Coming out of Savanna, Illinois, we got my boy 28 JMO. After growing up with childhood influences like Akon, MJ and his own father Jmo anticipates his first project debut “Casino”. To follow his passion in music; he felt that he had to move out of his small hometown of Savanna where his graduating class was under 100 people. “My whole life I wanted to move away, knowing there was more to life . Being surrounded by country people and country music never seemed like a good place to be when pursuing a career in hip hop.” Jmo recalls.
As a kid Jmo had many influences with one of the first being Akon. “Even though I was really young, I remember the song ‘Lonely’ made me feel some type of way.” Jmo states as he reflects on the emotions he felt. He went on to buy his first ever CD, “Konvicted”. At the age of 9, after the passing of Michael Jackson, he would find himself inspired by the late artist. “I watched him all day, inspired by his voice, his appearance, and his dancing. I wanted to do it all. I wanted to be a star.” he says. As Jmo got older he would begin writing and recording music in his cousin's basement. “From 14-17 I wrote like 4 mixtapes that never came out. I was still finding myself, what I wanted to talk about in my music and what I wanted to sound like.” Around this time his influences were Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky and Drake.
Growing up Jmo was a straight A student with a family that had high expectations. When he finally told his mom about his interest in a music career she lost it. “She was screaming through the whole house talking about drugs, sex, violence, I will never make a dollar off of my music” he recalls. Feeling trapped in Savanna, living with his parents and dealing with the pressure of what he’s supposed to be doing with his life, Jmo made the decision to move to Chicago in 2018.
After dealing with the harsh realities of living on your own and attending college for a short time, he would realize his true calling was music. “I was walking back to my car I remember thinking to myself what the fuck am I doing here I don’t wanna be in school. I immediately booked a studio session and wrote the song “Rowdy” which is one of my favorites to this day.” After this realization, he remembered why he moved, to pursue his career in music.
28 Jmo would go on to record tracks such as Leeches, Remind me, Cig and his first solid mixtape titled “Leaving it All Behind“. He met a now good friend, LandoOutlandish who he has collaborated with on tracks like “ShowForIt”.
“2 years after leaving my hometown I was taking a shower in a bigger apartment, reflecting on how much has changed. My music was improving, fanbase growing, networking, and living comfortably on my own.” Jmo tells us about his newest project, “‘CASINO’ is the idea that we all have to play the cards we were dealt and take chances to be where we want to be in life.” He is releasing a video for the track titled “All My Fault” shot & edited by @anthonybranss alongside the team at Slapp’d on September 27th. Stay in tune for the latest underground artists interviews and videos here on www.slappd.tv!
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