J Verse Chats About Recent Single, ‘Get Up’

Naarm/Melbourne-based 19-year-old rap/hip-hop artist J Verse has unveiled his high-energy single ‘Get Up‘ – produced by Kuda and co-produced by the artist himself. We sat down with J Verse to find out more about the new single.

Congrats on the new single and thanks for chatting with AAA Backstage! What inspired the lyrics and sound of ‘Get Up’?

My song ‘Get Up’ was inspired to get people moving, whether it’s the clubs, a party or even just in general. The song has a bouncy 808 that drops and adds a bit of grit to the track. The storyline focuses on a pretty girl at the club who’s sitting in the corner and not dancing; the style of lyrics and storytelling has a 2000s feel to it, as well as the strings in the song, but I feel like we modernised it enough, with our percussion selection and bass.

So cool that the visualisation for the release was filmed in Brooklyn. How has interacting with the street music scene in America impacted your growth and direction as an artist?

Being in New York, the home of some of the most impactful artists in the music industry, was an amazing learning experience. My brand focuses on being raw and authentic, and I show this through singing to people on the street. New York has its own sounds that are unique to the city, so even just walking around and hearing all that constant noise, whether it’s music or taxis honking at each other, was really inspiring and felt like my second home.

Community is clearly the heart of your music. What do you do to keep that connection with your audience, both at the ground level and abroad?

My supporters are very important to me; I believe at this point in my career, I should be constantly finding ways to get my fan base involved and keep talking to them. While I’m still in Australia, I plan to run events for upcoming releases but also do something to help the community of upcoming artists and creatives; if there’s one thing I saw out in NYC, there were many events where you can network and meet people, so I think there should be more of that here in Melbourne. I plan to do the same thing abroad and keep being responsive and kind to my supporters when I can.

What are some of the challenges you face as a young artist navigating the space?

As a young artist, it is hard to build a team of people you can trust; the truth is no one will be more passionate about your music than yourself, so there’s a lot of independence involved in pursuing this career. With that being said, I think that’s an ongoing challenge I’ll always have to face, and I’m happy with my position at the moment as I understand where I want to take my career, how I have to act, the work I got to do and the mentality I have to have to achieve it, all whilst staying true to myself.

You’ve supported Hooligan Hefs, Jay 1 and NLE Choppa, and been on the same festival bill as Lil Pump. What’s your dream support slot?

Those were some amazing experiences, and I hope to support 50 Cent one day. Watching one of his shows sparked a new idea for me, and it would be a really full-circle moment to help him and have my mom there, too, since we watched the show together. I have a lot of dream support acts, so if I had to pick another, I would say the weekend or Chris Brown.

What’s on the horizon for J Verse? Any plans to celebrate the release of ‘Get Up’ or are there future projects in the works?

Moving forward, I would like to keep dropping singles but way more constantly; I’m thinking every three weeks or every month. These singles will be a reflection of my growth, so I’m making sure everyone is at the quality that I’m happy with; along with that, I have a listening party event this Friday at Kicks TW, and this will be a chance I can connect with my fan base, answer questions, giveaway Jordan’s and listen to my new song ‘Get up’ with my supporters. I’m excited about where my career gonna go, but until then, I’m enjoying it and staying focused!