KJ-52: No Mixed Messages
by Michael Herman | posted 3/01/2003
 1 of 2
When he was first starting out as an artist, Jonah Sorrentino was annoyed by comparisons to Eminem. However, he soon came to realize that it was intended as a compliment and a means to connect with the teen listeners he so desired to minister to. Besides, we happen to think KJ's every bit as good as Eminem. On his way back to his home state of Florida, KJ-52 dropped by our offices to discuss the messages he's most passionate about.
Tell me what's deep in your heart and your thoughts these days.
KJ-52: The issue that's been on my mind lately is the sex-saturation of our society. It's gotten so bad that I can't even go to a magazine rack these days. Eight out of ten magazine covers have some half-naked woman on them. You see it in hip-hop videos as well. It's all over the place.
I have a song called "Keep Your Clothes On," directed toward women who use their bodies to sell anything and everything. The song's about how this degrades women and how women are buying into it and feeling as though they have to dress in skimpy clothes in order to be attractive. I don't think this topic has been addressed in a song from a man's perspective before. I want to bring this to the attention of both women and men, and even to the music industry. I want to say to women, "Respect yourself."
Do you let your music speak about your desire to stay sexually pure and for others to do so as well, or do you speak about it on stage?
KJ-52: If I have time to talk on stage, I try to talk with the teens in the audience about sexual purity. I think it's an issue I need to talk to the kids about. Period. They need to hear it from my mouth.
Whether it's through something I say or something I sing, I want the young men to know that it doesn't take having sex with a woman to become a real man. It's a myth that should never be believed. On the other hand, some women believe that they have to sleep with their boyfriends in order to keep them or so they'll know that they love him. That's another big myth.
The issue of sexuality gets too many clichéd, "pat answers." I didn't come up with the idea of [sings in a high voice] "Oh, let's wait for sex." In my song, we get pretty deep down into it. I try to put it on the kids' level. I address the girls first, and then the guys.
What can people expect to hear when they listen to your album, Collaborations? Can you take us through a few of the songs?
KJ-52: "Where Were You" is a song about domestic abuse in the home. "Dear Slim" is, of course, a song I wrote to Eminem. And even though it's obviously my song to him, it goes a lot deeper. It's God's love letter to those who are lost. That's why it's often one of my last songs during the altar call.
"Sunshine" is a praise and worship song for me. "The Choice is Yours" talks about the different things you can choose in this world, and that the best thing is choosing Christ.
Thinking about the rest of the album, I actually take 47 different rappers' names and turn them into an exposé about Christ in "47 Emcees." "The Mullet Song" is totally tongue-in-cheek about that haircut – I'm just having fun with that. The song "Why" also has that same style of humor.
I don't like writing pointless songs. I always try to have a point or a concept on each track, and that's what I did on this album.
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