D Jones
Hip Hop without the need to spit the same useless bullsh!t you hear every day!
13
songs
4.0K
plays
My So Called Life f/ G and Midknight My So Called Life f/ G and Midknight
Real shit about this so called life I'm livin
Show all (13)
D Jones is about lyrics! D Jones don't care about ice, necklaces, hoes, cars, gats, rocks, colors, shoes, jerseys, dick size, or none of that shit. What you really tryin to say???Band/artist history
The long version....
Derrick Jones was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1977 (South Side). All he did was listen to music and write stories. Every day - all day. In elementary school, D Jones would write short stories and poems and make them into small books for classmates and teachers to read. Growing up he and his brother would often spend hours in front of the TV watching videos and trying to imitate their dance moves. Eventually, the brothers and a cousin decided writing might be fun. This was 1989 and the group they formed was called ABC. Imaging their disdain when a mainstream kid group by the same name came out shortly thereafter...
The elder ABC (which wasn't an acronym, merely a letter for each rapper) used to rhyme into an old tape deck about the simplest of things known to kids - not much depth when your ages range from 9-12. Soon, as kids often do, they got bored with rapping and they went back to playing football.
D Jones was still a writer. He always had some thoughts, stories, little rhymes in his notebooks at school. While doing community theatre, D made friendships with other kids who liked doing music and, for a while, he found new life rhyming again, this time over original beats and instruments. Still more for fun than profit, D Jones and friends got caught up in the other aspects of growing up and put the music to the back of the line.
In high school, D was focused on writing scripts, poems and doing plays, speech and debate. While the big kids were freestyling at recess, D was always listening, but never said a word. The truth was that D was never too popular. He never had the girls or the clothes. He never gave in to the pressures of young black males having to risk their lives for some fantasy. He was truly afraid that if he even stepped into the cypha' the guys would just boo him off rip. D Jones lacked the courage at the time...
With his accomplishments on the stage in the area of public speaking, D gained his respect in other ways. He never had been source of material wealth, but when it came to expression, ideas, advice, problem solving and analyzing, D Jones was the richest around....
Entering college in 1995, D was still in love with the music, but he was saddened at the state of hip-hop. Maybe it was growing up listening to rap completely make a gangsta u turn and head in a crazy direction. It was all about money now, fast cars and fake girls and never having any or that in the first place, D Jones was not impressed. He continued to write poetry and speak. He even wrote opinion columns for the school paper on diversity and social issues.
It was the summer of 1998 that tables did turn...
D Jones wanted to say something different on the microphone and this time he wanted to be heard. Through friendships made earlier in the year, D hooked up with a crew called the L.U. Dynasty. This crew consisted of a few groups in the past (Colorful, Mental Block, Secret Society...) but the story was that egos and infighting caused them to go their own ways. Around the time D Jones got involved, Colorful and Secret Society were talking about reviving LU. D spit some rhymes for them and was immediately accepted into the fold. Chamberlon from Secret Society was the resident producer and the pair got to work banging out tracks for D to perform. At the time, the guys would do little campus events, picnics and even the smallest of local bars now and again. The audiences were not too large, but it was for the love of the music.
Through time, one of D's "friends" in the Dynasty was involved in shady activity. He'd set up shows and never mention the fact that money was involved. He'd try to upstage D at his own shows. D Jones was like, "fuck that dude."
The Dynasty was really over before it began, but a majority of the guys stayed cool, still repped LU and played shows in different combinations.
While frustrated over distrust in the "family" D Jones hooked up with three of his best friends to this day: Marcus "Sstres" Harrison, Mitchell "Sandman" Arnwine and Jeff "Jack Frost" Mahoney. The four were equally frustrated about things going on locally and decided to hook up and create something new. Enter the Brothers G.R.Im....
G.R.Im. stood for Getting Rid of Imitation because there was a lot of fake activity going on locally and in the industry. The group did their first show in December of 1998 on a small assed stage with the worst sound system, but it was for the love of the music. Here were four hustlers. They bonded through the common outlook they had on life and the mentality that something can always be made out of nothing.
Small time hustling, money from the job, financial aid all went into getting some equipment to make more music. In the meantime, it was freestyling into the stereo and making songs off instrumentals. Finally, D Jones was able to purchase some simple studio equipment. The group had since changed their name to Common Ground and immediately began working on the album "Situations" CG learned everything from experience and recorded a truly underground album (mostly made in D Jones's basement). They pretty much gave it out or sold it at a small fee and continued to do shows locally. Soon, some bars because "too small" for a quality show and the boys had to pay dues. Common Ground was the only group in a crew entitled G.R.Im. Fam and was looking to expand. They hooked up with Black Swamp Coalition, another local group made up of the most unique and honorable of people. This marriage would last forever...
After Situations, D Jones didnt want to rest. He still had songs to write, beats to make, stuff to record. He hooked back up with Chamberlon and decided to do a solo album. Kamikaze was D Jones trying to crash head first into this thing called hip-hop. Chamberlon produced or co-produced much of the effort with D Jones making up the rest. Like Situations, Kamikaze was mostly given away to people because D was more interested in making the music than making the money. Common Ground and Black Swamp did many shows together with other groups (Fam affiliates) like Star Afrique (not officially crew but close enough to it). It wasn't until early 2002 that CG finished their second album "Good Times". This album, mostly produced by Sstres and Jack Frost, showed true growth in every area for Common Ground. Shows were larger, people were complimenting. The guys were happy, but hungry for more. Could there really be a spot in the industry for the four? Almost at the same time, D Jones was continuously working on "Inconceivable," his second solo album.
Growing up has its setbacks. Common Ground was all graduated from college by 2001 and had to think about the real world in case this music thing didnt work out. D Jones moved to start his career in higher education administration. Jack Frost moved back home to Columbus and Sandman and Sstres remained in Bowling Green. Common Ground seemed to be dying due to life. They did their last performance July 5, 2002. Though the foursome remain Common Ground/G.R.Im. Fam, theyve realistically come to grips with the idea that in the foreseeable future, CG may have done its last show. Family is forever.
D Jones has kept it moving doing as many tracks and collab efforts as possible. Most recently he represented Common Ground and G.R.Im. Fam alongside some of Black Swamp Coalition as part of the opening act for a Ludacris concert in Bowling Green, October 5, 2002. The opening act, local hip hop group Kinetic Arkitekts asked D Jones and members of the Swamp to collab on a few tracks to showcase the diversity of the local scene. Though excited at the opportunity, D and Swamp representatives were also disheartened by the fact that they were only portions of their groups and this chance at a show this large wasnt something that all of our respective camps would experience. Its odd when youre living a piece of your dream and you look over and you dont see the guys who were dreaming it with you.
Currently D Jones is a workingman. A professional who still loves hip hop and is working now, harder than ever, to complete Inconceivable and finally put forth the effort to work at being heard and respected beyond his local roots. D believes in paying dues and being taken seriously in this game. D Jones is Getting Rid of Imitation.Have you performed in front of an audience?I'm from Youngstown, Ohio. I moved to northwest Ohio to go to school and we (Common Ground/G.R.Im. Fam) did a lot of shows there. I guess the biggest show was opening up for a Ludacris concert in Bowling Green 10/5/02.....
Your musical influences
I love and own all types of music. Headbanger HEAVY heavy metal is not my thing and I dont own or hardly listen to country. But I dont hate. Music is universal to me.Anything else?
G & D Jones
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/5/ganddjonesmusic.htm
STRUGGLE SACRIFICE & SURVIVAL - The NEW Album
Yongstown, OH
USA
ID
24481
Contact
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Comments (44)
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I pay also for Beatz, Peace!
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Holla
Young Silk & Fam
Check out da page, listen, and download. Drop a couple lines on the page if you like it or not.
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