Curbside Jones is no stranger to ThisGoesIn. In the past couple of months, we were amazed by his conceptual mixtape The Cherry Blossom Effect: Dream Theory (LISTEN)  – which I was put on by longtime supporter, Ronald Ranier, and then we continue to be in awe of his consistency with his follow up The Cherry Blossom Effect: Remix Theory (LISTEN).

We’ve become enthralled with not only his incredible rap style, but the way he incorporates anime and Asian culture into his music while staying true to the genre. We conducted a brief interview with Curbside Jones aka Snorlax Jack, to futher explore himself and The Cherry Blossom Effect.

1. Curbside Jones – Where did the name come from?

The Name Curbside Jones was actually something I came up with in the backseat of my parent’s car on the way to get something to eat while I was staying at their dojo lol. I was working on Bum Life: The Semi Epic Tale Of Curbside Jones and I needed a new name because I was going under the moniker C.B TV and the name carried a lot of expectations, so I wanted to shed that and start something new with a new project. I was sampling a lot of soul music from the 70s and watching 70s movies…I noticed most of the cool people had the last name Jones…so I jacked that, and added Curbside in the front…to rep for all the under achievers.

2. How big of a role does anime/Japanese culture play in your life? And how exactly did the idea of incorporating it into your music come about?

Well, being that I’m a child of the Toonami movement and the original Pokemon series, anime will always be something that I hold dear. When I was in Germany we didn’t have anime to watch and I def didn’t know about online streaming of it back then either. The only anime that was shown was DBGT on the German channel and Golden Boy on German MTV. When I started my senior year of high school (Class of 08) I got back into it heavy and picked up where I left off. I’m fascinated with the culture because there’s so much unique history there, and not just Japan, but ALL of Asia has some pretty intense/beautiful history. I actually started incorporating it in my music back in 2009, I would sprinkle it in here and there along with gaming references. I’ve toned it down a lot since 2010 though.

3. You recently sent a physical copy of your album to a fan in Japan – how did that make you feel that your music has, in a sense, touched base?

MAAAAN you don’t understand how major that is to me, especially since I have no manager or label backing me up. I was actually at the mall with my gf while she had a job interview, signing cds and packaging them in the food court when I got the email. I was like NO WAY…thought it was a joke so I closed out the email and took a breather before I read it again. I think it was one of the happiest days I’ve had when it comes to my music for sure! I also got wind that a DJ in Japan got their hands on the remix project of The:CBE and was interested in playing at gigs and ish. CRAZY. Shout out to everyone that helped push the music!!

4. Explain the meaning behind The Cherry Blossom Effect: Endless Dream Theory, and how does this project different from past ones?

The meaning of the project is pretty long, but basically it’s just me going through life not knowing whether I’m experiencing a place where my dreams are reality or if my reality is in fact linked with my dreams. The album is structured around 3 themes, fantasy, reality, or time wasted. Each song has something to do with one of those 3 components…I left it open ended so the listener could make the decision how it would play out in their lives. I did not want to TELL the listener what they should interpret it as. And it’s not much different from my other projects…I say that because to me it’s basically the child of Endless Waltz and Bum Life, it embodies the spirit of both.

5. Most of the tracks on the album were produced by yourself, which is a growing trend with upcoming artists, is it important for you to produce for yourself?

It’s important for me to make my own beats because it’s HARD to find producers who won’t BS you on prices, or give you beats that the give EVERYONE. I understand it’s an art and etc too, just as writing and recording, but when you’re working retail and in college…making barely $300 every two weeks, you don’t have cash to just hand out like that. I started making beats when I was 15 (6 years ago). It was just for fun then…but then I heard about how much artists have to pay producers and I was like O_o no way, I need to keep money in my pocket. I love the freedom of being able to make my own music from the ground up, nothing can compare in my eyes or ears.

6. If you could sum up The Cherry Blossom Effect in one word, as it pertains to the entire scope of your up-and-coming rap career thus far, what would that word be?

Pink…you and I both know what that means so I don’t even need to explain it

 

With that, to further dive into the experience of The Cherry Blossom Effect – Watch the self-produced, self-directed, self-starring clip - Sakura’s Eve.

FOLLOW Curbside Jones On Twitter

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