PJ.Ford
As the clock struck midnight, a Friday became Saturday, December became January, a ball dropped in Times Square, friends and enemies toasted their drinks, some girls got kissed, some girls got naked, some guys got lucky, and a door closed on a decade that changed the music industry forever. Aided by cheaper technology readily available to creative minds, artist, and aspiring producers, the "DIY" work ethic previously championed in the thriving hardcore and punk scenes of the 80's and 90's reemerged in the first ten years of the millennium, making a revitalized hip hop underground in its new home. While the record industry blamed the internet for lost profits and continued to focus on the perennial hip hop kingdoms of the two coasts and the emerging South, a new breed of upstarts in the Midwest took matters into their own hands. Foregoing the traditional route of major label excess, Minneapolis acts Atmosphere and P.O.S. , much in the vein of the punks before them, began writing, producing, performing, promoting, and distributing their own material independently on the road, at shows, in their hometowns, and of course, on the industry's supposed destroyer, the internet. The energy of the Minneapolis scene soon invaded Chicago, made an impact in Ann Arbor, and ultimately convinced kids in Detroit to believe that if Slug could get out there and make people move, they could too.
Joining the site in July of last year, PJ Ford's attitude and determination to create his own
opportunities mirrors the general philosophy of theMusicFanatic.com as it pushes on into the next
decade. Born Preston Byron Jones, the Detroit native by his own admission is not a poet, nor does
he consider himself a rapper. He is an emcee, and like many emcees, Ford is first a fan and student
of the music he creates. On his latest release, FORDPERFECT, PJ pulls from years of exposure
to both mainstream and underground hip hop artists, including the Minneapolis' own Atmosphere
and P.O.S., home town hero Eminem, Andre 3000, Nas, MF Doom, Q-Tip, Lupe Fiasco, Blu, and
Mos Def to name a few. The result is a unique collection of music from various producers and a
committed lyricist that understands what he would like to hear, as a fan and as an artist, from his
own records.
This commitment to pushing himself and his music manifests in Ford's stand out tracks from the
FORDPERFECT album. After a producer played him a sample that was destined to be thrown
out because it would not initially loop and finding himself unable to shake the sound from his head,
Ford was convinced the broken beat could be salvaged. The emcee collaborated with the producer
to fix the sample, and the beat would eventually become the driving force behind his ode to fresh
fashion and early 90's family sitcoms, "Neo Theo Huxtable". PJ Ford's approach as a fan is also
obvious in the more experimental "Socks Miss Shoes". On the track, Ford's melodic vocal and
versatile lyrics provide a natural environment for a euphoric instrumental that, if performed by most other artists, would seem out of place on a hip hop track.
Having only been focused fulltime on his music career since 2007, PJ Ford's best work as an emcee
is ahead of him. Currently working on the follow up to FORDPERFECT, the dynamic lyricists
promises to be an artist to watch on theMusicFanatic.com as a distinctive voice in this new decade
and generation of artists out to make a name for themselves in an era of a "do it yourself" hip hop
underground. For now, check out his music on PJ Ford's theMusicFanatic.com artist profile, and
keep an eye out for news and info regarding new tracks and upcoming shows featuring the emcee in
the future.
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