J.Nolan (Jamar Nolan) is definitely a rare breed in the new age of Hip-Hop and rap music. The 20 year-old microphone fiend is all about lyrical content while blending his cool multi-syllabic flow with soulful, jazzy beats that accompany his vocals very well. His style alone separates him from anyone coming from his area of Atlanta, Georgia although he is originally from New Haven, Connecticut. Nolan doesn’t try to be anything that he’s not in his music either. He openly admits to not being a thug or anything remotely close to it. As a matter of fact, he claims that hip-hop music played an equal role to his parents when it came to his upbringing with influences such as Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Nas, and Common with a long host of others. By listening to his music you can see that he took the best components from each and compiled them together to create what would be best described as a breath of fresh air. It’s quite apparent that he was born to make music not only for himself, but to lead his generation into an era of personal growth while enjoying the experience.
In 2007, Nolan got the seal of approval from DJ/Producer Don Cannon a day after passing him one of his demo CD’s outside of an Atlanta radio station(Hot107.9 fm). On June 10, 2008 the young artist made his first official statement to the world with a mixtape entitled “Fresh Produce” and released it as a free download on the internet. It consists of 100% original material which makes it feel like a full-length album. The song “Saturday Night Fever” brought him a decent amount of recognition due to it being played constantly on college radio in Chicago. UK representative DJ Ames also included the song on his mixtape called Grind Time Volume 5. Just months later, the “I Am Not a Rapper” mixtape was released on September 26, 2008 and on December 1, 2008 “The Up-Bringing 2.0” was also put out as a free download. The Up-Bringing 2.0 is completely produced by J.Nolan’s cousin Yung B Da Producer and recaps the highs and lows of current hip-hop. The “Soul Brother pt.2” music video was released in December as well in order to gain a bit more attention.
Relentlessly, Nolan continued his barrage of musical output into 2009 with “Not Enough Time,” another completely original project equipped with 19 records. This was released on Feb. 16, 2009 and gained gradual coverage throughout various hip hop websites and blogs. On May 5th, 2009 he released yet another project for free download entitled “Chasing Cool,” which features original production from upcoming producers throughout the world. The project was presented by VIMBY’s (Video In My Backyard) former blog, Uponthingz.com in hopes of gaining additional exposure. The title song from the tape received airplay on Jacksonville radio (IRIE 105.7). The feedback to the record has been strong due to the positive message relayed in the song in which Nolan tells stories of 3 individuals “chasing cool” by conforming to what the urban community would classify as cool. The project as a whole received favorable reviews from different websites all agreeing that J.Nolan is surely a name to look out for in the very near future. Many have compared his penchant for witty wordplay and strong delivery to the likes of Lupe Fiasco, Talib Kweli, and Joe Budden all while remaining his own individual outlook on life and music in general. With a solid 3 years under his belt, it is apparent that J.Nolan has a very promising career ahead of him once he’s awarded the proper opportunity to show and prove at the next level.
http://twitter.com/J_Nolan
http://myspace.com/jnolaniscool
jnolaniscool.bandcamp.com
