24: Introduce yourself to everyone that doesnât already know who you are.
Jeremiah: My name is Jeremiah Shox born in Jersey, raised in Hempstead, NY moved down to Tampa, FL when I was in elementary school. I rap and produce right now, but Iâm getting into school to become an engineer and get into management. Iâm trying to be that one man band man. I hate having to rely on other people. Iâm big on having control especially on my own projects. I want to be able to do everything.
24: Before we get into your music, can you describe your history about how you got into it and what inspired you?
Jeremiah: I started writing when I was in high school. Mostly just punch lines, 1 or 2 bars. A lot of my classmates use to go back and forth with their lines and I eventually started joining in. It just felt natural. It was easy for me to think of a nice metaphor or slick wordplay. I use to listen to a lot of rap but when I started writing more the one rapper that stood out for me was Jay-Z. Living in Tampa not a lot of people listened or even liked Jay but for me the âdouble entendreâ you know that meaning inside a meaning just always captured my attention. So as far as my writing style I looked toward him a lot and even Joe Budden, who was slept on for a long time but is finally get that respect he deserves. Coming from New York I think I gravitated more towards the NY, east coast rappers rather than the southern rap but you can definitely hear its influence in my music. I think it helped me out more in the end because now I have a good ear for both sounds and with the industry slowing blending all rap together to where you can get a Jadakiss and a Lil Wayne track, and them having a good working relationship, I am right on pace to get in and not be labeled like âOh, heâs an east coast rapperâ.
24: What was the Hip-Hop scene like for you growing up where youâre from?
Jeremiah: Local artist were huge here. Everybody had their own big named artists they liked but throw some Tampa Tony on and everybody would go crazy. Even now the local artists still get a lot of love.
24: What makes you Unique as an artist and different from other rappers out now?
Jeremiah: Iâm just me. I donât try to be more than I am. I donât act like Iâm something Iâm not. I canât give you a list of things that makes me unique or different but my work ethic is that of a professional. I live in the studio, literally. I have it set up in my room so whenever I feel it I put it down. Itâs not just the want of money, fame, and everything that that stuff brings. This is my passion. If I didnât make one cent off of music I would still write and record because thatâs my release. The one place I can go, my sanctuary, is the studio.
24: Tell us about what you are working on.
Jeremiah: I just got done putting out my first official mixtape, More Than A Dream. Right now Iâm just working on getting that out to the people, make a name for myself, start a buzz. Iâm very focused and driven when I have something on my plate and right now, this mixtape is my current project.
24: What producers have you worked with and who would you like to work with in the future?
Jeremiah: Myself of course. I found this guy out in St. Pete that goes by Trigga Mike, his track didnât make this mixtape because of technical issues on my end but believe when that track hits the airwaves itâs going to be big. Also Iâm working with KloudNine. They have a great sounds and incredible range as far as beats go. They did Go Crazy and No Regrets on my mixtape. One person I would love to get in the studio with is Kanye. Just with everything heâs done I would love to get in the studio with him for a couple days. I wouldnât mind doing a complete album with just his production. And of course the obvious Timbaland, Dre, Just Blaze. As you can see I like those people that basically create their own sound. You know when a Timbo track drops or a Dre track comes on. Even if you never heard it before the drums sound a certain way the melody has a certain sound. You know itâs them even without knowing.
24: Are you happy with the feedback you have been getting from people on material you have released?
Jeremiah: I am. Granted I havenât gotten it to huge audience yet. Iâve gotten a lot of positive feedback and even some constructive criticism. Iâm not one of those people that run from the negative comments, I actually look forward to it. Youâre not going to please everybody and if you let every single comment get to you than putting yourself up on stage in front of a group of people isnât something you should be doing. I have a line on a track called âHatersâ that says âwords can only go so deep so please try again and this time put more emphasis on how wack I amâ. I know itâs going to come and my skin is tough enough to deal with it. Iâm just happy they took the time out to listen.
24: In todayâs free download age, what do you need to do to make yourself a household name?
Jeremiah: Just keep releasing material. The more material you have for people to find the more people will find it, and you canât get caught up on your music leaking. I say for an artist that isnât signed or at least doing shows off their music they shouldnât worry about selling it until they have a fan base to sell it to. You could lose a couple fans like that because a lot of people arenât in the position where they canât spend money on music or they just donât want to spend $5-$10 on a mixtape from some guy they donât know and probably wonât like. And I understand the artistsâ side because we spend a lot of money making it between paying producers, studio time, distributing it, and you want to see something in return for all work or itâll start to feel like youâre throwing money away. You just have to think, the more work you put in in the beginning the more youâll receive on the back end but if youâre trying to get too much up front youâre actually losing it in the end.
24: How do you feel about the current state of the Hip-Hop scene?
Jeremiah: I think for hip hop itself its great! People will say its dead or theyâre killing it with all the dancing and pop songs that are coming up now. I just say itâs evolving. Nothing stays the same forever. Every 5-7 years a new generation is basically controlling what you hear on the radio. If that wasnât the case all the songs out now would sound like Rappers Delight and theyâre would be 20 different types of hip hop like there is with rock. And maybe some people want that but thatâs when you have the personal choice to go listen to whatever you want. Why bring down something else because itâs not what YOU want or like. Let artist do what artist do, and thatâs create because the second It stops changing and everything stays the same is when it really dies.
24: Outside of the music what else are you currently working on?
Jeremiah: Not a thing! I feel like you stretch yourself thin when you focus on too many different things at once. Sometimes itâs good to have a bunch of projects that youâre working on but when youâre at my level and not the top of your game I think itâs better to focus all your energy on one specific thing until youâre in a position where branching out isnât going to hinder your growth in whatever craft your pursuing.
24: Where do you see yourself going in 2012 and how do you plan to separate yourself from the other artist out today to get the recognition you feel you deserve?
Jeremiah: I try not to set to many deadlines for myself because in the end itâs only going to hurt my morale if I canât meet them. I set small weekly to monthly goals so again Iâm not putting too much on my mind and Iâm able to put more thought and effort into it rather than shooting for a goal thatâs far off while skipping the little steps thatâll still help me get there. And as far as setting myself apart from other artist Iâll let my music do that for me. All I can do is have the confidence that itâs good enough to stand apart from theirs and work on networking and getting it out there to have the people decide if this is what they want or not. I donât believe in gimmicks unless youâre looking for that quick cash. I want the type of music that can stand the test of time. 20-30 years from now you can throw in a Jeremiah Shox cd and it still is relevant. And I believe that thatâs the type of mindset that going to separate me from them. I want to be the best and I refuse to settle for anything less.
24: How can fans go about contacting you?
Jeremiah: Twitter is probably the best way @Jeremiahshox I also have a Facebook page facebook.com/jeremiahshox Iâm still entry level so I respond to everything. Donât hesitate to write me. Love… Hate… Boredom… Whatever the reason lol
24: Thank you for providing 24HourHipHop.com with this exclusive interview, do you have any last words for your present and future fans?
Jeremiah: Listen and Support!
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