Birth name Jesse Matthews Years active 2000–present | Genres Hip hop Name J. Math | |
Occupation(s) Record producer, Journalist, Educator of at-risk students Instruments Drum machine
Pro Tools
Sampler
MPC 2000XL Labels Interscope Records
Death Row Records
G-Unit Records | ||
DJ Mathematics talks equipment used producing 'The Saga Continues'
Jesse Matthews, better known by his stage name J. Math, is an American record producer, A&R, hip-hop journalist, and at-risk educator. Raised on the east coast, he started off as a hip-hop journalist for regional college publications and later at XXL, Scratch, and Smooth.
Contents
- DJ Mathematics talks equipment used producing The Saga Continues
- Hip hop journalist 1997 2005
- Hip hop record producer 2005 present
- Hip hop AR 2007 present
- At risk educator 2000 present
- References
J. Math and Jimi Kendrix teamed up in 2005 to create the production company Street Radio. They gained recognition in the hip-hop industry through their work with artists like 50 Cent, G-Unit, Bone Thugs N Harmony, and Wu-Tang Clan. In the August 2008 issue of Vibe (magazine), Street Radio was featured in the article "VRap" with the author stating, "Hip Hop is definitely not dead because these producers are making some serious noise." The duo also composes music for television shows like MTV’s True Life and Cribs.
Math has collaborated with artists on full-length albums and is credited as A&R for multiple albums.
He also works as an at-risk educator. He spent 10 years working with adolescents in East New York, Brooklyn and currently works with youth in East Harlem.
Hip-hop journalist (1997 – 2005)
Math spent 4 years (1997-2000) as the lead hip-hop journalist for the nationally distributed The UR, interviewing artists such as Outkast, The LOX, and Wyclef.
He wrote a variety of feature and cover articles during his time as feature writer for Scratch Magazine (2003-2006), a sister magazine to XXL that focused on hip-hop music production. Highlights include his Eminem cover story and a feature on producer Red Spyda based on Math’s experiences with him over the course of six months, and features on Scott Storch, Styles P, and Jadakiss.
Math was also a writer for the “production credit” section of XXL (magazine), including pieces on Neo Da Matrix and Punch.
Math was also a feature writer for Smooth (magazine). Highlights include features on Bow Wow, Pitbull, Luther Campbell.
Math also contributed a feature story on Alchemist (producer) to Wax Poetics Jan 2008 issue.
Hip-hop record producer (2005 – present)
Math had been creating and shopping beats for a few years when he linked up with hip hop producer Jimi Kendrix in 2005. The two joined to create the production company Street Radio. Math describes their sound in the spring 2007 edition of Plateau Magazine.
'"When we combine that radio sound, the strong R&B sound, and the type of music I came up on, it becomes something so crazy," explained Math, "like this dirty frequency New York music, but with a melody."'
Their first placement was “9mm” on Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s Strength & Loyalty in 2007. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, with 119,000 copies sold. It has since gone on to be certified gold by the RIAA, having sold over 500,000 copies within the US to date.
Soon after, they produced a single for 50 Cent and G-Unit called “I Like The Way She Do It” on the “T.O.S.” album. The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 102,000 for the first week. As of April 2014, the album has sold about 412,000 copies in the US and the song has sold over 350,000 copies.
They have since gone to produce for artist like Wu-Tang Clan, 2Pac, Rick Ross, and Busta Rhymes. They also contribute to a variety of TV shows on Discovery, MTV, and Sundance.
Hip-hop A&R (2007 - present)
Math has overseen the production of some albums that Street Radio have contributed tracks to. He is given A&R credit for Wu-Tang Clan’s Legendary Weapons, Styles P’s Ghost Sessions and The Ghost Dub Dime, and 2Pac’s Nu-Mixx Klazzics Vol. 2 - Evolution: Duets and Remixes.
At-risk educator (2000 – present)
While working on his careers in journalism and hip-hop music production, Math has always been involved with at-risk youth education. He spent 10 years as the educational coordinator for a GED/vocation center in East New York, Brooklyn, working with 16- to 21-year-olds who often just came home from jail and were living in shelters or group homes. In 2010, was awarded a certificate of achievement for “10 years of outstanding and dedicated service the younth of the Brooklyn community.”
For the past 5 years, he has worked as an at risk educator in an East Harlem high school, assisting students with behavioral and academic issues.