Tha Real J One

J-One
Remember the kid back in middle and high school that nobody could touch on the mic? You could be beating on the table in the lunchroom, smoking cigarettes in the boys’ bathroom or at the back of homeroom, but you could always find this young, bloodthirsty wordsmith in the middle of a circle styling on rappers. It didn’t matter when or where you wanted to battle. He stayed combat ready like a disciplined Marine.That young kid grew up to become Atlanta-based up-and-coming talent J-One. To this day, he is still putting other rappers to shame. He is set to show the world the same microphone magic that his own region has know for years with his as-yet-untitled Mastermind Music album set to be released early 2008. And he is prepping his worldwide takeover with the blistering lead single “Yesterday."“I just really want to give the people what they ask for. Everywhere I go, people are asking me when I’m coming out,” says J-One. “If I could get a group of people in one room to like my music, I can get the world to like it.”Known to the selective service as Jermorris Watkins, the eager 19-year-old is originally from Athens, some 70 miles from Atlanta. He first came to Atlanta with his parents back when he was only a toddler. When his mom and dad broke up, however, pops went back home to Athens while young Jermorris stayed in Decatur with his mother. Over the next few years, he would often travel back and fourth- spending weekends and summers with his dad.But by high school, he was back up in Athens with his father full time. It was during this time that J realized his real talent for rapping. Brand new to the school, he made friends by battling other rappers in a cipher and naturally ate them up one by one everyday.“We’d have battles every morning, and the winner had to come back the next morning and battle somebody else who wanted to take it,” says J. “That’s how I got known around school. Before I knew it, I got real big in my high school.”So he joined up with five other rappers at the school who happened to have recording equipment. Together, they made up the group Bad Intentions and released several homemade CDs around Athens and surrounding small towns. But on every song, J stood out from the pack.“I’m a young, energized cat. They felt like I tried to stand out from them, but I was just being myself,” J testifies. “I just wasn’t the type of rapper to be in a group. I am a group myself.”After leaving the group, he started putting out his own CDs and quickly made a name for himself. “I used to hear little kids around town rapping my music. That inspired me,” he says.Last year, his music landed on the ears of independent label owner Chino Dollar, who quickly signed J to his Masterminds Music imprint after picking up one of J’s solo discs. And J-One found himself in the studio recording music with the likes of platinum artists Yung Joc and producer Nitty.“If Dollar sees talent in you, he’s gone put his money in you. And coming from where we from, not too many people will do that,” says J-One.On the album are steamy cuts like the baler fest “New Money” featuring Yung Joc and the life lesson “Ain’t Real.”“You’ll hear me talk about cars, money, drugs, my ups and downs and things I regret. They say your first impression could be your last. I gotta make a good first impression,” says J. “I care about what’s going on with people around me. People are quick to judge you on what they see. It’s hard to look beyond that.” But you don’t have to look hard to see J-One’s flawless talents.