Edge Rewrite
restyle Source code View original
// HTMLRewriter · presentation

This page was redesigned at the edge.

Cloudflare fetched the original article and streamed it through HTMLRewriter to apply an entirely new visual system without rebuilding the source page.

Jump to content

J-Swift

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
J-Swift
Also known as
  • J-Swift
  • Negro Kanevil
Born
Juan Manuel Martinez-Luis

(1971-12-27) December 27, 1971 (age 54)
Madrid, Spain
OriginLos Angeles, California
GenresHip-hop
OccupationRecord producer
Years active1988–present
LabelDelicious Vinyl
Formerly of

Juan Manuel Martinez-Luis (born December 27, 1971),[1] better known by his stage name J-Swift, is a record producer credited for songs with groups on the Delicious Vinyl label, including The Pharcyde and The Wascals.

Early life

[edit]

J-Swift was born in 1971 in Madrid, Spain. His Afro-Cuban father, Pedro, was a salsa bandleader and multi-instrumentalist. His mother, Dolores, was a native of the Canary Islands.[1] In 1974, the family headed to Los Angeles, California, settling in Inglewood. At age six, J-Swift enrolled in a piano conservatory, quickly proving to be a prodigy. The all-rap radio station KDAY introduced him to hip-hop in the early 1980s, and the first record he ever got was by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

Career

[edit]

Around 1988, J-Swift attended Locke High School, where he met his mentor R&B musician Reggie Andrews, producer of Dazz Band's 1982 funk hit "Let It Whip" and collaborator of Rick James.[2] After J-Swift composed three new jack swing-style songs to get his attention, Andrews suggested that he concentrate on writing and producing, and set him up with a recording studio (complete with a then-state-of-the-art Akai MPC-60) at South Central Unit (SCU), an after-school program for disadvantaged young talent.[3] This gave J the opportunity to submit songs to A&M Records' Rondor Music publishing, while additional work came via BMI's Cheryl Dickerson.[4] Though much of this early music went unreleased (like an album by Bell Biv DeVoe spin-off STR8-Ahead), J-Swift's official songwriting/producing debut came in 1991 with Keisha Jackson's "Feel You Out."[3]

Around this time J-Swift began making music with a crew of dancers-turned-rappers. With Reggie Andrews' record collection at their disposal, J-Swift and The Pharcyde crafted a three-song demo in '91 and subsequently a hip-hop classic, 1992's Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. Featuring the hit single "Passin' Me By", Pharcyde's debut went certified Gold.[5] Disputes over production and credits caused a rift between J and the group (although they would later reunite on The Pharcyde's "Trust" remix in 2000, not to mention several J-Swift-produced tracks on Fatlip's 2005 solo debut The Loneliest Punk, and Fatlip and Tre Hardson's 2007 holiday song "All I Want for Xmas").

With his own "Fat House Productions" acts Jazzyfatnastees and Quinton, J-Swift signed an ill-fated million dollar deal with Tommy Boy Records in 1993.[6] Another of his groups, The Wascals, dropped several singles including "Class Clown" and "The Dips" in '94, but broke up before releasing their debut.[7][8] The crew was started by members Alfie and Buckwheat, the latter of which met J-Swift while they were going to high school together.[9] The Wascals album Greatest Hits, produced by J-Swift, was finally released by Delicious Vinyl in 2007.[10] In the mid-'90s, J-Swift lent his signature style to a string of remixes, including Prince's "Letitgo (Sherm Stick Edit)," Massive Attack's "Protection," and Urban Thermo Dynamics' "Manifest Destiny" (featuring a young Mos Def).

J-Swift was the subject of the 2007 documentary film 1 More Hit.[11]

J-Swift recorded new tracks from 2005 through 2010, providing not only the beats but also the rhymes. Featuring soul-baring rap confessionals ("Off My Chest") and tales of perseverance through struggles ("Born To Win Despite Myself") — while still celebrating recreational drug use ("I'll Do Mine") — J-Swift's new project began with an alter ego Negro Kanevil.[9]

Personal life

[edit]

In 2006, J-Swift was arrested for possession of narcotics. In 2015, his permanent resident status was stripped and he was deported back to his birth country of Spain.[1][12]

Production credits

[edit]

Entire Album

1) "Quinton's on the Way (A Jazzy Skit)"
2) "Still Fiendin'"
3) "Quinton's Here"
4) "I'm Not an MC"
5) "Quinton's Here (Instrumental)"
6) "Ill Friend"
6) "Letitgo (Sherm Stick Edit)"
3) "Manifest Destiny (J-Swift Edit)"
4) "Protection (J Swift Mix)"
1) "Trust (Remix)"
  • 2000 Various - Delicious Vinyl Presents... Prime Cuts Vol. 1
2) The Black Pack - "Used To Be My Lover"
4) "Gangster (Murderville)"
8) "Manifest Destiny"
  • 2004 Buc Fifty - Serve The Devil, Praise The Lord - Battle Axe Records
1) "Live No More"
2) "Live by the Gun"
3) "No Tworries"
4) "Oh Christ"
6) "Say It Ain't So"
8) "The Hard Way"
9) "Jackers Delight"
10) "Ride With No Brakes"
12) "Feeling"
13) "My Money"
  • 2005 Bucwheed - Rethuglican – Delicious Vinyl

Entire Album

Entire Album

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 Bell, Max (2021-08-26). "The Bizarre and Tragic Ride of J Sw!ft". theLAnd. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  2. ↑ Bowler, Paul (2021-11-24). "'Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde': A Sampledelic Trip Worth Taking". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  3. 1 2 Carmel, Novena (2024-06-05). "DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO: THE LEGACY OF REGGIE ANDREWS". KCRW.
  4. ↑ "Billboard: Cutting Edge" (PDF). WorldRadioHistory. June 15, 1991. p. 52.
  5. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
  6. ↑ Weiss, Jeff (2012-01-11). "J-Swift Made Big Hits With the Pharcyde Before Tragedy and Drugs Nearly Took Him Down - LA Weekly". LA Weekly.
  7. ↑ McGregor, Tracii (June 1994). "High Rulers: The Wascals Are Here to School You, Fool". Rap Pages.
  8. ↑ Alvarez, Gabriel (1997). "The Wascals - Greatest Hits". The Source.
  9. 1 2 "STRICTLY CASSETTE".
  10. ↑ "THE WASCALS". Delicious Vinyl.
  11. ↑ Weiss, Jeff (11 January 2012). "J-Swift Made Big Hits With the Pharcyde Before Tragedy and Drugs Nearly Took Him Down". LA Weekly. Beth Sestanovich. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "J-Swift of The Pharcyde facing deportation in Vancouver". CBC. 2015-03-20.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=J-Swift&oldid=1360544581"