With an impressive knack for combing an addictive hook with effortless flow, Cairns hip hop specialist, Jordan Oliver aka JO, draws listeners in with his meaningful, relatable lyrics and vocal charm on new single”All I Need”. The song features talented stable mate, Libby Morell whose vocals only further sweeten the deal alongside JO’s smooth, expressive style of rap.
“They ain’t never gonna break me down, they ain’t never gonna take what’s mine… I keep my pride, I keep my heart, I keep my soul, ‘cause it’s all I need,” sings JO.
The clip for All I Need was filmed in Sydney and is an extended, remix version of the song. “The remix was something we decided at the last minute. We shot the clip in two days and after working on the beat for the remix at the end of day one, we decided to drop it in to the middle of the clip to give fans a taste of both tracks on the YouTube cut,” says JO.
After attending Grafton Arts, JO became entrenched in his new world of hip hop, break dancing and beatboxing. He began rapping at the age of 12 and was writing and performing his own original work by just 14. In 2010, JO signed to Rayzor Records and released his debut single Missing You which garnered airplay across the
country. Having shared the stage with hip hop royalty such as The Outlaws, Bone Thugs N Harmony and Xzibit, JO has an enviable live show and is used to being in the spotlight. Jordan will be playing at the Bondi Music Festival in late July and is currently organising a line up of East Coast show dates. Stay tuned!
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
My earliest memory of me performing was at “Brothers leagues club” in Cairns, I was only 12 at the time. I performed two of my own songs then I did a cover of my favourite artist, Tupac Shakur. I performed “California Love” as my final song and the crowd went crazy. I knew from then on that Iwanted to be an entertainer, and yes without a doubt, Tupac was my main inspiration, he is dope.
You must answer this question honestly or we steal your rider. What and where was the first gig you went to?
Ummm, jeez – that’s a long time ago, I would have to say the first gig I went to was a place called “Little day out” in Cairns. There were a lot of independent artists and a lot of genres of music. I was young at the time and didn’t really understand music but I still enjoyed myself.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?
Haha, well in all honesty, it would have been the man himself, the king of pop, Michael Jackson. I loved listening to his music so I would put Thriller on the vinyls and pretend to dance like him.
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
The main musician on rotation right now would have to be my main inspiration at the moment, Drizzy Drake, he is an absolute genius.
How do you find new music?
I use Google, google knows everything.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
Nah not really, I just try to treat every show like my last and give it 110%.
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have (attractions/food/bars etc)?
I’m not too sure, that would be a hard one, I was never good at organizing things, I could never really even organize myself! But I would have to say I would bill the venue because I would want a really, really big arena. Then I would contact Jessica Mauboy, Stan Walker, Timomatic and 360 to be the support act, and have Drake as the main act alongside my wife, Nikki Minaj, haha. Pretty good concert hey? That’s what you calling making the dough.
When you’re Rolling Stones Big, what are you going to request on your rider: don’t be shy. We want specifics!
Man oh man, that’s easy! I would have to say my dream car, “Crystler” with a jet black paint, with massive rims and a sound system that rattles the floor……that’s what I call rolling in style.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
It would definitely have to be Jessica Mauboy, she is an awesome artist and I really respect how far she has come, she is an inspiration and I think her voice would be banging on the hook with me rapping in the verses.
What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?
I would have to say it would most probably be the best sound track for an uprising song, like a struggle from failure to success or more of a broken house to a success story, purely for the fact that the lyrics are about not letting things get you down in life, to struggle and perceive from what obstacles are in your way and overcome them to create success.
Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them?
I play next at the “Bondi Music Festival” in Sydney, on the 28th of July, we plan to release another track but that is not until later on down the year. You can download my music through iTunes and you can also check us out on YouTube.
Be sure to follow my music on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jordanoliverhiphop), you can view the clip for “All I Need” here; and be sure to follow my record label, Rayzor Records’ pages too.
www.facebook.com/rayzorrecords
www.youtube.com/user/rayzorrecords
