East London-born grime star J2k kicked off his professional music journey in 2003, just as he decided to quit his position as a centre-back player for football team Leyton Orient to pursue his real love – music. It was then that he released the first of his now infamous 'Heat On The Street' mixtapes with producer TNT. ‘I started that trend of mixtapes in the grime scene,’ says J, real name Jason Black, ‘at the time the usual route taken by MC's was pirate radio, raves and then building yourself up from there. That mixtape was the first of its kind – I saw a gap in the market and it worked. When we put it out the only other grime CD on the shelf was Dizzee Rascal.'
The mixtapes were the perfect tool for creating a healthy little buzz and helped J to make a name for himself. He capitalised on this by performing at open mic nights around London, making pirate radio appearances and collaborating with various artists from the scene. 'My music has always been fundamentally grime and hip hop orientated although I do experiment from time to time just out of the love of trying new things and keeping myself fresh in thought. I feel like trying out new ideas broadens my writing skills and opens my mind up to the world more in terms of patterns, flows and style'.
J2k's journey has taken him from mixtape specialist to the top of the mainstream charts with Roll Deep after joining the grime collective in 2008. Together they achieved two number one records and even gained a place in the record books for holding the top number one spot for the longest time in 2010. In the same year J was asked by DJ Mark Ronson to open the MOBO awards with his band as a featured MC and this consequently ended up with J becoming a temporary fixture on the Mark Ronson set. Whilst Ronson was in the UK, J2k performed alongside him at Camden Crawl, V Festival and various other festivals.
In 2011, J become apart of adidas' massive 'All In' campaign when they used his single 'WTF' for one of their adverts which featured top footballers such as Lionel Messi and David Beckham as well as basketball star Derrick Rose and US rapper B.O.B. He says, 'this was special for me to have such a major worldwide brand let me be a part of something so big.' These ads gained rave reviews and became a big success for adidas as well as being a great look for J2k.
Fast forward a year and the ever forward-thinking MC decided to develop his passion for trainers and invest and build a shoe spray company with friends called Crep Protect, leveraging his relationships and links in the urban scene. J was been able to develop the idea literally from his kitchen where he and his team would test various household foods and liquids. He now has the product available on the high street and at shopping centres up and down the country, gaining the attention of fellow sneaker heads and trainer lovers. Reality star Joey Essex has championed and stocked the brand in his new store and other endorsees include Jamal Edwards, Reggie Yates, Delilah, Tinchy Stryder and Wiley, to name but a few.
After taking some time out to concentrate on the Crep Protect business and his Roll Deep career along with other collaborative projects, J2k is now back on his solo grind with his latest EP entitled 'LL COOL J' featuring Wiley, Roses Gabor , Ayo Beatz and various up and coming artists. Due for release in August, the first offering from the project is a track called 'Fresh' which kind of sums up the whole EP... very fresh!
Find out more about J2k and Crep Protect below:
Twitter.com/j2kliveInstagram.com/J2KLIVETwitter.com/CrepProtectInstagram.com/CrepProtectwww.crepprotect.com
