bigted Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 Tupac Producer Johnny J Dead of Apparent Suicide posted Saturday, October 04, 2008 8:19 PM By Morris Moore Producer Johnny Jackson aka Johnny J. died from an apparent suicide in the Los Angeles County Jail yesterday (October 3). According to a number of reports, Jackson, who was incarcerated on a DUI charge, allegedly jumped from a tier in the prison, resulting in his death, although the official cause of death has not been determined. Johnny J., who was born in Mexico and raised in South Central Los Angeles, is best known for the body of work he recorded with the late Tupac Shakur. He started in the music business at the age of 16, but his first taste of success came in 1990, when he produced the Grammy nominated hit single “Knockin’ Boots” for pioneering “Spanglish” rapper Candyman. Around 1993, Johnny J started an affiliation with Shakur, which would eventually produce hundreds of recordings land the producer work on a number of high profile releases. He produced tracks on albums like The Above The Rim soundtrack, as well as Tupac’s Thug Life album, Me Against The World and All Eyez On Me, which contained the hit single How Do U Want It, which was a Johnny J. production. Johnny J. was prolific as well, having produced or scored music for movies like Blood Diamond, The Fan and The Big Hit. Johnny J. also released a solo album in 1995 titled I Gotta Be Me and many of his productions on Tupac Shakur ended up on posthumous releases like Until The End Of Time, Better Dayz, R U Still Down (Remember Me) and others. Johnny J. also worked with a number of artists, ranging from Tatyana Ali and The Outlawz to Lil’ Eazy E’s group The Kings of L.A. A documentary on his life was also being produced at the time of his death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 i read about this on hiphopupdate.com... kinda crazy. i never knew about him, or any specific tracks he did but, he seemed like a talented guy. i wonder how long he was in the penn for and how much longer he had.. and why he jumped... sad. rip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da Brakes Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 I knew about him from the days of 2pac being alive and have to say he was an awesome producer. One the only ones that could capture the true essence of Pac. Such a shame to hear about this. RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilsJim89 Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 And all along I wondered who produced most of 2pac's beats! This is incredible...this guy is probably one of the best producers - ever. I just never knew who it was who made his 2pac's beats. Especially the later beats "Me against the world" album, some of All eyez on me all the way up until the until the end of time song...wowww RIP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 I'll never understand suicide. Johnny J was truely a talented person. He was one of 2Pac's best friends 2. I was hoping Johnny J would be working alongside Afenie for future 2Pac releases so there weren't anymore garbage doctored albums. I have countless 2Pac documentaries and Johnny J was humble and down 2 earth in all of the ones he's in. My prayers go out 2 his family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFre$hPrince Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Well, Johnny worked on a lot of Pac's posthum releases and we still do not know if was suicide or not. The man had been in prison for 2 months and would have stayed there for another 2 months. He was not charged with DUI but with a felony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 He has some credits on those those albums, but he wasn't really involved. He produced alot of the original versions, took 2Pac's vocals off them and threw them on crappy watered down beats. I'd like to think Johnny J didn't commit suicide...especially if his sentence was short. If that's the case, it's not like he didn't have anything 2 not look forward 2 (getting out). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFre$hPrince Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Yeah. The Pac fans know Amaru has been destroying Pac's legacy with their latest releases. R U still down and Still I Rise were the best releases after his death imo. The greatest song Pac did with J was probably Life Goes On. That's one of my favs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 I agree on those solo albums being the best. Keep in mind "R U Still Down (Remember Me?)" was not doctored at all. Just unreleased 2Pac put 2gether for a double disc release and it all flowed like one album. The lyrics were great, the production was real, and the whole thing flowed. I can listen 2 both discs from start 2 finish without skipping. "Still I Rise" had The Outlaws re-recording some of their vocals but the the beats were original or just slightly tweeked from the originals. Until The End of Time and Better Dayz were when things started getting out of hand. All the other albums after that are just crap. 2Pac is the ONLY good thing about them for the most part cuz the production is wack which 2Pac would NEVER have settled for and the guests are mostely unrealistic and untalented for 2Pac's music. My dream is that they'll just release everything in it's original form one day. Either that, or let the producers who worked with 2Pac when he waz alive work on the "new" music...Shock-G, Eazy Mo Bee, Soulpower, Warren G, etc... If anyone comes across any more news on Johnny J, please post it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFre$hPrince Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Yeah, the features suck. How can u put Eminem and the G-Unit onto a Pac track? Well, that's just the way it is I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 it would be crazy if he faked his death, them him and tupac made a comeback together hahah. 2020! me against the world 2. but in all seriousness its tragic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfuqua23 Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Wow!. Truly a shame. Johnny J was awesome. 2pac & him most definitely had super great chemistry in the studio. I'm totally with AJ's points. Most of the post. Pac albums, whenever a certain song would hit and I wondered who did it, in the credits was more than likely Johnny J. And Mr. Petrow, that'd be funny. (in a sense) if those two came back like that. If 2pac were still alive, it could be the other way around. While Johnny J's in jail, 2pac's album is blowing up. (Me Against The World did that.) If Pac were still alive, he'd probably visit Johnny J whenever he could to keep J stong, and he'd still be alive today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dr3amz Posted October 11, 2008 Members Report Share Posted October 11, 2008 dam man, slept on producer ya kno. Afta they released his posthum. albums with other producers it wasnt the same without johnny j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigted Posted October 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2008 I found some more info, I didn't know that he worked with Tatiana Ali: Sway & Tech Comment On Johnny J, Talk New Cash Battle October 7th, 2008 | Author: Jake PaineThis weekend it was reported that Johnny "J" Jackson died tragically in Los Angeles County Jail [click to read]. The producer of hits "How Do You Want It," "Hit 'Em Up" and "All About You" was well-liked in the Hip Hop industry, often granting interviews to uphold Tupac Shakur's legacy in times when information, particularly about his posthumous albums was often scarce and falsified. The final interview with the Mexican-born producer came by way of Sway & King Tech of The Wake Up Show. The legendary radio personalities, audio and video journalists and artists in their own right have had many superstar guests on their syndicated program. Tuesday evening, they told HipHopDX how Johnny J touched their lives. "Johnny J will be forever a legend in the music world. We hold him up next to Dr. Dre and Quincy Jones any day of the year. He always kept it real and honest with us, and we always appreciated that... Johnny, don't ever stop making your music. Now that you're in heaven, we know you and 'Pac are getting down once again --- We will miss you," said the two in a joint statement. The duo's final interview with Jackson can be viewed: http://ursession.com/wakeupshow#5299 In the interview, Johnny J declares to have sold over 100 million records, his connection with 2Pac in the studio and working with Tatiana Ali of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air fame, who is also interviewed. In addition to commenting on Hip Hop's recent loss, Sway & Tech are launching their urSession.com label with a cash prize contest. Users can visit the site to rhyme over provided beats by Alchemist, J Dilla and 9th Wonder in pursuit of $5,000, an appearance on The Wake Up Show and a development deal with their imprint. The submitted tracks will be uploaded through the site, voted on by fans, and a winner will be declared after the December 4th deadline. Other contests, part of the 100K Battle will involve other genres, and will follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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