by Maddie Abene

Today’s most prestigious rap icons consist of Juicy J, Lil Debbie, Iggy Azalea, Kreayshawn, A$AP Rocky, and of course, LGHS’s finest, Yung JB. Ever since junior Jordan Brown was “yung” she would constantly jot down her ideas as lyrics and poems in her favorite Hello Kitty journal. Over the years, her random assortment of lyrics began to develop into themes and, eventually, actual songs.

Brown’s transformation from Jordan to her rap alter ego “JB” first began when her producer and mentor, Tinashe Hwande, also known as “T Dub the Banger,” contacted her via Facebook after hearing about her musical talents from a good friend of Brown’s. Before Hwande had contacted her, Brown had only felt comfortable sharing her raps with her closest friends in a casual setting. Unsure of herself and hesitant to expand her rapping hobby into something more, she ignored Hwande for a period of time. Brown weighed her options and ultimately decided to go forward with her musical career. With the help of Hwande, Brown’s dreams of becoming “someone worth talking about” could finally come true.

Before meeting for her first recording session with Hwande, Brown had been preparing a song called MJ for a very long time. It took her an hour to get the base of the song and about three days to perfect it. Brown describes her first session with Hwande: “I was really nervous at first. I rapped MJ for him and he told me that we needed to change the chorus, so we came up with an entirely different chorus on the spot. Once I got comfortable with the whole situation, I really started to love it. This whole experience has taught me that change is good.”

Producing music has changed the way that Brown sees her lyrics. She focuses on more of a beat when she writes now and her songwriting improves with every song. So far, Brown has recorded and released three songs by the names of MJ, Schemein, and Candy Kisses on both her’s and Hwande’s soundcloud accounts. She plans to release many more in the near future.

Brown’s musical inspiration comes from music itself. She looks up to Eminem, Bob Marley, Rihanna, E-40, and A$AP Rocky. Brown says, “My mind is always on my music. I keep my rap notebook with me at all times wherever I go, since I’m always thinking of potential lyrics. I actually just wrote a bar in first period today.” Brown’s inspiration also comes from nature; She says that a “calm and relaxing environment” can make all the difference when she is writing. Writing music is Brown’s main way of expressing herself, and it has always come naturally to her. Brown explains, “My music expresses everything about me; It’s the only way that I know how to channel my emotions. Rapping is like a second language to me.”

Brown’s rap game has just begun and she is very excited to continue producing music. Her popularity is increasing and with an already strong fanbase at LGHS, it is very likely that she will have much success as a rap artist. When Yung JB is gone and all that is left is her legacy, the El Gato staff predicts that her tombstone will read “Still Schemein”.

You can find Yung JB’s songs below.