User:Lukecfelix/sandbox

Introduction

Shaun Jones Jr (born January 24th, 1999), is an American rapper, producer, and record producer. He was born in Bullhead City, Arizona, and raised in Sequim, Washington. He is best known for his song “Bubble Tea”, as well as many other notable appearances and collaborations. He’s released 26 singles, and two mixtapes. His first, Procrastination EP was released on November 11th, 2018. He released his second mixtape, META on January 24th, 2020.

He is currently attending the University of Washington Tacoma, where he is pursuing a degree in Marketing and Data Analytics.

1.0 Early Life

Jones was born in Bullhead City in Arizona, but was raised in Sequim, a coastal town in northern Washington. Having been raised around rap and music production from a young age, he began writing at eight years old. His father, Shaun Jones Sr., was a rapper, and was involved in music production as a hobby. Jones was raised by his two parents, and lived in his grandmother's basement for most of his early years. It was here that he and his father would listen to underground hip-hop and rap tracks, and the two would go on to write many unproduced tracks together, recording on a rockband mic. When he was thirteen, he started writing under the name JonesJrr, which became his social media handles on all platforms. [1]

2.0 Career

2015-2018 Shaun Jones was very involved in his highschool, being a multi-AP student, and Vice President of the student body. When his school, Sequim Public High School, was undergoing a funding crisis, they held a talent show fundraiser. Jones produced a remix to Nicki Minaj’s “Only”; the popularity of the event helped raise awareness for the school's financial situation. He would go on to do it again in his Senior year at Sequim, in support for a levy, which was ultimately successful.

His first song, titled “Procrastination”, was a single track which was soon followed by a remix of “Look At Me” by Xxxtentacion.

Jones continued his education at The University of Washington Tacoma, the first in his family to graduate high school, and thus the first to attend college. In experiencing the common identity struggles many first-semester college students do, he released “Roots” as a sort of way to introduce himself and his upbringing.

He released his first mixtape, Procrastination EP, on October 20th, 2018. The six-track project mimics the lyricism of SoundCloud rappers while reflecting the soft beats and melodies of early-90s Soul Rap. The title of the EP, and the first track, is a throwback to his first song.

This was quickly followed by a multitude of singles in both 2018, the most notable of which being “Bubble Tea” which has reigned as his most popular song.

2019-2021 Jones continued to release singles, among them being one “Caterpillar”, released July 30th, 2019. This single would be the basis for his next project, a mixtape titled “META”, a concept album which reflects Jones’ own personal growth to the lifestyle of a butterfly. Although not directly noted anywhere aside from a memo on SoundCloud, “META” is intended to be short for “Metamorphosis”, supported by the fact that the first track, middle, and final tracks are titled “CATERPILLAR”,“COCOON”, and “BUTTERFLY” respectfully.

Following the success of his first full length mixtape, Jones was approached by American rapper Kyo. He made an appearance in the track “Top 5”, where he spoke about his lack of recognition in the ever-changing industry. Shortly after came his appearance on “Plans For You” by Valentine and Baggerboy. He asking made an appearance on “Keep It” by Alex Jordan later in the year.

His first official collaboration was with Santa Barbara native Emi Grace. On their track, “Low Again”, the two explain how one can feel like an outsider in their hometown, once they graduate from high school. The message is strengthened by how this is a shared experience by two people of nearly opposite musical taste, thousands of miles away. This was emphasized by the cover art to the single, which was designed by Santa Barbara artist Aidan Bacon.

Jones recently released a single titled “Found Him”, and says he plans to release more singles in 2021.

2.1 Original Discography

2.2 Appearances

3.0 Videography

Shaun Jones is in frequent collaboration with Puyallup videographer Sam Lynn, whom he met through mutual contact Alec Jordan. Lynn spearheaded visual production on the music videos for “COIN”, “Salad”, “1999”, and “Like This”. Shaun plays an active role in both helping direct and act in his music videos, and prides himself on his involvement of the productions.

4.0 Inspirations

Fans have stated on multiple occasions that his newer style reflects Mac Miller, and his earlier works relate more to Hopsin. Jones has also stated himself that he draws a lot of inspiration from the former [1], “it’s impressive when an artist is at every step of the creation chain; mixing, mastering, producing, being influential in their music videos…”. The type of vertical style of management artists like Mac Miller, Tyler The Creator, and Jayden Smith have in their work inspire Jones to do the same.

5.0 Personal Life

Shaun Jones is currently a Senior at the University of Washington Tacoma, where he majors in Marketing and minors in Data Analytics.

His motto “keep on singing” is derived from the last text message his grandfather sent to him before passing away in 2017, just after Shaun had graduated from highschool. Jones has mentioned that it is his message of perseverance, even outside of music.

Shaun Jones Jr. is known for his temperance, and electively does not smoke, and did not have his first alcoholic drink before the age of 21. He feels that these are “stereotypes for rappers”, which he does not wish to propagate.

REFERENCES Neighboring Light. (2021, January 9). Behind the Song - Salad by JonesJrr. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmQaRoalkx8 All direct quotes are from a personal interview with Shaun Jones conducted on February 17th, 2021 via Discord.