Meet J. Rhodes | Award Winning Music Producer, Artist, Author, Professor, Director and creative

We had the good fortune of connecting with J. Rhodes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi J., what do you want your legacy to be?
At this point in my life, my career is on autopilot. The right connections, people, job and opportunities are finding me due to me being in alignment and the law of attraction. My art will continue to grow, but what I really am worried about is how did I make people feel? Was I kind to the people who supported me? Did I add positive value to the world through my gifts? Will the art that I leave behind inspire the next generation.

I have four daughters. A 17 year old (Savannah), a 15 year old (Mckenzie), and 9 year old (Peyton), and a 5 year old (Hallie). I want everything that I leave behind to be an example for them.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I tell everyone that “Music” is the root of my career tree. lol. I am now a film director, a Berklee College professor, an artist, an author and so many more things, but music is the catalyst for it all. Everything from my production to my films is very creative and cinematic. I always want the listener to “feel” something. I want them to be taken to a specific place so I try to tap into the senses. Of course none of it was easy, but it was definitely worth it. What I’ve learned and what I even tell my students is that there is no secret to success. Everyone’s story is different. The one thing that is similar in every success story is that the ones who reach their goals are “dedicated” to their craft… and they don’t give up. You do those key components and you honestly raise your chances of success to 100 percent

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ok… We’d go to Terry Blacks Barbecue, or Hutchins because the sides at Terry Black or mid, but that’s ok. We’d go to the Kliff Klub just to get some of the most local vibes you could ever get lol. We’d visit the Reunion Tower, the Omni and the W for some “stay cation vibes”. Hopefully on someone else’s tab because they ain’t cheap. lol. We’d go to Deep Ellum in the day time (Because at Night, it turns into Gotham). We’d go to a Mavericks game courtside to see Luka, Kyrie and the gang. Then after the W we’d go take pictures near the Dirk statue. We’d go to a Cowboy game also. I’d take them to Oak Cliff just to see the area that I grew up in, then we’d go around a few more prominent areas on the City. We’d then go see some of the cool local artist in “Tin District”, make some music in my studio, then go visit the Delta Lounge in DFW airport before they few home. I know I’m missing a lot of things but if they could do this they’d fall in love with the city.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people that I want to shout out, but instead of shouting out any one individual… I’d like to shout out a city, and a subdivision. Dallas, and furthermore OAK CLIFF. Everything I am, everything that I do and embody start with home. So wherever I go, and whatever I do, just know that the cliff is represented. I also want to shout out my supporters. A lot of what I do is grass roots, and every step of the way there has been a strong group of people that have always held me up and empowered me along my journey. They were around for the recording sessions in my closet at UNT, to me working on music in the studio with Dr. Dre. It feels good to have that kind of genuine support.

Website: www.thesebeatsaintfree.com

Instagram: www.istagram.com/J_Rhodes