GLENDALE, Wis. — A Milwaukee rapper with cerebral palsy might have limited hand and leg movement, but when he is in the booth he is anything but limited.
“It lets me become anything that I want to be," Jaquawn Gaston, better known as Rap J, said.
The 25-year-old has been in a wheelchair most of his life. When he discovered hip-hop as a child, he found his outlet.
"Growing up like I know that the world looked at me different, but whenever I turned on the beat or I started rapping like I just felt like I could be anything that I want to be," he said.
Rap J has about a dozen songs on Spotify and a few music videos on YouTube too.
While Rap J is proud and acknowledges his disability, he doesn't want that to define his musical style. He can rap introspective songs about cerebral palsy but he also has braggadocious lyrics.
"I just want to be able to make any kind of music. I think that it's very important for me as an artist to not put myself like in a box," he said.
He works with his producer Ayjante Gary known as Tae the Don at Rhythm Records in Glendale.
“Yeah, so pretty much his entire catalog Rhythm Records is recorded here," Tae the Don said.
They’ve known each other for about 10 years.
“He always comes in with fresh material and things like that. And it’s just, you know, you never know what to expect, and he works really hard honestly out of all the people I work with," Tae the Don said.
Recording songs and making music videos wasn’t enough for Rap J, though. He wanted to perform. But for a long time, he couldn't get on stage.
“You know, like I saw a lot of sorry’s or, you know, maybe next time," Rap J said.
That was difficult for him. It felt like no one was giving him a chance. However, he persevered and kept trying to book a show. He finally found a venue that would take him, Shank Hall. That was going to be his first show on June 10, but then the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) reached out to him asking to perform at the WAMI award show on May 21.
Rap J went from having zero shows to two bookings in the blink of an eye.
“Like I just can't wait to put on the show of my life like it means the absolute world to me," Rap J said.
It's rewarding for producer Tae the Don to see his friend and client grow as an artist the way Rap J has.
"I feel like he has the biggest passion because he’s really consistent with it - especially granted his circumstances and stuff like that. And for him to have such a big dream and him accomplishing everything he wants to do and things like that I think that's a great thing for sure," he said.
For Rap J, it's the realization of a dream coming true. He has dozens of songs published, music videos, interviews with media stations, and two upcoming shows. He is still having a hard time believing this is all happening.
“Yea, like if you told me like last year that we would be in here doing this like I would have probably laughed at you.”
He promised all those that attend both shows that it will be a memorable night.
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