Japiro
Piromania/5th Symphony Records Presents: Japiro
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
James Nealy (Japiro) is a member of the supergroup M.E.P and brings name recognition to the group as well as rousing lyrics, and top notch production. Japiro earned his Bachelors of Science in Telecommunications from Morgan State University in 2004.
James is one of the elite members of the 92Q (WERQ 92.3FM) cipher line Hall of Fame. Japiro gained this distinction by defeating all challengers in live, on-radio competition for a four-week period, and he defeated challengers at the One Mic battle competition at the Heritage Nightclub in Baltimore (3-2-02).
James also helps with production & gathering a public awareness through advertising and marketing strategies.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
Of course, mostly in Baltimore, D.C. & Philly.I love performing in front of an audience. It shows the crowd how much energy I have. I also enjoy hearing the tracks I produce over the sound system. The 50 MC battle at the Heritage is one of my most memorable moments. I battled Skarr Akbar who is one of the most known artists in Baltimore. We're cool, we battled years before the show and we've recorded songs together. We do it for fun and for the love. Things got a bit out of hand for the audience, but I got good publicity through spins on the radio and a guest spot on 92Q's Rap Attack.
Your musical influences
My musical influence stems from Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg. My favorite producers are Kanye West, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Scott Storch & Timbaland. My music is soulful with a classical touch. I write, produce, and engineer all of my music.
What equipment do you use?
The ASR, MPC 2000, and Triton.
Anything else?
Consistency means everything to me.
