Artist Spotlight - JP One

In a day and age where lyricism seems to be the extinct, JP ONE, born Alvin Hill, has made it his sole focus. As an artist, he has crafted some of the most captivating hip- hop to date. As the CEO of Gifted & Talented, LLC, he has become one of the leading forces in Detroit’s hip-hop scene. He has released five critically-acclaimed mixtapes, close to two dozen videos and has been featured on WorldStar, VladTV, and othertop hip-hop sites… All of this in less than four years, since he was released from prison after serving nine years. This life has not been an easy journey for JP ONE, who was born in Detroit, MI, but soon moved to Benton Harbor, MI, after his father passed from a drug overdose. After a troubling 11 years with his mother, he would bounce around between foster homes and family members to juveniles for years, but he never gave up on his dreams.

At 15, he would sign to Motown Legend, Barrett Strong’s, Blarritt Records, as “Jackpot”. Although he would finish recording his debut album, Tha Chosen One, it would never see the light of day, due to an ill-fated brush with the law. While incarcerated, he occupied his time by writing lyrics and reading business books. Upon his release, he wasted no time. He started his own record label immediately and released his first mixtape, Tha Power of ONE, exactly four weeks after his release. Now, performing under the moniker, JP ONE, short for “Jackpot Tha Chosen One”, he performed at clubs all around Detroit, and before he released his second project, A Beautiful Mind, he was being heralded as one of the local artists on the come-up. A few years and three more mixtapes later and JP ONE was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Artist and his project, Gifted & Talented, was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Album at the Detroit Underground Hip-Hop Awards, where JP ONE was also one of four performers. JP ONE recently released the first installment of the Fire & Brimstone trilogy on March 9th, which featured the hit single, “City Under Siege”, featuring fellow Detroit lyricist, and recent signee to Nas’s, Mass Appeal Records, Boldy James. The second installment was released July 27th and features Elzhi, Gulity Simpson, and Black Milk, who also produced a track for the project. The future has never looked brighter for this rising star.