If there's one artist that perfectly encompasses the boiling hot underground of Southern Maryland's Hip Hop division, it's Joony. His track record consists of singles with cult followings, visuals and trillers with thousands of plays, and jokes and punchlines that only a DMV bred artist could conjure. His energy is tangible while listening to his music. His musical choices from lyrical focus, production and project direction are all his own, especially in his upcoming, self titled mixtape. He records what he likes and never seems to tap out of creativity. I had a conversation with him to try and understand the spirit of what seems to make our area ground zero for Hip Hop's Next Up.
Joony, AKA JoonyTV was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the youngest of three siblings and the only boy. Without a playmate with similar interests at home, by seventh grade playing with neighborhood friends led him into rebellious behavior that every preteen experiences. He smoked weed for the first time and started searching for his own musical influences. Joony discovered and developed an artistic admiration for Mac Miller in 2011 and Kendrick Lamar in 2013. Not long after that, he wrote his first song and recorded it with his two friend who were also pursing music, Kash N Doja and Zay Blaze. From here, Odd Future, Youtube and the daily responses from social media became fuel for different ideas and outside-of-the-box concepts.
“Without social media theres nothing... [It] takes a big part in anything, not just me.”
For his upcoming mix tape, Joony didn't have much criteria for what could make the cut. If it sounds good, it's going on. He isn't worried about impressing anyone. He knows his music is just as good as any artists blowing up right now. He's waiting patiently and giving his supporters the content they came for. His lyrics are witty and he often teams up with local artists and producers such as Hughe$, YG U4L, and Fendi Flip. He has the positivity and collaborative spirit that many say the area is lacking. One of the few local acts he hasn't worked with yet is XanMan. Joony sites himself as one of the first to really crank and spread his music. A song featuring the two of them would be explosive for the culture and DMV music scene.
I asked what keeps him filled creatively, and he worded it as easily digestible as possible, “I really just be waking up. This sh*t is what I do... recording from a laptop in the home basement, then post a triller the same day and do my own mixing at least occasionally". He's always prepared for a challenge, he welcomes it even. As a way of practicing producing tracks, Joony often arranges beats and perfects them until he thinks that his favorite artist would hop on it. So far, JoonyTV is an independent artist with not much official backing behind him. All of his recent success is from his own plans, along with management consultation from his close friend Demonie. His friends sometimes promote his trillers and music videos via Instagram. Nowadays, all you need is for the right person to see you perform. Joony feels strongly about picking the right deal or staying independent. He'd rather work hard than be pushed with no response or passion from a label. From his next release, he'll have more eyes on his next move than ever before.
