Jason Daniel Rawls (born February 27, 1974), known professionally as J. Rawls, is an American

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

ian, producer, DJ, educator, and speaker based in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. He emerged in the late 1990s underground hip hop scene, contributing to projects such as Black Star's's debut album, '' Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Stars.'' Rawls has collaborated with various artists, including Grand Agent. Rawls runs a Columbus-based production company and record label, and performs as a DJ.

Music career

Throughout his career, Rawls has developed a diverse body of work. His solo albums include ''The Essence of J. Rawls'' (2001), The Hip-Hop Affect (2011), and The Legacy (2014). He is a member of the duo 3582 with Fat Jon of Five Deez, and has collaborated on projects such as Respect Game or Expect Flames (2012) with Casual of Hieroglyphics and Youth Culture Power (2019) with John Robinson, a jazz-infused album addressing challenges in educating inner-city youth.

Academic career

In addition to his musical career, Rawls has established an academic profile. He holds a bachelor's degree in business from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

, a master's degree in education from

Ashland University Ashland University is a private university in Ashland, Ohio, United States. The university consists of a main campus and several off-campus centers throughout central and northern Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern U ...

, and a Doctorate in Educational Administration from

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

. He has served as an adjunct instructor and visiting artist, teaching courses in hip hop and music business, and has co-authored Youth Culture Power: A #HipHopEd Guide to Teacher-Student Relationships and Student Engagement. Rawls also directs the Hip-Hop OHIO Patton Education Program at Ohio University's Patton College of Education.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''The Essence of J. Rawls'' (2001) * ''The Living Soul'' (2001) * ''Situational Ethics'' (2003) * ''Histories Greatest Battles, Campaigns & Topics'' (2003) * ''The Essence of Soul'' (2005) * ''The Liquid Crystal Project'' (2006) * ''It's the Dank & Jammy Show'' (2007) * ''True Ohio Playas'' (2007) * ''J. Rawls Presents Holmskillit'' (2007) * ''The Liquid Crystal Project 2'' (2008) * ''Rawls & Middle'' (2008) * ''The 1960s Jazz Revolution Again'' (2009) * ''The Hip-Hop Affect'' (2011) * ''The Liquid Crystal Project 3'' (2012) * '' Respect Game or Expect Flames'' (2012) * ''The Legacy'' (2014) * ''#jazzhop'' (2022) * ''The Confidence of Knowing'' (2024)

EPs

* ''Rawlzey'' (2015) * ''The Profit'' (2019) * ''Valor'' (2020)

Productions

Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

- "Brown Skin Lady" and "Yo Yeah" from ''

Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star ''Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star'' (often referred to as ''Black Star'') is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Black Star, composed of rappers Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def). The album was released on Sep ...

'' (1998) *

Doseone Adam Kidd Drucker (born April 21, 1977), better known by his stage name Doseone, is an American rapper, producer, poet and artist. He is a co-founder of the indie hip hop record label Anticon. He has also been a member of numerous groups in ...

- "Spitfire", "Self Explanatory", "That Ol' Pagan Shit", and "Genres" from ''

Hemispheres Hemisphere may refer to: In geometry * Hemisphere (geometry), a half of a sphere As half of Earth or any spherical astronomical object * A hemispheres of Earth, hemisphere of Earth ** Northern Hemisphere ** Southern Hemisphere ** Eastern Hemisphe ...

'' (1998) *

Themselves Themselves, previously known as Them, is an American hip hop duo based in Oakland, California. It consists of Doseone and Jel. They are also part of Subtle and 13 & God. The duo's first studio album, '' Them'', was included on ''Fact''s "100 ...

- "Directions to My Special Place" from ''

Them Them or THEM, a third-person singular or plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fict ...

'' (2000) *

Rasco Keida Brewer (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as Rasco (a bacronym for "Realistic, Ambitious, Serious, Cautious, and Organized"), is an American rapper. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Rasco became associated with hip hop in California. ...

- "Living Voices" from '' Hostile Environment'' (2001) * El Da Sensei - "Lights, Camera, Action!" from ''

The Unusual ''The Unusual'' is the second solo studio album by American rapper El Da Sensei. It was released on February 28, 2006 via Fat Beats Records. Recording sessions took place at Pete's Crib, Big Trouble In Little China Studios, Safe House Studios, I ...

'' (2006) *

Capital Steez Courtney Everald Dewar Jr. (July 7, 1993 – December 23, 2012), better known by his stage name Capital Steez (stylized as Capital STEEZ), was an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. He was a founder of the Brooklyn-based rap collective Pr ...

- "Infinity and Beyond" from ''AmeriKKKan Korruption'' (2012) *

MHz Legacy MHz Legacy, formerly known as MHz, is an American hip hop group from Columbus, Ohio. It consists of producer RJD2 and rappers Copywrite, Tage Future, and Jakki Da Motamouth. Camu Tao was also a member until his death in 2008. It was described ...

- "Columbus Diss Patch" from ''

'' (2012) * Cas Metah & Wonder Brown - "Drowning Man" from ''The Darke Bros'' (2012)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rawls, J. Living people Rappers from Columbus, Ohio American hip-hop DJs American hip-hop record producers Alternative hip-hop musicians Five percenters 21st-century American rappers 1974 births 21st-century African-American musicians