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Jean-Andre Lowell Lawrence, better known as J.L.L, is part of a new class of producers from Jamaica. Born and raised in Kingston, J.L.L attended Ardenne High School, where he was first introduced to music. Since then, he has been toiling away in his soulful category of reggae and dancehall. He has produced music for Chronixx, Lila Iké, Sevana, Jas Elise, Kranium, and Lupe Fiasco. His true rise to fame began when he produced Masego’s track Navajo, later featured on Drake’s album Certified Lover Boy, earning him his first Grammy nomination. Now, at 29 years old and reaching for new heights, he caught up with The Gleaner and the legendary Habitat Studios for 5 Questions With …
1. How did you get into music?
Basically Ardenne [High School]. The transition between the eighth grade and the ninth grade I had a friend that came to me and said he made a beat and that reminded me of the time I had tried FL Studio. So I went back home, downloaded FL Studio and I had a small group of friends that we would just bounce beats off of each other. That’s where it started, Ardenne in the ninth grade.
2. You, along with many of your contemporaries, credit Ardenne High School for giving you your start. How integral do you think the school has been to where you are today?
I wouldn’t say I credit Ardenne, but Ardenne definitely facilitated the environment to further pursue music and just any creative field. I did photography at Ardenne, I did portrait drawing at Ardenne, obviously music, I think just the enthusiasm for art is really high at Ardenne. Hence why you have such great musicians come out of Ardenne because the students bounce off of each other. They’re their own internal culture apart from the heads of this and that. I think it’s a facility that really had a lot of enthusiastic kids. I think it’s a blessed school honestly, all credit is to God.
3. You work with a lot of artistes. Who is on your bucket list to collaborate with?
On the bucket list before I die is Kendrick Lamar. I cyah even say Rihanna cause she don’t make music [anymore]. I don’t really have a bucket list, but Mereba is a more upcoming artiste that I like. I definitely wanna work with Aidonia, some more of the dancehall legends and greats like Buju Banton, Movado, Vybz Kartel since he’s out now. Hopefully, I buck him as I leave out here since he’s everywhere. Trust me there’s a more exhaustive list, but that’s what I have so far.
4. Who is on your playlist right now?
Lemme tell you, that D’Angelo album, Black Messiah is a project [that] I [always] go back to. It’s a project that just makes me go inside myself. It makes me really just feel like a black man. When I listen to that it’s like the top of where I wanna be in music, that album, Black Messiah. I don’t listen to it as often cause I don’t want to play it out, but when I do, it never ceases to amaze me.
5. What are you working on right now?
Right now there are a couple of things. I’m working with some LA-based artistes on some reggae tracks. I have a project to come out next year, it’s like compilation of the different artistes. I have a few artistes with Mahalia. Right now I’m just working on creating new music, creating content and just trying to bridge more gaps and be more involved in the scene and more communicative with the people who are actually making the moves.
English (US) ·