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J. Michael Phillips will be opening up for Yelawolf on July 11 at The House of Blues in Cleveland.  Coincidentally, that is the same date that their new album Whiskey & Roses drops worldwide.

 

We had the opportunity to do a Zoom call with J. Michael to discuss his career, his new record and his upcoming appearance in Cleveland.

 

Greg Drugan:  Hey J. Michael, thanks for taking some time with me today.  I’m an Ohio boy too!  I wanted to congratulate you on your new album Whiskey & Roses.  The first two singles “I Swear” and "Searching For Heaven” are fantastic.

 

J. Michael Phillips:  Thank you, I appreciate that for real. 

 

GD:  You have videos that go along with those songs that tell a story, is there going to be a third video as well?

 

JMP:  I’m believing that there’s going to be a third video.  I’m just waiting to see what Patrick Thornhill and Wolf come up with. We have a third video that’s coming out the day the album is released, which is July 11, called “Amnesia.” But it’s a separate video from those two. From what I’m seeing, the fans are actually calling for a third video, so I believe there will be on on the way at some point. 

 

GD:  How did your collaboration with Yelawolf come about, and what drew you to his style?

 

JMP:  I spent over half of my life in prison. Been in and out of prison since the time I was fifteen. I did eight and a half years for drug trafficking, that was my last charge. I grew up in low incoming housing with my mom and my sister.  My life kinda correlated with his lifestyle. When I was in prison for my last bit, when he came out with “Pop The Trunk” I was out in the yard working out and we had a speaker connected to one of my dude’s mp3 players. He was playing it and I was like, “who is that?”  He’s like, “this new dude out of Alabama named Yelawolf.”  I was like man, he’s dope.  Then a month later I remember seeing him on the television on a music station and he was singing “Pop the Trunk.”  He was crowd surfing, he was like punk rock. He was a mixture of everything, punk rock, country and hip hop and gangsta rap. His crowd was diverse, it wasn’t just one solid race of people and I loved it. It reflected who I was as a person and how I grew up. 

 

Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be signed to him, to his label Slumerican or having a joint album, collaboration with him coming out. How it came about is I ended up dropping Urban Cowboy which was my debut solo album and I tagged Edward Crowe, who is my and Yelawolf’s manager, in this video I made called “Diamond Ring.” Then I was like, “maybe I shouldn’t have tagged him because I don’t know him and he don’t know me.  It’s kinda corny.”  But if I could get in that circle of guys because I knew what Yelawolf did for JellyRoll and Struggle Jennings.  I would have deleted it, but I’m not all that savvy with social media, so I just kept it. Four days later, I got a notification that I had some fire emojis from Edward Crowe.  Long story short, I ended up signing with Edward Crowe and he introduced me to Yelawolf.  He didn’t even know I made music.  He wanted us to connect on a personal level because he felt that we were kindred spirits. 

 

GD:  Do you collaborate with Yelawolf on every track on the new album or do you have some solo stuff and he has some solo stuff?

 

JMP: It’s not always back and forth.  It’s not he takes one verse and I take one verse or I take the hook.  We both had input on every single song. For the last record on the album, which was produced by Taysty Beats. The last record on the album is called “All I’ve Ever Seen.”  Me and Dee Ray wrote it together, the actual lyrics. Dee Ray is the one who wrote with Jelly Roll, “Somebody Save Me” and “Son of a Sinner.” Dee Ray is massive, he’s an insane writer. Wolf brought him in to finish the last song. I told Wolf, “I needed him on this song.”  But he was like, “I want the world to see what J. Michael Phillips can do on his own. That’s going to lead you to your solo project.”  It ended up being a really great record. “Amnesia” the third single that’s coming out, Wolf pretty much carried that. I do some backup vocals and stuff, just like he does some background stuff on the last song.  So we have two songs on the album out of ten records that we lead in.  The other eight songs are all back and forth. 

 

GD:  I like that he’s letting you do your own thing and it’s the last song.  It’s like, “ok, you’re ready to go off on your own.” 

 

JMP:   It’s crazy to me.  I’ve never met anyone like him. He’s so unselfish and he just wants me to win.  He’s one of those guys who believes that we’re only as strong as our weakest link and he wants every link to be strong.  Even if that means he sits back and directs. Even taking me out on tour and opening me up to his fanbase.  And his fanbase is serious. He’s really blessed me and he’s blessed all of his friends. 

 

GD:  He sounds like a good dude.  It’s good to have someone on your side like that for sure!

 

JMP: Absolutely!

 

GD: Who were some of your earliest musical influences, and how do they show up in your work today?

 

JMP:  I grew up with my mother, mainly.  My mother and father are back together but from the time I was two until twentyone, they were separated.  She played a lot of folk music, Phil Collins, Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Bob Seger.  Just a real crazy mixture of music, you know, the ‘80s!  A lot of different influences, Duran Duran, George Michael and you can see it in the music that I write. Whenever I was around my dad we’d listen to Hank Williams Jr., The Funkadelics, Prince and Michael Jackson.  On both sides Michael Jackson was a big influence and inspiration.  The Beatles and Paul McCartney, just everything in that time period.  When music was music to me. That did influence me in my songwriting but my mom wrote poetry and my grandmother wrote poetry. I was writing poetry since I was a kid. I had the ability to understand rhyme schemes and song structures.  So I was always a few steps ahead of others around me when it came to writing or understanding a structure of a song. 

 

GD: I know you said you’ve spent a lot of time in prison but do you remember the first artist you saw in concert or your first live performance?

 

JMP:  The first live performance I saw, man, I was in junior high. It was in Toledo, Ohio and it was The Players Platinum concert. It was Too Short, Bone Thugs N Harmony, E-40 and Scarface. Scarface was from The Ghetto Boys and to me he was captivating.  It’s crazy to me because when I was younger, I was signed to a label when I was in Houston.  I used to be a rapper, and Scarface’s DJ was a co-owner of the label and I got to meet Face and was around Face a few times. It was just something that inspired me to be greater.  It was possible for me to succeed if I continued to move in the right direction. 

 

GD:  Where do you see the music industry heading, especially for artists like you who mix genres?  Do you think that’s something that’s going to continue?

 

JMP:  Yeah, absolutely! I think your influence of music comes from what you grew up on and the people who raised you. Then you grow into yourself and you find other things. I think the era of people being stuck only listening to one genre is pretty much over with. If you look at these kids playlists and stuff, you’ll find everything from Hank Williams Jr. all the way up to Lady Gaga and Jelly Roll. There’s so many different things like Black Sabbath and AC/DC.  Kids are on their games and there’s different songs being introduced to them.  The internet has changed so many things, being online and having access to all these different cultures and genres that it’s creating a melting pot.  People just want good music and they want something they can relate to. On this 45 Tour we got JT Loux, these guys are a rock band. You got me, I’m urban country- a mixture of country and hip-hop sounds. Then you got Wolf who’s everything. He’s gangsta rap, he’s country, he's hip-hop. The energy is great, everyone gets along, we’re all brothers. It’s not only that but it’s the fans accepting the music and the way the music affects the crowd that creates this build up. By the time he hits the stage, they are turned up and ready to go! 

 

We’re selling out shows everywhere we go.  Word of mouth, people are coming to multiple shows. People are traveling for it. In times where money is hard, and people are struggling.  These people at our shows didn’t grow up with silver spoons, they come from the bottom like us and they relate, and they work hard for their money and they spend it on things that they need.  And that’s saying a lot when they’re spending in on our shows.  They’re saying they need to feed something that’s within themselves and they’re finding it on the 45 Tour.  That’s amazing. 

 

GD:  Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

 

JMP:  I see myself at the top.  I see myself at the top of the foodchain.  That’s not to discredit anybody because I’m not better than anybody.  What I do is just different. I’m the hardest critic of myself. I demand the greatest results. I’m one of the best at what I do. I am a master of my craft. I’ve been doing it long enough and it’s in me. I keep it real and I put my life in my music. Someone’s going to find that it relates to theirs.  It’s just a matter of getting it in front of the people. My success is coming from my preparation and my opportunity. I’ve been preparing my whole life.  Yalawolf and Edward Crowe are my opportunity and they’ve allowed for success to happen. I didn’t come here to be number two, I came here to be number one at what I do.  Five years from now, that’s where I’ll be. 

 

GD:  Very good!  You’re gonna be hitting Cleveland on July 11, what can fans expect from the show?

 

JMP:  Fans can expect great energy! Nothing but high frequency, positive vibes. An experience for the whole family.  You can bring your kids.  There’s gonna be a little foul language here and there but other than that it’s nothing but love, good vibes, positive messages.  You’re gonna see comradery and a band of brothers up there performing. Slumerican is a family. It’s everything that’s been missing in music, I believe. It’s a good time.  

 

GD:  I’m looking forward to the show. I’m gonna tell everyone about it but it’s already sold out so you can’t even get a ticket! Maybe on the secondary market. 

 

JMP:  Are you gonna be there?

 

GD:  Yeah I’m gonna be there!  I’m gonna be taking some pictures so I’ll be down in the pit.

 

JMP:  Make sure you say what’s up!  Don’t be a stranger!
 

GD:  I will!  J. Michael, I wish you safe travels on the road and I wish you the best with this new album coming out on the 11th. 

 

JMP:  Thank you brother!  I look forward to seeing you. 

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Whiskey & Roses, the new album by Yelawolf and J. Michael Phillips drops on July 11.  You can see both of these artists at the House of Blues on the same date! 

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You can watch the full, unedited interview below! 

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