BigJohn863
John Anthony Ziegler ( born April 17, 1984) better known by his stage name BigJohn, is an American hip hop recording artist. He is the founder of BigJohn Entertainment. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Ziegler was a Air Conditioning service technician in 2002 through 2010 before he became a rapper. After moving to Waverly, Florida, he founded BigJohn Entertainment with his brother. Signed to Big Gates Records, from 2012 to 2018 he released three albums. BigJohn debuted in 2012 with We Goin Live with successful singles We Goin Live and Just Bought A 45. BigJohn released three albums from 2010 to 2013, Livin Dat Life, Da Street Effects and We Goin Live.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
Career beginnings
In the early 2000s , BigJohn and his brother Allen Michael Orilley, also known as Big Al, established an independent record label, BigJohn Entertainment. Although BigJohn initially refused to sign to a Record Label, two years after releasing his album Livin Dat Life, BigJohn was offered and accepted a Recording Contract with Plies label Big Gates Records. After signing to Big Gates Records in 2012, BigJohn released several mixtapes.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
Yes, I have performed a countless number of times in the state of florida.
Your musical influences
My influences in the music industry has always been Plies.
What equipment do you use?
Pro Tools
Anything else?
Music career
2010: Livin Dat Life
Livin Dat Life was released in May 2010. His debut single Life In The Hood topped the indie Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart and peaked at number 10 on the hot 100. BigJohn was featured on Swizzyland in 2011.
2012: Da Street Effects
Da Street Effects, his second album, was released in Sept 2012. His debut single The Streets Is All I Know topped the Rap Charts and ultimately landed him a deal with Big Gates Records.
2013: We Goin Live
We Goin Live, his third album, was released in February 2013. His debut single We Goin Live set off a record number of views on Youtube reaching over 100,000 people.
