JSWISS had a successful album debut/birthday show last month at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City with his band and special guests Amma Whatt, Marcus Machado, Maurice “Mobetta” Brown, Chandanie and Rini. Check out the video recap below with highlights, including snippets of yet-to-be-released music from JSWISS’ upcoming album.
Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner. Their names have reached the notoriety of some pop stars, but sadly for all the wrong reasons. That’s the premise behind hip hop artist, JSWISS‘ fiery new single “Famous”, the storyteller’s potent submission to a conversation that sounds as loud today as ever in the history of the United States.
The concept is a new take on an issue that has existed for decades and has become a hot topic during the past several years as documentation of police brutality has become more accessible. Artists expected to reflect the times have publicly lent their voices to the discussion through social media and protest songs, but as a person who doesn’t waste words, on public platforms JSWISS has kept relatively quiet on the subject until he could contribute something new and of value to the conversation.
“What finally struck me was the laundry list of victims names — from adults with futures still ahead of them to kids who hadn’t even fully developed an identity — known by millions throughout the United States and internationally, not for what they’ve done with their lives, but for what was done to them,” says JSWISS.
You can watch the lyric video for “Famous” above and find the song — which features guitarist/producer Marcus Machado and spoken word artist Dasan Ahanu — on all major music platforms.
Last Saturday, June 23, JSWISS performed with his band at the beautiful new Brooklyn venue National Sawdust as part of the popular monthly series there, The Revolution. Thrown into the mix was special guest violinist Rini and it was definitely a special performance. Check out the recap on YouTube, shot by Shuhei Hayashi.
JSWISS’ powerful and inspirational music video for “Dedicate.LoveSomethin” off of his critically-acclaimed No Music EP was just selected for the 2018 Hip Hop Film Festival in Harlem, New York City this summer. The video is directed by Stephen Mucci, edited by John Holowitz and stars USA Fencing athletes Kamali and Khalil Thompson as well as Barstarzz founder Eduard Checo. The song is produced by producer/bassist Brady Watt (DJ Premier, Ski Beatz). For more info about the festival in August, click here.
Back in March JSWISS performed his duo set with guitarist Wes Mingus crafting all of the music on guitar and loop pedal for the popular international performance movement Sofar Sounds, their third such performance. As Sofar does from time to time they recorded this high quality video of them performing “Dedicate.LoveSomethin” a favorite of JSWISS fans that also has a stunning music video for the Brady Watt-produced single. Check out the Sofar Sounds video above and if you haven’t already, check out JSWISS’ No Music EP that the single is taken from on all major music platforms.
Earlier this month JSWISS was the featured act at one of the premier jam session in all of New York City, The Jelly. He performed several songs with The Jelly house band led by Kevin Moehringer and featuring other all-star musicians such as Sly5thAve, Lex Sadler, Sydney Driver and more! Check out the video to get a taste of how the night went.
Heads up JSWISS’ next show in NYC will be on Saturday, June 23! Stay tuned for details.
JSWISS has a couple of songs featured in the documentary film Hoops Africa premiering internationally on NBA TV on December 24th and 26th. Hoops Africa is a collection of stories that celebrates the past, present, and future of basketball in Africa, spotlighting the sport’s impact on society and its development on the continent. You can watch the trailer for the film, which features several former and current NBA players and officials, right here.
Life is fulfilling when you love something (or someone) enough that you’re willing to deal with all the hardships that might come along with it. That’s the idea behind the song and brand new video for “Dedicate.LoveSomethin” off of JSWISS’ No Music EP.
The music video is directed by Stephen Mucci and edited by John Holowitz, while the song is produced by Brady Watt, one of the first artists on DJ Premier‘s TTT record label and a go-to bassist for the likes of Premier, Talib Kweli and Statik Selektah, both on record and on stage. The visuals feature three incredible athletes: decorated saber fencers and USA Fencing national team members Kamali and Khalil Thompson, as well as Eduard Checo, founder of the Barstarzz, a group of calisthenics fitness enthusiasts with more than 140 million views online on YouTube alone. Enjoy the powerful and beautiful visuals.
JSWISS 