Review Fix Exclusive: J Pee Talks ‘To The Kids That I Might Never Have’

Review Fix chats with rapper J Pee about his new single, “To The Kids That I Might Never Have,” before detailing his creative process and goals for the future.

On “To The Kids That I Might Never Have,” J Pee reflects honestly on the idea of having kids someday, and the tragedies and triumphs those kids will likely face. In this glimpse into the future, he remarks on the downfalls of our current social landscape, and the effect it could have on his potential kids. Passionate platitudes about overpopulation and self-righteousness create a clear view of a world that keeps building an over-inflated sense of self into its children— allowing them free reign to continue with ideologies based in bigotry and hate. J Pee’s “To The Kids That I Might Never Have” is a truth bomb of a track you won’t be able to get out of your head.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

J Pee: I started to write music my junior year of college after my first break up. I had all of these angsty feelings and nowhere to put them, so I started writing and recording super depressing pop/r&b music in my friend’s closet all through college. The music was pretty bad, and to be honest I don’t even think I felt better. It felt a bit like masochism. But I was having a ton of fun. So yeah, it was exactly like masochism. Also, my degree is in Musical Theater. I seem to love expressing myself through song.

Review Fix: What makes “To The Kids That I Might Never Have” special?

J Pee: I guess I would say special in that it’s not a topic people are talking about, especially in rap. It’s a very personal subject.

Review Fix: How was it written?

J Pee: Through years of continued Jekyll/Hyde debate with myself (which continues on a daily basis). I was thinking who the most uncomfortable person would be to have this conversation with and the answer came pretty quickly: “Oh, your nonexistent children, obviously.” I felt like if I was going to attempt this song I had to make it as honest as possible and really hold myself under a microscope.

Review Fix: How do you want this period of your career to be remembered?

J Pee: As the time I pulled the big shovel out of the garage and really started digging, and digging, and sharing what I dug up with the world, not just a couple times, but consistently. I feel like I’ve been pulling out smaller shovels most of my life, sharing my art, then going back into hiding kind of like Hephaestus. But I really do have this massive urge and need to share what I create with people. And not just some people, but a lot of people. So I need a bigger shovel for that. I need to ask more of myself and I need to share what I’m digging up on a consistent basis now for the rest of my life. So this is just the beginning in my mind. I guess we’ll call this the ‘ Big Shovel Phase: Part 1’.

Review Fix: What do you think you have to do to be a star?

J Pee: Oh who knows. Stars are made in so many ways. Bought into it. Born into it. They find themselves and blossom along the way. I’ve always thought I could be a ‘star’ but that’s just my ego. The need to think I’m special. But as I continue this I’m realizing I’m finding the ability to be a vessel for some interesting art and stay out of my own way long enough to let some of this stuff come through me and be shared with people. And those are my favorite artists, the ones who are channeling something much more important than themselves for other people. And I do think I have what it takes to do that, to live like that. And I would like to do it on a large scale. I guess to me, the platform of ‘star’ is not an end goal, it’s a tool to be used carefully. It’s a platform I would definitely like to have. I want to reach a lot of people.

Review Fix: What are your bucket list goals in music?

J Pee: I want to give rap an entirely new audience, and bring something fresh to the current audience. I don’t really fit the bill of any male rappers. I’m very colorful. My music is not stereotypically “masculine,” and rap’s entire foundation is this prototype of masculinity. I’m honestly not entirely sure what it looks like yet. I know I’m building something but I think it’s too early to place a finger on it. I have a great feeling about where it’s going. So my biggest goal right now is to keep my head down, keep digging, and try to stay out of my own way long enough to keep a consistent stream of content releasing.

Review Fix: How does “To The Kids That I Might Never Have” help you get there?

J Pee: The people that are familiar with my work on YouTube know me purely as a comedy guy, like a more fucked up Lonely Island type of comedy musician. I think this album, and this song in particular, shows the next step in where my music is heading. I have a lot more to talk about, and not all of it is for laughs. I want to challenge the way people think. I want to challenge the way I think. Sometimes it’s easier done with a comedic twist, but not every time. And I’m not afraid to go there.

Review Fix: What’s next?

J Pee: I have 5 more music videos lined up for songs off this album, To The Kids included. I’m already in the studio for the second album, which is a trap album entirely focused on toxic masculinity. That will be released by the end of 2018

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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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