In this interview spotlight, I chat with Jus Gamble about his latest release featuring Ballad, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
Born in upstate New York, raised in Marlboro, MA(about 45minutes outside of Boston, MA) and moved to 5 Boston, MA 5 years ago in my early 20’s to be closer to the music scene. Usually, when I sit down to create, I’m aiming to make something very soulful, groovy, BIG, and something that leaves space for an artist to vocally. Since my earliest days of producing beats/instrumentals, creating songs has always played a large role and excited me the most. The idea of wanting to create original tracks back when I was more of a songwriter is a large part the reason why I became a music producer in the first place. Generally, the music I make ends up being considered as Hip-Hop, R&B or Electronic. While drawing inspiration from some of my favorite music producers, I intentionally pull tracks away from the expected and in a direction that truly fits my production style. Which has lead me to produce records with some unorthodox drums & melodies that I pride myself on today.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
My first musical venture was teaching myself to play the guitar when I was 9. I learned to play looking up guitar tabs online using my father’s acoustic guitar he had that he brought back with him from the islands. Growing up and still to this day, my father was heavy into reggae music growing up & my mother more into R&B/Gospel. Going back to these roots help me to define where I see my music taking me over the next couple years. Especially for my upcoming EP, “Underdog Arrogance”. For this project, I knew that I had to refocus back to my core as an artist and bring back those pleasing/warm/melodic type sounding tracks that I grew up listening to. Working in Boston there’s a lot of independent talent in the Hip-Hop scene. Being that I love to work with vocalists and actually creating songs, I was able to deliver a wide body of work catering to those type of listeners. A large part of what motives me is being able to stand on my own and build with artists who want to work with me to collaborate on my sound at its core.
How is “Don’t Have To” different than previous releases? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
Going back to the roots of my parents is what helped me to define where I see my music taking me over the next couple years. For this project, I knew that I had to refocus back to my core as an artist and bring back those pleasing/warm/melodic type sounding tracks that I grew up listening to. “Don’t Have To” is the 1st single off of my EP, “Underdog Arrogance”, and is meant to show my Hip-Hop fans that I am larger than just Hip-Hop. Being that my last compilation album released at the end of 2016, “Gamble Royale”, was mainly Hip-Hop with the exception of a couple R&B tracks, the main fan base that came after that release was the Hip-Hop crowd. My intention with this release is to display the natural sound that I believe relates closest to my core as an artist. Going back to when I first starting making beats, I would naturally start making more dance type records. Even though that was never my true intention, it would almost always start to head in the dance realm of music. So with this single release as well as the entire EP, I am looking to expand on that musical bone of mine and create a natural signature sound.
Do you face challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? How has technology helped you (assuming it helps)?
Exposure has always been a challenge, and as long as I remain an indie artist I imagine it always will be. But with social media now taking over the game, apps like IG have been extremely helpful. They’ve helped me to build a portfolio for the entire world to see. Time has shown me that the more consistent I am with my everyday grind the more people begin to take watch, inside and outside of the music industry. I’m also fortunate that as a music producer, I am also able to use my skills to build with artists as an audio engineer as well. The internet and technology have also broadened my customer base as well. Since I am making instrumentals on a regular basis it has helped me drastically in being able to sell my beats through my own beat store directly on my website at JusGamble.Com
Where can we connect with you online and discover more music?
JusGamble.Com for all the latest updates. I’m @JusGamble on my IG/TW & the rest of the major social media sites all the time connecting with friends, acquaintances and newcomers.. All major streaming platforms and more!
Anything else before we sign off?
Thank you for the opportunity to share part of my story today. When it’s all said and done I’d like to be able to share my talents with dedicated members of the younger generation. Before I can fully dive into that, I know that I have a lot more work to put in. My blade is only getting sharper as a music producer, and with every release moving forward you can expect to hear a certain level of detail that puts on display the type of dedication I have to my craft. #GambleOnTheseBeats
