LORD JAH-MONTE OGBON: THE BEST RAPPER FROM CHARLOTTE
WORDS WITH WORD$ INTERVIEW #20
Yo, it’s the Pope, 1000WORD$.
Today, I had the honor of chopping it up with North Carolina's very own LORD JAH-MONTE OGBON, an lyrical force who's been leaving his mark in the rap game with his distinct sound and relentless work ethic. Jah-Monte's style is a smooth blend of slick wordplay with a distinct delivery that makes him standout in the ever-growing underground Hip-Hop scene. With notable collaborations with artists like ANKHLEJOHN, Estee Nack, and al.divino, Jah-Monte is quickly making a name for himself as a top-tier emcee.
I got familiar with Jah-Monte’s music while surfing through Spotify, and we first crossed paths when I saw he was in New York. I asked him if I could pull up and interview him on cassette and we’ve been homies ever since. Jah-Monte is a true student of the game, building connections and navigating the landscape of the industry. Much like me, he's got his finger on the pulse of the underground scene, ensuring he's always ahead of the curve.
In this in-depth conversation, we delve into Jah-Monte's journey from North Carolina to now, making connections in the rap game, and the strategic moves he's made to put himself on the map. We discuss how he transitioned from being an up-and-comer to working with some of the most respected names in the underground scene, as well as the dedication it takes to make it all happen. With a new album produced by Buck Dudley out now and more exciting work on the way, Jah-Monte gives some insight into what fans can look forward to in the future.
This is WORDS WITH WORD$.
BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER TO HEAR:
$$$. THE AUDIO FROM THIS INTERVIEW
1000WORD$: What's going on, man? It's your boy 1000WORD$. This is WORDS WITH WORD$, man. I'm here with my bro, Jah-Monte. Jah-Monte, what's going on, my bro?
Jah-Monte: I'm doing well brother. How you doing?
1000WORD$: Doing good, my brother. One thing I gotta say, Jah-Monte, you a very hard working motherfucker, bro.
Jah-Monte: Thank you Brody
1000WORD$: From the first time I met you, bro. When I first heard about you, I was like, "Yo, how the fuck am I gonna meet this dude? Cause he from North Carolina," you know what I'm saying? So one day I woke up, I found out that you were in Brooklyn somewhere. This was in the pandemic. I reached out to you and you was like, "Yeah, pull up."
Jah-Monte: We did that interview.
1000WORD$: Yeah, on cassette.
Jah-Monte: Yes, sir. We was at 59th Street.
1000WORD$: Facts. So a lot of your music, you name it after streets in New York City. What's the significance behind that?
Jah-Monte: Man, it's like manifesting bro. It's really just manifesting. I got a record on the next album, with Buck Dudley, that's coming out. It's called "Borough Hall (Both Directions)." So I believe that's a street in New York. And I think I've seen that on the train. It might have been like a train stop and I'm just like... inspiration, you feel me? But like "Seventy-Fifth & Amsterdam," when I made that album and "Side B: Lost in NYC," I was really just manifesting the situation. Like "Yo, I can be out here. I can be living out here. I can be working out here. I can just be out here." So really just manifesting, bro. Putting myself in different spaces.
1000WORD$: As an artist in the universe that we in, as far as like what people call underground Hip-Hop, how important was it for you to step out of North Carolina?
Jah-Monte: It was very important for me to step out of North Carolina because I was trying to be an underground rapper in North Carolina from 2014 to 2019, when I met SadhuGold and started going to New York. When I was just doing it in North Carolina I just felt like I was running in place. It was just like, the shows not coming out here, Mark's not coming out here, you not coming out here, you feel me? The culture not coming out here to do things. So I was just trying to figure things out, just doing what I can, doing my shows. But I have a homeboy named Simon Something. Simon Something threw beat shows so this was probably the closest to underground that I got. He booked Ohbliv in Charlotte, North Carolina and I went to that show and I'm just like "Yo, what the fuck is this?" Like this my first time being at beat show. You got motherfuckers on SPs, MPCs, and Ohbliv was just going crazy on his beats. Yo, l had to find out who it was. So I found out who Ohbliv was. There was a producer named Sunday Morning. It was just a lot going on, bro. And that kind of was my introduction to the underground space. I was like "Yo, I gotta link with this guy. I gotta get beats from him." So we were just working bro, for years, years, years. We was making stain bro but not really. I was getting posted by EARMILK and shit like that, you know? Remember EARMILK, that blog?
1000WORD$: Yeah.
Jah-Monte: I was getting posted by EARMILK bro, and I'm like "Nahhh." I wanted to be almost like Savemoney underground independent. Savemoney inspired me a lot. Seeing how Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa, Joey Purps, Noname, everybody from that collective bro, just seeing how they all move together independently on some no label shit, that shit inspired me a lot. So I was like "Okay, I have to go to these places." So at that time I used to search up Chicago a lot, Chicago blog sites, Chicago everything. Like I really wanted to go there first, but it just happened to be New York, New Jersey, like gravitated to my shit more. But I was really searching how to get out of North Carolina and be a Chicago artists with all them, cause they had young people. It was very key for me to travel bro, because it wouldn't come here. And anytime a rapper would do a show there bro, I would like... you remember the venue, the Fillmore?
1000WORD$: Yeah.
Jah-Monte: Yeah, it's just like a performance venue. I would wait outside the venue, right at the loading dock, waiting to see any rapper, a rapper's manager, a rapper's fuckin roadman, you feel me? I was just trying to rap to any and everybody. And it worked a few times. I was able to rap for Dom Kennedy. I was able to rap for Big Pooh and his brother. So that's what kind of time I was on. I was always on some trying to get the fuck out of here.
1000WORD$: Now, I've seen from afar that you, out of all the artists that are in this underground universe, you started your own little string of shows that you put together.
Jah-Monte: Yeah.
1000WORD$: How did you develop that formula? Like you was like, "You know what? I'm gonna do a show here, do a show there." How did that come about?
Jah-Monte: Yeah, I was already doing shows in North Carolina. I started doing shows in North Carolina in 2013. I met a group of people who I know online, just like the Chicago shit with the New York shit. Before I come to any music scene, I'm studying it in and out. I need to know who, what, when, and where, right? So that's pretty much what I was doing to get into the Charlotte scene. And then I found my guy who was doing the beat shows and they had another show that they were doing, and I hit them up. I'm like "Yo, how can I be a part of this show?" They was like "Oh, it's kind of full but come out and support." I went out there and met them and there was this guy, I knew from Twitter. I know a lot of these people Twitter as well. You know, in the Twitter spaces you just connect. So there's was this guy I knew from Twitter. He was from Ohio too. So he's like "Yo, you from Ohio and North Carolina?" And I'm like "Yeah, bro. Check my music out." I was rapping on Dilla beats, KanKick, and 9th Wonder at that time, nothing too official. So he was like "Okay, you on that shit!" So I started hanging out with him and his girlfriend was a DJ. So at that time, I was hoping that a DJ could break my music. I was thinking like "How can I be both as an artist? Who do I need to link with so I get my music out?" She was a DJ at UNCC, the college, and she was on a radio station called "Free Charlotte." So I'm like, "Yo, I need to link with her because she in school, she got the radio station, whatever." So I linked with her and her boyfriend and we was just cooling bro, making moves. And her boyfriend taught me how to throw shows, cause he was throwing all the show that they were doing. He just broke the shit down so simple to me. He was like "Bro, all you need to do is find a venue." They was using the fucking clothing boutique store as a venue. They wasn't going to no real venue. They using clothing boutique stores. They be like "bro, you just gotta do is find a venue. You can probably find a venue for like $2-300. All you gotta do is find a DJ. Simon and Fields, they DJ and they got equipment." They were just breaking this shit down in the simplest terms, bro. Like "Yo, get the DJ. Get the host. Find the artists." So I was like "Bro, can you help me throw my first show?" He was like "Yeah, I gotchu." So my cousin, he found the venue. It was like an open room in a studio space. Like one of those studio spaces with like fifty rooms in them, type shit. My cousin found me that space and only thing I gotta do is bring the music. So it was real like underground air wax type shit bro, you feel me? So we did that. It was successful. I found a few vendors who could sell shirts, I found a few people who could quote-unquote 'sponsor' it, people who just wanted they logo on the flyer and help me promote it. I was just grabbing everybody from my city, from different sides, just to put together one show pretty much. And we did it, it was successful. And I started about my King Callis clothing brand at that time, just putting my face and my name on shirts to sell out shows. So we just kept running that formula up, bro. He was just like "Yo, just do it like this, blah, blah, blah." So we came from... we used to do it in dance studios, photography studios, clothing stores, just keeping it underground bro, not really fucking with the venues. So he taught me that. We ran that formula up so crazy, bro. But I didn't really know nobody outside of Charlotte. I think about this shit to this day, bro. I remember in 2015, this producer hit me up. He said "Yo, come to New York and make some music." I'm like "Bro, I don't fucking know nobody in New York and I don't got no money to come to New York." He was like "Bro, you don't need money." And at that time, I couldn't understand what the fuck he was saying, bro. But I get that shit now. I this shit to everybody else. I'm like "Bro, just make that shit happen, bro." But at the time, I was not understanding what the hell he was saying, but now I get it. He's like "Yo, make that shit, bro. Come out here." It took me a little while but I worked up to that. Everything I was doing in Charlotte bro, I pretty much took that formula everywhere else. And when I made the SadhuGold album, "Infinite Wisdom," I just felt like everything was falling in place, bro. And I just felt like I had a few places I could hit. I knew I could do a show with Philly with SadhuGold. I knew I could do a show in Atlanta with my homie. I knew I could do a show in fucking Virginia with Mutant Academy. So I pretty much just took my formula to all the other places. And I got booked for a show in Brooklyn. My homie and SIDEWAALK KAL, peace to him. SIDEWAALK KAL booked me for a show in Brooklyn.
1000WORD$: Fire.
Jah-Monte: And when I did that show, everybody came through. Fucking Starker came through, Brainorchestra came through. Everybody came through and showed me love and I'm like "Yo, I got love like that out here?" Once I found that out, it was over. My homie KAL was like "Yo, you can sleep on my couch, bro. Anytime you come to New York, or if you just want to move to New York, you can sleep on my couch." I took him up on that offer man. I came and crashed on his couch. He was just telling me shit. One thing I noticed, in NY, people don't really fuck with each other like that. You don't gotta quote me on that but n****s ain't fuck with each other. Like I'll go fuck with whatever, I'll go fuck with anybody. And the homie I was staying with, he'd be like "Oh nah, I don't fuck with them," or he'd be like, "Nah, I don't do that." And I'm just like "Bro, I fuck with everybody bro. I'm going to link with everybody. I'm not limiting myself." But I understood my homie cause he don't move about the clout. He'd be like "Yo, you kinda moving about the clout, bro." I'm just like "N***a, I live in North Carolina bro. I don't stay out here, I gotta link with everybody." So I just went linking with everybody bro, and they just connected me with people. Like they connected all the dots, and with mind, determination, and the movement that I had in North Carolina, that shit just worked dog.
1000WORD$: Bro, I've seen you in a couple of different states and I see the way you carry yourself, man. It's very impressive, man. I've seen you in studios with Vel Nine, I seen you in... I can't even recall. I seen you plenty of places and from my first time seeing you, i've seen you like multiple times after that. Your work ethic is impressive, bro. It's very impressive.
That's how I know you’re the GOAT, bro. When i seen you in Cali I was like "Aight, this motherfucker. He outside, outside."
1000WORD$: Facts. You outside too, bro. I seen your show that you did in Brooklyn at [Rotten Island Records]. I saw how you did that. That was really dope, bro. I ain't even know you was having a show that day. I just popped up to Rotten Island and they were like "Yo, if you stick around, Jah-Monte got a show. He pulling up." I'm like "Jah Monte?! Get the fuck outta here." They were like "Yeah." So from there I saw what you did. You got some of the local talent from Jersey and from New York, and you got them to open up, man. Shit was amazing, bro. I liked that show a lot, man.
Jah-Monte: Yeah, I don't think people be thinking like that cause I was like "Wait. [Top Shelf Premium] show on Saturday. Wait, ain't nobody else doing a show on Friday or Sunday?" I said "Oh cool, then that's what I'm boutta do." Everybody already gonna be out there for Saturday, so you might as well just New Jersey on Friday, and another New York on Sunday bro. Wasn't nobody thinking like that. So I did that shit bro, and that shit turned up.
1000WORD$: How was your first time seeing your album on vinyl?
Jah-Monte: The first time seeing my album on vinyl bro, I felt like I was here, bro. You know what I mean? I'm like "Nah brody, what?!" I'm here, like this what the fuck I wanted dog. Bro it's kinda like what I planned for. Once I found out about the underground, my short term goal was to get my music pressed on vinyl and my long term goal was to fuck with one of them labels like Stone's Throw, Fools Gold, Lex Records, you know what I mean?
1000WORD$: I know what you mean.
Jah-Monte: Just like one of those independent, overseas labels. I felt like I reached my goal, bro. I came in this shit. I did it right, or I did it semi-right. Like I've spent so much bread to be in this position, bro. I don't think n****s know that to0. N****s think they can just rap and come outside. Like nah, I spent so much bread to be in this position, so when Copenhagen Crates hit me like "Yo, we tryna press this shit on vinyl. This the number." I'm like "Shit, I've never got more than fucking $3-400 for what I've done," you know what I mean? So the number that they gave me, I was like "Yo, that's valid." And I remember showing the contract to my manager out here too, like "Nah, don't do that shit." I'm like "Nah, fuck what he talking about."
1000WORD$: Hahaha.
Jah-Monte: He was like "Nah, they getting too much money and you're not getting enough. I'm like "Man, this is enough for me." So once I did that deal, it was like a domino effect, bro. Like [Tuff-Kong Records] reached out. Bro, like four different other labels reached out and I'm like "Yo, I pretty much just made all the money back that i spent doing this shit, and more."
1000WORD$: That's so fire. And the way that you invest your money back is impressive too.
Jah-Monte: Come on, dog. So I just had to keep that same formula. I was looking around and I'm like "Okay, I see the big dogs in this motherfucker." Like [ANKHLEJOHN], and [Estee Nack], and [al.divino]. I'm like "Okay, I see the big dogs who been in this shit." Then I see kind of like middle tier n****s, like the n****s who be in the crowd at the shows. You got the n****s on the stage, then you got n****s in the crowds. So I'm like "Aight, I'm bout to tap in with the crowd n****s first, cause they really the ones who are buying the music and showing up to the shows." So I just played it like that bro, fucking with everybody in the crowd, but I'm also tapping in and paying everybody on the stage, bro. So shit just worked smoothly. And then once I understood the lane, I knew how to maneuver cause I was really seeing n****s. I'm like "Oh, n****s not really working. N****s just popping out. N****s not taking advantage." So once all that shit came together, that shit just worked.
1000WORD$: That shit just worked out to take you to another level cause I feel like, bro, you one of the coolest, hard working person then you just switch. Like when your music come on, I feel like a motherfucker about to get shanked or like talked out of some money, you know what I'm saying?
Jah-Monte: Hahaha, yeah
1000WORD$: Somebody bout to get talked out of some money. Like you about to swindle some motherfuckers, you know what I mean? So to me it's very impressive to know that you from North Carolina, and the way that you attack each record that you get on, it's like... yeah man, I ain't even really know motherfuckers from up there was really talking like that.
Jah-Monte: Yeah, people talking in North Carolina. It might be a different talk, but they be talking out here. It's a few of us, but it be some people talking.
1000WORD$: Yeah, but for the universe that we in bro, you really catered to that sound, you know what I mean?
Jah-Monte: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a lot of us out here but they just can't travel to New York and New Jersy. I be trying to tell them like "Bro, you gotta get the fuck up outta here, bro."
1000WORD$: Definitely. What you got coming up next?
Jah-Monte: Just working, bro. I got the show with CRIMEAPPLE in Chicago, April 22nd. I got a party in New Jersey bro, the Buck Dudley album, February 25th in Hoboken at this new venue. That shit gonna be crazy. Like an industry mixer, type shit. And I'm in talks, bro. I'm in talks with a label, dog. A label hit me up like "Yo, you feel me?"
1000WORD$: Hahaha, yeah.
Jah-Monte: They said "Yo, you feel me?" And I said "Yessirski."
1000WORD$: That's what's up, man. So 2023 looking very bright for my bro Jah-Monte, man. I appreciate you for this conversation, my bro
Jah-Monte: Bro, anytime. You already know. You pushing the culture forward, bro.
1000WORD$: Man, if it ain't us documented our shit then who will, you know what I'm saying?
Jah-Monte: Exactly. Yo, people in North Carolina know about this shit, bro.
1000WORD$: Man, salute to North Carolina man.
Jah-Monte: I said "How the fuck do y'all know him?!" Yo, the polaroids bro. Somebody had a polaroid, I said "Yo, you need to check out 1000WORD$." They said "1000WORD$?" Then they showed me your gram, I'm said "How the fuck you know him?!"
1000WORD$: Haha. Damn man, that means a lot.
Jah-Monte: I'm sorry, I wasn't tryna give them your sauce, bro. But I was like "Yo, y'all don't even know what y'all could be doing out here by capturing the moment," you feel me? I'm like "Bro, you can really be going up having artists sign your shit and be making bread. This dude 1000WORD$, you need to search him up." And they already was hip. I'm like "Oh shit, my boy 1000 really be outside."
1000WORD$: Outside like a bum.
Jah-Monte: Haha, you know what I mean?
1000WORD$: Hip-Hop saved my life. I was actually born into this shit, bro. I was born in the South Bronx, bro. And as soon as I come out my door, motherfuckers is out there trapping, hustling, selling drugs, being fly, listening to music. So this shit is just what I love to do. I've dedicated my life to this shit, as far as trying to document the people that make sense and play a major role in this shit, so later they could be told correctly.
Jah-Monte: Facts. And I love seeing you and [NewVegasFilms], bro. Like when y'all go to the Buffalo Kids store, I be like "Sheeesh!" Them motherfuckers, y'all out there catching that shit.
1000WORD$: All of that shit, bro. All of y'all though.
Jah-Monte: Oh yeah, yeah, definitely. Bro, you already know.
1000WORD$: All of y'all, like it's bigger. I'm like the media for my brothers with no media.
Jah-Monte: Facts.
1000WORD$: So I appreciate that man. Yo, you only gonna get better bro. You definitely one of the ones, so I'm very honored to have met you throughout this journey and got to chop it up with you a few times, bro. So thank you, Jah-Monte, man and keep doing your thing and stay blessed, bro.
Jah-Monte: I appreciate man, for everything.
1000WORD$: You already know, brody.