise their morals, and I don’t like how the system of the music business relies a lot on manipulating the minds of young people who don’t know any better.
Q: What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
A: Trust your instincts, keep family and those you know truly love you around you. DO NOT SIGN WITH A MAJOR; if they come looking for you, that means you’re already doing what you need to do to provide for yourself and your family, and make sure you love this because things are going to happen to you that will make you want to quit and only your love for this will keep you pushing.
Q: Looking ahead, say five or maybe even ten years from now, where do you see yourself?
A: Honestly, I pray on a farm somewhere out the country tending to animals and a veggie garden, living like Rick Rubin with a huge beard, super zenned out, in the middle of nowhere, lol!
Q: As for the immediate, what’s next for you, Jon?
A: Singles all 2025; me and KLC’s project 24 is next…after that, me and my dawg, iRocksays, has a project…me and Foul Mouth, who just recently got a production credit on Eminem’s last project (The) Death of Slim Shady, have a project coming along, with a joint project with Kuniva of D12…a lot on the way this year.
Q: Is there anything I left out or just plain forgot to mention?
A: Make sure Y’all go to connorculture.com; that’s where you can cop all of my music, merch…watch season one of my docu-series, “The Road To Legendary,” all that! Normalize supporting artists directly.
Q: Lastly, any “parting” words for our readers?
A: Thank you, and I love you to the ones who have been supporting me since day one; I can’t say thank you enough…and if you’re just now getting put on to my music, I love Y’all just the same…and let’s enjoy the journey, and keep striving to be better people daily. Put God first, and everything else is water under the bridge. Love!
