JGivens on how to make timeless music

JGivens’ albums El v. Envy and Fly Exam are too young to be called timeless, but sonically and lyrically, they possess the potential to earn the honor.

In an interview with Rapzilla at Legacy Conference 2016, the Los Angeles-based emcee spoke about how he tries to create timeless music, and he started by crediting the prominent producers on his last album.

“The reason why Fly Exam has I think some sort of timeless nostalgia, or maybe even that it doesn’t necessarily ride a certain wave, is because Daniel Steele, Beautiful Eulogy, these guys are composers,” JGivens said.

“Daniel Steele, he has a degree in jazz theory, so I’m not going to be like, ‘Let me see your beat, bro.’ He’s doing compositions. One way to I think make timeless music is to be in that music world, not just in waves.”

Lyrically, JGivens said he learned how to write from listening to classic music, in addition to reading the Bible.

“Why can we go back and listen to OutKast Aquemini and some of that stuff just be timeless that [Andre 3000] was saying? Why, because wisdom is timeless…

“If I’m asking the Lord for wisdom, and asking the Lord to teach me how to speak wisely, and then he points to himself and says, ‘Oh, well you know when I was on Earth, I would just go around and tell these parables, and they were timeless.’ Cool, let me go ahead and tell a parable then… ‘And so apparently the everglades are ineligible for Obamacare,’ boom.

“I stole it from Jesus, man. That’s how you make timeless stuff — you just speak God’s wisdom and sometimes paint a picture.”

David Daniels
David Daniels
David Daniels is a columnist at Rapzilla.com and the managing editor of LegacyDisciple.org. He has been published at Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, CCM Magazine, Bleacher Report, The Washington Times and HipHopDX.
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