Review Fix Exclusive: Willie J Talks ‘We Love You Puerto Rico’

August 17, 2019 Patrick Hickey Jr. Music 0

Review Fix chats with Willie J, who discusses his new track, “We Love You Puerto Rico.”

About We Love You Puerto Rico:

Nearly two years after Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and other surrounding islands, the news crews have long moved on but the humanitarian crises endure. The reality is sobering, with more officially reported deaths than 9/11, a tripling of attempted suicides and the closing of 283 schools just the start of the ongoing toll. Keenly aware of the depth of the tragedy and determined to let the citizens of Puerto Rico know folks on the mainland still have their backs, St. Louis based singer, entertainer and producer Willie J has joined forces with Aaron Emig, his partner at Pure Mission Entertainment, to create and release the powerhouse anthem “We Love You Puerto Rico.”

Written by Willie and produced by him and his crew The Muzic Doctorz in conjunction with Emig, the track – recorded in St. Louis and Los Angeles – features alternating rap and vocal sections with a handful of dynamic guest artists from Willie’s stable, including 4-time Olympic boxing champ turned vocalist Arthur “Flash” Johnson, Arthur’s wife LaTanya Johnson, singer Jade, rapper Jazzy (Willie’s 13-year-old daughter) and L.A. based vocal powerhouse Crystal Haywood. 

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music? 

Willie J: I got involved in music by way of my Mom who was organists/singer (Barbara Ann Jones) who died OF breast cancer in 2006 she inspired me greatly And My Dad (Willie B Jones JR) who played the drums/tambourine. I was asked to sing Solos and lead songs in the Church choirs as a little boy. AND SOON AFTER in the streets of East Saint Louis/Washington Park Illinois. I WOULD get my Start in the genres of R&B/Hip Hop ..This influence came from a very very Close relative (My Cousin Tony) who was murdered at the age of 21. AND I was 16 at the time. He was like a big brother to me and made me bring my radio over to imitate the other Rappers and R&B SINGERS…he saw something in me and pushed me to rise above our inner-city struggles 

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like? 

Review Fix: What inspires you? 

Willie J: WHEN MY MUSIC TOUCHES AND EMPOWERS A LIFE INSPIRES ME THE MOST AND GOD

Review Fix: What makes this album special? 

Willie J: What makes this album special is that it is geared towards Empowering people and Changing Lives. And creating a Hope through the art of Music. And most of all it has songs geared towards terrible catastrophes that happened such as the Song I wrote called “We Love You Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 which is dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Maria and another song entitled “Isabell” Geared towards a Teen who killed herself due to Cyber Bullying and sexual assault- And also that this album is  the first to be Released soon under my new company (Pure Mission Entertainment).

Review Fix: What’s the standout track? 

Willie J: I would have to say that right now In This Season “We Love You Puerto Rico” is the Standout track. And considering how many people died from this Hurricane (MARIA) over 3k. More deaths than 9/11!

Review Fix: What was it like to work with all of these different people on this? 

Willie J: It was refreshing and a good challenge to articulate a song that includes several different artists. Who all have their-own unique sound!

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

Willie J: Unique/ Uplifting /EMPOWERING/AUTHENTIC AND GENUINE.

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

Willie J: My live performances are always more heartfelt/Different because of being able to feed off of the energy of the people. AND I GET TO TWEAK  THE  STUDIO VERSION OF THE COMPOSITION LIVE…Which makes it more relatable to the fans who there for that moment…Verses the Studio work that has a certain structure one must stick to.

Review Fix: What are your goals for the rest of 2019? 

Willie J: MY GOAL FOR THE REST 2019 IS TO GET BETTER AS A ENTERTAINER/PRODUCER/MUSICIAN/Songwriter and LEADER. AND TO MAXIMIZE EVERY NEW OPPORTUNITY THAT AWAITS ME AND MY OTHER ARTISTS AT PME.

Review Fix: What’s next? 

Willie J: I AM PREPARING ME AND THE ARTIST FOR NATIONAL TV LIVE PERFORMANCES. A HALLMARK TV “HOME AND FAMILY” on next month Sept 26th in Los Angeles and THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW ON NBC TBA.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14320 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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