Jupiter 7

"With so many of today’s emcees trying to be media innovators, branders, and marketing gurus, Jupiter 7 keeps it basic
and keeps it real (pre-self-consciously-commercialized) hip-hop."

Read the full review at:
http://beyondrace.com/reviews/music%20reviews/978-jupiter-7-on-sonicbids




- Beyond Race Magazine

"Online music lovers like myself must quickly evaluate music to discover good music efficiently. A while back, I came across an independant artist named Jupiter 7. Something caught my attention. He could write rhymes, ride the beat and has something to say. Since then I caught a show and got the new CD "Identify." Hear what I mean at www.myspace.com/jupiter7 . If it catches your attention, catch a show, get a CD, then help spread the word."
- Benjamin Saffold (U-Zone Magazine - pg. 38) - U-ZONE Magazine

"Slow Down" received an honorable mention for being among the top 500 of the 16th annual Billboard World Song Contest. Only the highest quality songs make it to the top. This honor demonstrates the talent and dedication it takes to write a "hit song." - Billboard World Song Contest

7 Questions with Jupiter7
Written by Josh
Tuesday, 23 September 2008

Jupiter7 and crew tour hard. You'll find them in dozens of spots throughout the year on the "War Tour". Check for more from J7 at Myspace .

What would be the best question I could ask you in this interview?
When are you going to send in your project so I can post a phat review on it and sell it on sphere?

What motivated you to get into music?
When I was in high school, a couple of friends asked me to rap in a talent show. I guess one of the original members dropped out and they were looking for a quick fill. I've always been a fan of hip-hop and I think that's what persuaded them to ask me. We ended up rocking the show and that kind of influenced me to do music. It was definitely the beginning of my rap career.

What kind of messages are you sending to the youth of the world?
To find their identity. Stop falling for the tricks and fads that the world is throwing at them. Life has meaning to it. Its not a big fashion show, or how to be the toughest.... its how to be themselves and knowing who defines that.

Tell me about the concept(s) behind your current project?
My current project out right now is called "The 2nd Story Experiment EP." It's an introduction to my new album coming out early next year called "Rocksteady." Basically, the concept behind the projects is to pay tribute to the hip-hop culture by bringing it back to when it really had something to say. I want to be honest with everything I say, and stress the importance of being responsible with what I rap about and how I live. Another concept is to focus on the people who actually listen to hip-hop. Giving them something quality to hear, as well as challenging them in how they live. That pretty much sums it up as of right now.

Who needs to come out of retirement and do some more music?
Wow! You know, that all depends if these particular artists would stay true to their originality and message. With that aside I would have to say Tribe Called Quest, Bush Babees, Boogie Monsters, The Nonce, old school Souls of Mischief, and maybe a revamped 4th Ave Jones.

Name the most awkward moment you've experienced as a hip-hop artist.
I was doing a live show in a Starbucks with my 4 piece band, and we were doing one of my new songs on the EP. I completely forgot my verses to the song so I had my band keep playing the beat. I walked off the stage and went to my car to play the track so I could hear the first lines of the first and second verses. Then I got back on stage and started to do the song like nothing ever happened. My band was looking at me like, "you're an idiot." I think the crowd thought it was part of the show because they cheered us on anyways. The band is on point so they kept the crowd capitivated. It was pretty awkward and funny at the same time.

What's your favorite type of music besides hip-hop?
I love jazz and alternative rock. But anytime you put some Sinatra on, its like I'm in another world. - Sphere of Hip-Hop

written by Carter Theis

As a fan of “real” hip hop, I should be flogged in front of the whole crew for not reviewing this album sooner. But as some of you may know, I’m in charge of all the videos for Enoch so my time is quite limited. Be that as it may, I’ve had the gem in my itunes for 2 months now, and literally each song on this album is phenomenal. Rocksteady by Jupiter 7 is everything someone like me is looking for in a Hip hop record.

Released in ‘09, this album comes from the San Francisco, Bay area. The beats are solid. They incorporate all the fundamentals that made hip hop not just a sound but a culture: Horns, heavy brass accompaniments, full drum samples w tone, funky bass riffs, vintage keyboards, classic breakbeats and yes, even harps. A lot of hip hop today ends up sounding like a beat that someone “emcees” over, but this album is different. Rocksteady’s beats and the rhymes equally respect each other, working to back up the lyrical flow. Nothing lags on the album and more importantly, nothing is rushed.

The track “Dedicated” is one of my favorites. It sounds like a heavy Beastie Boy beat mixed with a powerful Pharoahe Monch style brass melody. “Cops and Robbers” is another song that immediately caught my attention. It’s heavy bass line and hard crashing cymbals, aligns beautifully with it’s anthem-style chorus. “Move,” which is the video I’ve included below, is a faster, b-boy style joint. “Jive Talk” is the song that has the Harp samples in it, but it soon drops in with a breakbeat / raspy flute combo. Although completely different, this song is just as good and reminds me of Beastie Boy’s famous track “Flute Loop.” In “Get Down,” J7 overlays bossa nova, with a heavy rock drum beat. Then a amplified fuzz bass guitar and a backup woman’s vocal kicks in during the anthem chorus. Rocksteady reminds me of Dj Hurricane and what he was doing back in the day with all the best Beastie Boy albums.

This record pays careful attention to production, rendering each song to have a fully finished sound. In my opinion,this is something that doesn’t even happen with today’s so-called hip hop majors. However, due to my schedule and that fact that I only got a digital copy of this album emailed to me, I don’t know much about the artist Jupiter 7. According to mutual friends in Oakland, J7 is a Christian. His lyrics are smart and entertaining. He’ll gives props to the Creator(which I always love if it’s dont well), but no matter what topic he covers,his words deliver the voice of hip hop’s true culture. There’s even a track that scratches an old Bible story record in the “DJ Interlude” track. This is an album by a hip hop artist who loves God, not an album by an artist that loves God through hip hop….understand the difference? Jupiter’s actual voice sounds like a mix between Mos def House of Pain’s Everlast, which, how could I not love? I also enjoy his tendency to vary his vocal tone as he rhymes. The rhythmic dictation of J7’s flow also reminds me of Nas and Rakim. I feel like I can’t end this review properly unless I talk about each song in depth, but I gotta go to bed.

Official Link Here:
http://www.enochmagazine.com/articles/cd-review/jupiter-7-rocksteady - Enoch Magazine

"...The track is hard hitting and edgy ... captures the energy, emotion and intensity also." - Taxi

It's not often that I get to review west coast rap, but this one album
that I'm glad I had the opportunity to review. Jupiter 7 (J7) is an
emcee hailing from the Bay Area. On his debut effort "Identify," J7
seeks to push the limits of hip-hop with his energetic and socially
conscious flow. Rapping over soulful boom-bap sounds, he introduces
himself to the world and makes the block aware of its need for change
and to find something new to identify itself with (Jesus Christ). I
really dig J7's distinct flow, as it easily sets him apart from other
emcees and there wasn't a track on this album that I wasn't feeling.
There is a message in each song that is relevant for the streets and the
churched, as J7 pours out his heart in his flows. Overall, this is a
notable debut effort from a rock solid emcee. I definitely recommend
picking up this album and anything else that he has to drop.

LaRosa - Sphere of Hip-Hop