The Southpaw Outlaw

Kentucky, a Southern state with Midwest influences, is typically considered the home of Bluegrass music not Hip-Hop. Not before or even after the coalition of six Western Kentucky students who went on to form the platinum selling rap group Nappy Roots in 1995, have Kentucky rappers been heard in a major way. But there is an emcee whose versatile flow coupled with an intense work ethic, has been hitting the clubs and the airwaves in an impressive fashion. Thereby showing promise for a current and national Kentucky Hip-Hop uprising.

He goes by the name of Jeff Johnson. And huge MySpace following, 6 mixtapes to his credit and hundreds of songs in his catalogue, this Southpaw Outlaw is scheduled to release his highly anticipated self-titled debut album soon. Backed by the hit single "Swag" and "Do It Big," this FSH Records recording artist is here to stay and won’t be satisfied until we all understand why Jeff Johnson should be the name we all know.

AllHipHop.com:
I’m gonna ask you the most apparent question first, a question that must get posed to you a lot. But how did a white man from Kentucky break into the Hip-Hop game and start rhyming?

Jeff Johnson: I got introduced to Hip-Hop in California. In my little town (Paducah, Kentucky) hip hop is extremely relevant but it was very relevant in California. My cousin used to pick me up, jamming that Kriss Kross, the old stuff, Flava Flav and Chuck D. We had a bass cassette. Thats how I got introduced to Rap. As far as just starting to do my own rhymes, its just something that kind of happened. I was young, we just kind of messed around with it and kept it going. 

AllHipHop.com: Do you feel any pressure or have you felt any pressure with being a “White emcee”?

Jeff Johnson: No pressure on that. And I also do not feel any pressure from my region but I feel prideful about my region and I want to be that cat that shines out of my region more than any racial type of thing.

AllHipHop.com: But do you think its harder for Hip-Hop heads to kind of buy into the concept of the white rapper? Even though we’ve had Enemim and Paul Wall, do you still think it’s harder?

Jeff Johnson: Naw, because they hear the music. But I think initially yes. I think initially, not because its hard to buy into it, but because they are interested in what is going on here. Even though it may have hindered me, as far as timely getting into the game, its Ok because its gotten me more seasoned.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve mentioned California being the place where you got inspired and got put on to Hip-Hop, but how would you describe the Kentucky rap Scene?

Jeff Johnson:  It’s a lot of cats that are doing the thing. There are a lot of cats that are getting more lyrical, developing their hooks, developing their beats. I mean there’s a whole lot going on in Kentucky. I think it’s a really good thing. The reason I like the region is because we are influenced by everywhere. Louisville is absolutely the biggest city so they’re hearing Cincinnati's music, Chicago’s music. Obviously there’s a big connection between Louisville and Atlanta. I definitely like the sound that Kentucky’s got and I like the sound that I got. My sound is different from Louisville's sound though because I’m far from Louisville. Its different for me too because I know like in California like The Spice One’s record Rolling with my m**** scrap to the side of me was a big record out in the West Coast and I love that record but I can’t say that was big in Kentucky. I just gotten the opportunity to pick out everything that I like. It’s not like my region influenced me to what records I like.

AllHipHop.com: Your name is Jeff Johnson. You’re mySpace profile says Jeff Johnson. Your mixtape Discography credits says Jeff Johnson. Why did you make the decision to use your full name as oppose to a stage name?

Jeff Johnson: I just have to thank my Mom for giving me the best name in the world, that’s ever been created. It’s just so easy getting people saying that. I just introduce myself, they just love saying it so much that they’ll keep saying it. So I’m like, I’ll say it in my raps, that’s how we’ll market me as an artist, and that’s how we gonna move forward.

AllHipHop.com: In Hip-Hop we honor the hustle AKA hard work. You have over a million hits on MySpace, so please describe for us the Jeff Johnson hustle?

Jeff Johnson: I’ve been rapping since I was 14. My first little CD came out when I was 14. Every year in high school I put out another CD.

AllHipHop.com: Every year, freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior year you put out a CD?

Jeff Johnson: Yes. And these CD’s were fat cases, they were shrink-wrapped. It was me and my partner he sung and I rapped. Its just always been like my life has been go to school and do that (music) or work and just do that. So that’s just always been a part of my life, to where a girlfriend may not or chilling with my boys may not or just smoking, drinking anything, it’s just been whatever I’m doing AND the music. As more time in my life freeze up and I graduate from school and I have more time to grind in the music then that just consumes more and more time of my life.

AllHipHop.com: What is it about the music that makes you do this 24/7 and have this work ethic?

Jeff Johnson:  If you believe in anything, that’s how you gonna be about it I think. I don’t know how passionate you are about AllHipHop.com, but if you feel like the passion I do, you’re not gonna mind if it takes calling me at 4 am. If that’s not what you’re passionate about you’ll probably find it, but I’ve found it now. I can’t describe it in any other way other than I’m passionate about my music. 

AllHipHop.com: I saw your MySpace page and on it there are a whole lot of mixtapes that you’ve been on to the left of the page. Tell me why you chose the mixtape medium as an avenue to showcase your music, particularly with technology changing and people having online options to present their work?

Jeff Johnson: First, all the stuff I was doing prior to the mixtapes were all original beats and there’s nothing I like better than vibing with a producer and making original songs. Thats where I feel alive at. But my homeboys, DJ DCeezy, DJ Slikk, DJ Q, DJ Testarosa, everybody out in Kentucky do mixtapes. Mixtapes are getting more and more relevant, so why not. Now thats really how I’ve ate off of rap and how I’ve gotten on. I contribute a lot of it to getting out there and trying. I still say my forte is doing original records.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve made connections with the Core DJ’s, the largest Coalition of DJ’s in the world. How did that happen and how has it been?

Jeff Johnson: We met Tony Neal in Miami and he saw us perform. He got the record and then he heard the whole project. We began to talk and he just really started co-signing the record. And then we performed at his DJ retreat in New Orleans and that got more and more of the core DJ’s behind the record. Now they’ve really picked it up and ran with it over these last couple of weeks. It’s a real blessing they’ve backed me like they have.

AllHipHop.com: As we transition from the DJ topic, historical the DJ and the emcee was one and their relationship was paramount. Today, how important do you believe the DJ is to Hip-Hop?

Jeff Johnson: I think Hip-Hop dies without the DJ. Real quick.

AllHipHop.com: Let’s talk about the album. Its self-titled right?

Jeff Johnson: Possibly. I’ve been coming up with some names but we will see how that ends up when it gets on the shelf. But possibly, self-titled, yes.

AllHipHop.com: How different is it from what people have been hearing on the mixtapes?

Jeff Johnson: Oh very very different.

AllHipHop.com: How so? What should the people expect?

Jeff Johnson: My mixtapes have generally like 20-30 songs on it. I’ll have 20 run throughs where I’m going 48, 88, 120 bars. I’ll keep going and going then I’ll have the beat drop then I’ll come back and keep saying this wild and crazy stuff. But that’s not my album. My album is structured. My album feels like you’re getting a whole dinner with dessert and all you can drink. It feels like you’re eating good and really filling up. Its been a long time since you felt like that with an album, since All Eyez On Me did it to me. I haven’t felt like that with an album in a real long time. I like the Joe Budden’s Album. It was a couple of albums that really hit me but none for real.  But when mine come out, that’s the feeling you’re gonna get. 

AllHipHop.com: So you’ve also done some work with Kentucky natives, Nappy Roots. Tell us about that.

Jeff Johnson: Well I’ve worked with Big V from Nappy Roots. This is a close nit region. Big V and I just clicked. On January 1 of this year, I was celebrating New Years Eve in Nashville. I went and picked him up and we did the record and it came out called If. It is on the album. Although my sound is different than Nappy Roots, I’m definitely proud of them.

AllHipHop.com: At the end of the day what do you want to be known as or remembered as within Hip-Hop History?

Jeff Johnson: My story (although I’m from a whole different region and have a different background), my story is similar to almost everybody and that’s the fact that I have a zero chance, no body believed in me, and I kept pushing and eventually pushed that thing in. If that’s where I end up, then that’s how I want to be remembered. If this pops for me and I go where I think I’m going, then I literally did an impossibility.        

Jeff Johnson’s Myspace Page is www.myspace.com/thesouthpawoutlaw