KJ-52 – Still In The Game

For a guy like Pete Stewart, that was a unique situation. I had worked with him back in the day and we’d done a ton of stuff together before. He did basically half the album, so anything that was super produced and super outside the norm, Pete was great for that because I could try anything. He is so talented; he played everything from electric guitar to piano to banjo to drum programming. His sonics are phenomenal and he did a lot of the tracks on the first Macklemore record. He’s been around forever. Since there was no set date or time to have it out, we had time for trial and error on everything.

CCM: Do you like having complete creative control?
KJ-52: I am Star-Trek’ing it right now, boldly going where no one has gone! Compared to [being on a label], my workload is twice as heavy, but my passion is a billion times higher. It’s a lot of fun. Here is an example: I am not shooting full music videos because I know that people are probably only going to watch the first minute anyway—even if you like the song and video. Not that I wouldn’t shoot a full video, and I probably will eventually, but it’s easier now for me to shoot one minute videos, which are a teaser of something that will engage you.

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My goal right now is for you to want to go get the song or the album. Another cool idea is the packaging. I have a blank vinyl jacket and I am 3-D printing my logo on it. I’m a graffiti artist and I did a Jonah throwie that goes on top of it, and it has dimension to it. You can even hang it on the wall. These are just ideas that I’ve had and it’s because I have complete control. Because there’s no record label red tape, it’s more work but it’s also more fulfilling. The work is just so much more fulfilling.