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What's going on world? It's your man Chuck Creek, AKA Jigsaw. All hip-hop's in the building
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We in Philly. Unexpectedly in Philly, out of position a little bit. But shout out to
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my man right here, AJ McQueen. What's good with you, family? Glad to be here. Yes, sir
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So for y'all that don't know, AJ McQueen is doing this thing out here representing some..
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I don't even want to say what you represent, because I know what you represent, but I don't want to say what you represent. And we've been building for a minute. So let's talk
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a little bit. First of all, how you been? I've been great. Honestly, last year was the worst, best year of my life. It's easy to
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get on here to say I've been great and leave it at that. But no, I've been great because
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of, you know, sometimes you got to deconstruct and reconstruct. But I've been great. I've
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been supreme. I feel healthy. My mental health is clear. I feel like that's the proper answer
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That's why I'm working on answering these days when people ask me that, being more present
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with my answer. So I feel great because of a lot of other things
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So I met you in Houston and that was a great experience, seeing you not only in the earlier
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beginnings of what you would eventually become, but also to see how you dealt with almost
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a situation that was not optimal. And we were in the scorching heat. And I don't know if
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Houston was ready for you. Was I off base or what would you say
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Oh man, I'm not going to say you're off base. I don't think you was off base. I think that
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I've always, I refer back to my mother and my dad when I was younger, just being told
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that I've always been before my time. I mean, a lot of us heard it, but until you see those
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things starting to manifest, I think musically, creatively, I would definitely say that I've
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just always been before my time. But then being in a city like Houston, a city that's
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really moving at their own pace, but I always saw the vision and through the grace of God
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I definitely knew that I would be where I'm at now, for sure. And I say that in the most
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not cocky way, but I definitely, I call it God for this. You know what I mean? A God-fident
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way, I knew I would be here and I'm still growing too, for sure
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Yeah, definitely. So you're on tour now? Yeah, so the tour starts June, June 2nd. I'm actually on a press run right now. And I appreciate
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you making time as well. I'm on a press run just promoting the tour, my new album, Sorry
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My I Was Distracted. That's my first album that I ever dropped. We dropped in January
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and it's been amazing. It's been amazing. It's been healing, you know what I'm saying
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for a lot of people, fulfilling. It was my first time I ever told my story, my origin
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story through the music. And I mean, it's been beautiful and I'm about to take it on
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the road in January. You know how I know you're doing your thing? One of my homeboys from Delaware sent me your
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music. We always exchange music. We didn't talk about you, nothing. He just sent me several
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songs and I was like, I just shot him back some pictures. Yeah, I know this guy
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And like I say, for artists like myself, independent artists, artists that's going against the
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grain and want to move at their own pace, people like yourself, that's going to give
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you a flower because that affirmation along the way means a lot to us. For people that
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we respect, you know what I mean? Like in this field, you've been in this space for years, definitely a staple of hip hop. So the affirmation years ago is the seed, you
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know what I'm saying, that's planted to where I'm at now. Now I'm able to tour the country
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under my own brand, you know, God Body Energy. I'm able to put my people in position, release
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the music I want, go to the spaces I want, and create strategic partnerships through
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it all. So I appreciate that. Shout out to your homie too that sent you the music
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Yeah, man. I ain't gonna say his name because he owes me something. It's a personal joke
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but yeah, nah, nah, but he's a good dude. And the vibration, you know, how have you felt
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the people receiving your music? Because that's the way I look at it is it's a vibration
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and it doesn't really matter where you are or even, you know, this guy's a professional guy
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He's not a music guy. He's an engineer actually. And it hit him as well
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Yeah. I think, I mean, it's beautiful because I make soul music. You know what I mean? Like
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I had somebody ask me that recently, like, how would you categorize music? And I was like
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well, you know, I wouldn't necessarily categorize it at all. I mean, it's for the listener
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you know, have it resonate with your spirit. But what's been the words of choice that people
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been using is soul, you know, soul hip hop. I had somebody tell me the other day, they was like
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you would have been one of the soul Koreans. It's beautiful because I'm in the hip hop space. I'm
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definitely MC. I'm intentional with my lyrics, intentional with my words. But I also believe that
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there's a godness with the music because I'm able to speak about my life and people able to see
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themselves in it. You know, from my songs about mental health, my songs about black love, my
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songs about navigating the streets and evolving. And that's really what my music represents
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evolution. I feel like anybody, no matter the age, the race, the creed, you know, none of that
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evolution and growing like hits us all. You know what I mean? And that's the space that I live in
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When you talk about growing, you know, we've recently celebrated hip hop's 50th anniversary
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There's been a lot of celebration, but we haven't talked enough about, to me at least
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enough about the underbelly, the other stuff. You mentioned a bunch of things just now
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including mental health, which is near and dear to me. Where would you say we are right now
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I think hip hop is in a unique space, like you say, hidden 50 years, and it's forced to
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look at itself now. I feel like we are definitely in a reflective space. I think that the origin of
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hip hop is, what I think is beautiful, is being able to reflect on the 50 and remind people that
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hey, R.O.G. is still here. A lot of them are still here. You know what I mean? And so then
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in a reflective space, we have to look at, okay, where we're going. And honestly, I think it's a
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beautiful space nonetheless, because we're thinking differently now. I think, and no
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disrespect to no other artists, but I think that people are tired of whatever the last
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five years, ten years has been, to the point where it's like, okay, I'm tired of getting
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shot in every song. I'm tired of this and every song. I'm tired of that. Give me something more
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And I feel like hip hop is in a space to where, when you look at the body of it holistically
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there's open spaces for artists like myself and a lot of other artists that speak the same energy I
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have to create something and give hip hop a different energy. And I love that because it's
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not closed off. You know what I mean? Anybody can make it in this space. I believe if you're coming
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from an authentic space, it's going to last. And I said this the other day, I want when people
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find my music a thousand years from now in a capsule, you know what I mean? Like, let's say
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the world is whatever it is, you find my music in a capsule and it made it through whatever
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and you play the songs. I want people to feel something and then to think about whatever the
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times that I wrote it in, but it reflects the times they in. So I love hip hop for that. And
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that's why I've done everything else. I've been an activist, motivational speaker, I'm an author
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I've been all that. But since then, you know what I'm saying, brought myself to a space of like
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okay, I'm putting a hundred percent in this music, you know what I mean? Because that's my vehicle to
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be able to do all the other things, you know, speak to those that can't speak for themselves
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and help liberate our people. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Um, have you clicked up with anybody? I mean
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you know, like when I think about the vibration, I think about other artists as well. Have you
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gotten any bonds with anyone? Like in the last year, I've been, I received cosigns from
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Yurka Badu, you know what I'm saying, Talib, Indi Irene, man, Ghostface, you know what I'm saying
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Like, I mean, these people have, you know, DM'd me personally, reposted my music, said, hey
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you know, so on that scale all the way down to, I just did a song, you're the first person I'm
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singing with, but I'm about to do the deluxe on my album and I got a joint with D Smoke
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you know what I'm saying? D Smoke, that's my man. We got something on the way for sure
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I love D Smoke. Yeah. Like I say, it's, my music is soul, so what I love about it is I'm able to
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build, I can go from a D Smoke to a Lauryn Hill, you know what I'm saying, down to a Damian Marley
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up to a Anita Bate, like, bro, I'm in hip hop that way, but I can also rap with anybody else
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you know what I mean? So, but the D Smoke joint is definitely on the deluxe. I got some, a few
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surprises that I won't give out until it's clear, you know what I'm saying? Okay, okay. Well, I ain't
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gonna hold you, because I definitely want to wait till you get to the studio to do a full-blown
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interview, but tell people about the tour and all the things about it so that we can properly promote
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it. Gotcha, yeah. June 2nd, tour started in Houston at House of Blues, and then it goes from June 2nd
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to June 16th in LA. Okay. Like I said, I'll be at S.O.B.'s June 12th. Okay. My album, Sorry
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Mom, I Was Distracted, this is the tour, it's called Sorry, Mom, I Was on Tour, and the sorry
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part comes from, as I reflect on my life, it's an apology to my mother, you know what I mean
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for the distractions of that, but also in St. Louis, we use mom as like a moniker, nickname for
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our relationship, so the album, the tour, it's an apology to just my inner child, to women, to
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anybody, you know what I'm saying, just reflecting on that, and so we're taking it on tour, the tour's
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gonna be special with my background singers, my band, like I'm a performer, so the band
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everything gonna be there, you know what I'm saying, you're gonna hear the music, you're gonna feel the vibrations, and I truly believe that people that come to my show, you're not gonna leave the same
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way, I'm not saying that on some like, I really mean that, because I think the energy is gonna
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it's gonna be reflective, it's gonna be powerful, it's gonna be life-changing. Yeah, you coming to Philly
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Actually, last night, I had a promoter that, you know, that I met with, and he was like
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listen, I don't know what you gotta do to bring that tour to Philly, but you should, so we'll talk on that
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Okay, that's what's up, man, respect, salute, blessings
