Review Fix Exclusive: INFLUENTIAL J Talks “Flossin'” And More

Review Fix chats with singer Influential J, who discusses his creative process and goals for the future.

INFLUENTIAL J, born James Avalon Gandy Jr. is 21-year-old artist who raps, produces and designs everything from his clothing to his digital content. He even shoots and edits his own music videos. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, J has always had a passion for style. He looks up to rap icons like Kanye West (Pre-Sunken Place Kanye) & A$AP Rocky. His musical influences include: Kanye West, Drake, & Erykah Badu. This past fall he won the “Battle of the Bands” competition to open at the University of Pittsburgh’s Fall Fest for DESIIGNER and Amine. He’s been co-signed by hip hop music mogul, Steve Rifkind and is ready to make his mark on the industry.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

INFLUENTIAL J: I got involved with music when I was about 9 years old. I started out producing with my aunt who’s also a musician then went on to singing and eventually started writing rhymes. When I discovered I actually had flow and was dope at it, I just ran with it.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

INFLUENTIAL J: My creative process always starts with the beat selection. I spend hours on YouTube trying to locate the perfect beat/perfect producer. Once I find something I like I’ll play it on repeat out my speakers and record a demo of me saying nonsense to catch the flow, then fill the nonsense with heat.

Review Fix: What inspires you?

INFLUENTIAL J: I think others being successful inspires me. Honestly, when I see people my age, that are making moves and living how I want to live, it lights a fire under me to know that it is possible. Surrounding yourself with people who want to go places also helps with inspiration, your environment can become toxic if you are around the wrong people.

Review Fix: What makes “Flossin'” a special track?

INFLUENTIAL J: “Flossin” is a special track because I feel and hear growth in the song. I honestly think this is my best work to date. From the beat, to my flow and lyrics, I really feel like I made magic. It also came together so effortlessly which is always a great feeling when a track writes itself.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

INFLUENTIAL J: I would say my sound is very east coast, old rap over new wave beats because I actually RAP like rappers back in the day who cared about flow and bars. I write, give you metaphors that make you think, wordplay, all of that. These dudes don’t push their pen at all.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

INFLUENTIAL J: My live shows don’t differ that much from the studio versions of the tracks because I don’t usually perform with a live band. I mix the studio versions of my songs with other songs and create a live mix that even people who don’t know me will enjoy because they know a popular song I threw in the mix.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2018?

INFLUENTIAL J: My main goal for 2018 is to gain supreme visibility and garner a larger fan base. I want to do more shows and travel and really connect with people. I put in a lot of work so now I’m going to spend this year making sure I get what I know I should have.

Review Fix: What’s next?

INFLUENTIAL J: THE EP…. it will be flames fire 100 emoji all that, stay tuned!

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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