Cleveland, OH. (Top40 Charts/ JJR
Music Group) - There's a new rap group in town, or should I say new town AND new group? Cleveland, OH has produced its far share of artists from the O'Jay's to Bone Thugs, and new acts Ray Cash & Al Fatz, and J-squad may just be the next on the list.
Given that many groups nowadays are put together almost like assembly lines, J-Squad has chosen to break the mold and blending their talents to create a new sound. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, an area known for producing few and far rap artists, including Bone Thugs N Harmony, Ray Cash to name a few, they know the independent circle far too well.
Consisting of brothers YK (born John Hardaway) and Mr. Model (born Jason Hardaway) and longtime friend Young Dizzy (born Antwon Jay), they've seen their share of friends and partners lost to the game. Explains YK "A lot of dudes just cant handle the downsides of the streets, and I've seen a lot dudes fall victim to the streets". After he and his brother both suffered near fatal experiences, they both put down the call of the streets and decided they would chase after their longtime dream of making music that people who came from the same struggle would understand.
Says Model, "We met Dizzy along the way, after he began helping us promote he eventually just fell in place as the next member of the group". They put together their hustling mentalities, and began selling anything and everything they could to earn money for their music.
"We were selling Cars, clothes, and some not so legal stuff, just trying to earn a buck", says YK. "Here in Cleveland, you can't just come up on a bunch of people with money, you gotta earn ya take". After saving enough to build a decent studio, they entered the booth churning out constant mixtapes selling them at school in there hometown of Euclid, Ohio, an urban suburb of Cleveland, and as far as Ashtabula and Lorain.
Eventually catching the chance to have a mixtape hosted by Ozone Magazine's Julia Beverly, they distributed nearly 5,000 copies all over their mid-western region going as far as Buffalo, NY, and West Virginia. They've been co-signed by Lil Flip, C-murder, and more and now may just be their time to do something for the music industry it's needing.
Their upcoming Album entitled "Only The Strong Survive" in stores soon.
