ABM: How did you get the name J. Stalin?
JS: When I was in 11th grade I had to do a paper…You know…So you know…Just like any other person who got a name that comes from a dictator…Something like that… I ran up on him…You know…We had a lot of things in common…That's how J. Stalin was born…Plus we had the same initials…You know…So…
ABM: What made you get into music and made you into becoming a musician?
JS: All my life I've always loved music. No matter what I did…Good or bad…No matter whatever I got into, I never deserted music, you know what I'm saying? Like music was always a part of me. Like no matter what I did. Not just rap music, all music! You know what I'm saying, I love all music. I give everything a chance. My ears, they expand to more than just hip hop.
ABM: What was your break as a musician coming up?
JS: My break? I had a couple of breaks. You know DJ Daryl and I starting in the beginning of my career, he was one of the main producers for No Limit. He produced "Keep Your Head Up" for Tupac Shakur. That was a big break for me, I learned a lot from him. I used to go to his studio everyday when I was a teenager. You know? I just learned a lot from being in the studio environment and just being around producers and rappers. That was like…my first big break. A learning experience, from there, I then met Richie Rich. That was a big experience cause that was my first time rapping on the mic constantly. This was the first time I was going in the studio constantly recording songs, and it was big cause I was rapping with a person I had grew up listening to! After I worked with Richie Rich, I met the Mekanix. They ended up producing my first album "On Behalf of The Streets". We still work real tough right now to this day. Matter of fact, they got a album coming out right now called "The Chop Shop." You know how we move mean…Livewire Records. We get this shit moving man!
ABM: Where are you from? How did your background shape your career as a musician and CEO of one of Bay Area's most successful record companies in the past half decade?
JS: I'm from West Oakland. It's like Oakland overall, It's like survival of the fittest. If you could survive in Oakland, you could survive anywhere. My environment shaped me, my life. It made me a determined person, a hustler…You feel me? I'm not a quitter. I'm not a person that gives up easily. You know what I'm saying? I'm just a strong individual. Period.
ABM: So what artists do you have under Livewire Records, and how has it been watching a record company become a household dynasty of the West Coast?
JS: Ah shit..I mean, you know…I love seeing all of us prosper. A whole label, you know what I'm saying? But I haven't really took it in yet , cause I'm still pushing. I haven't really took it in like everybody else. I don't really look at it like that, cause I feel like we have so much farther to go! I do see it, but now..I am not ready to just hang it up and be like we came so far, you know what I'm saying? We still got farther to go from here. The roster is heavy right now. You got myself, Shady Nate, Philthy Rich, Lil Blood, Stevie Joe, Kiwi, Maybach, Thrill, Ant Mackin, Ronald Mack, and Lil Darrell. We got a R&B artist named Lil Jay, he got a mixtape coming out called "Room 209: Do Not Disturb", cause you know what's going on in there!! You know, everybody just working man! Everybody is just staying busy, man. Ya feel me? That's one thing about this label, you gotta work on this label. If you don't work, you can't fuck with us.
ABM: Tell us about your upcoming project, "Memoirs of a Curb Sever." Who produced it? Any new singles? Any new artists we could expect to see on the album?
JS: The Curb Server. Crazy album! I worked with some of the same producers that I usually work with for my last two albums, "Prenuptial Agreement" and "Gas Nation". I worked with some new big producers…I worked with some new up and coming producers that I haven't worked with before. Everybody who produced on my album is just real dope, so you know!! The album came out real dope!! I worked with The Mekanix, they family. They did like four tracks from the album, four big tracks in the album!! The Bizness did a single for me. I actually did a few Bizness songs, but I only put one on the album!! I put the other ones on other projects. But yeah, the Mekanix, The Bizness, AK47, DJ Fresh, M-80 from Kansas City, that's another big producer, he did a lot of music for a lot of up and coming artists, as well as a lot of big artists. He did work on T.I.'s last album. We got in-house producers I worked with…Sound Shop…My lil young producer, Jay West, up and coming M.A. from Sacramento. He made, "Cannabis Club," that's a banger on my mixtape circulating right now. Pretty dope song. He did another dope song on my album called, "Money and Bitches". One of the highlighted tracks on the album to me, I think so!! Another producer out of Canada named Dirtwork. He's a real dope producer. He did, "1996" on the new mixtape, "I'm Sellin Dope". He did another banger on "Memoirs of a Curb Server" called "Sunset". I worked with LT Moe, another big producer out of Atlanta, he did a lot of big records for a lot of big artists. Shape Shifta, another big producer who did E-40's last single "Candy Paint", he did a nice track on the album with me and Ampichino. Also Sneaky Mike, he did all my Lyrical Exercise songs. The Trackademicks, they did "Tell Me When to Go Remix" and "Millionaire Status" off my "Gas Nation" album. I love working with him. Shout out to Trackademicks! I've got Too Short, E-40, Big K.R.I.T., J. Valentine, Ampichino, RonRon out of Kansas City, real good artist! I got Mistah Fab, I got the whole Livewire roster on there; Shady Nate, Philthy Rich, Lil Blood…You know…Livewire goes on and on man…I don't wanna tell too much about the album, cause I want you all to listen to it. Ya feel me? I feel like it's my best work up to date. I feel like my lyrics is more mature…My lyrical content is deeper…
ABM: Where have you traveled with your music? Some of the cities you've visited? Artists you've collaborated with during your travels?
JS: I've collaborated with a lot of people! I've worked with everybody…From Glasses Malone, Young Dough from Denver to Shock G to E-40 to Spark Dog to Green City out there in Texas…I worked with a lot of Kansas City artists…worked with Ohio artists…My music had took me all over the world, basically…I had been to New York, Atlantic City, Detroit, Ohio, Indiana, Chicago, Minnesota…the whole West Coast: Phoenix, Portland, Arizona, Seattle, California, Las Vegas, Texas, Kansas City, Denver…Mid-west, all up and through that…Nebraska…Everywhere, man…I been there…
ABM: Alright…So do you have any new artist you're about to sign?
JS: We got a few new artists we got our eye on right now, we just signed Lil Retro from Sacramento…Real dope wire…Look him up: @Retro_916 on the Twitter. We talk to a few more other artists right now but I don't wanna say no names and jinx none right now, but we got our R&B section. We are looking at some R&B artists right now too. We got a lot of things going on man stay tuned! Livewire, keep checking in for us everyday. Google us everyday on the internet!!
ABM: Do you have any new business venture you're getting into?
JS: Oh yeah. We are about to open up a few nail salons…And trying to get this clothing company off the ground…this Livewire clothing company…So we are working on that right now.
ABM: Is there any artist you wanna work with in the future?
JS: Ah shit…I still wanna do a song with Prince…Man…I gotta do one with the original kid one time…If I could work with Prince that would be great. DMX, if I could do a song with DMX and Trey Songz that'd be dope! I would wanna work with anybody who'd wanna work with me. Believe it.
ABM: Where can people find you, or get ahold of you?
JS: Hit me on twitter @JStalinLivewire or check out the whole livewire label website LivewireTheEmpire.com to check in on all of us!
ABM: You got any last words or shout outs?
JS: Shout out to the whole Livewire man! Everybody stay working, stay doing your thing man! "I'm Sellin Dope" in stores now. "Memoirs of a Curb Server" Coming Soon. Check out my "Lyrical Exercise 3" video and the "Who are you?" video.
ABM: Any message to your fans?
JS: I love ya'll! See ya later…