Interviewed by I.S. Jones @isjonespoetry

During OnCue’s AYM Tour, Upcoming Hip Hop was able to catch up with Jitta On The Track, a Connecticut native. Jitta, aka Jordan Mackenzie so far in his career has graced the airwaves multiple times throughout Connecticut and has even opened up for Drake. Since his single “Connecticut Girls”, which garnered him even more radio and fan-base attention, Jitta caught the attention of “Behind the Unsigned” in which they did a three-part segment on his forthcoming project “Mood Swings” is on the horizon. If Jitta is new to you, you are in for quite the treat.

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I.S. Jones: So what rapping skills have you acquired through practicing that have made you the most successful?

JITTA On The Track: Learning to deliver flows. Flows are what catch peoples’ attention and keeps them locked into the words; so for me, working on my cadence, my flows, and switching it up all the time just to keep people interested.

Jones: While you are still starting out and still growing your fan base, what knowledge can you impart to other artists on the come-up?

JITTA: Just…do this every single day. As soon as you wake up. If you really want to take this seriously, do this like a 9-5 job, even if it’s not paying the bills. Figure out a way for it to pay the bills. Keep working hard and if you believe in it, and if it’s real, then it’ll happen.

Jones:  For a lot of artists, initially it is discouraging, the first year or two in.

JITTA: Yeah, very.

Jones: How did you keep your spirit alive in those instances? Even when it was bleak and there seemed to be no way to make a living out of this…?

JITTA: Keep honest people around you and always make room for improvement. Never feel comfortable in what you’re doing. If you feel comfortable in your numbers and views, if you want to stay where you’re at and your fan base isn’t growing, then that shows you’re scared. However, if you meet new people and keep faith alive, then you can get past that.

Jones: What advice can you give on touring?

JITTA: Don’t party too hard after, because the next morning you’re on the road at 7 A.M. to go to another show as soon as you get off the bus. You’re on tour to earn fans and promote a product, to really promote yourself, and to talk to people. Make sure you network and talk to radio stations in every city you’re at. Hit up people that are poppin’ on Twitter and all social media. Just network, network, network and don’t just party all the time.

Jones: Can you tell us a fun story about your touring experience?

JITTA: There’s a lot of them, actually. A fun story was: when we stopped in Atlanta, we pulled over the side of the road and there was a mini-golf / huge go-kart racing [park]. They shut down the whole park and let us use it. We just parked the tour bus in front and we spent the whole day there. It was mad fun.

Jones: Which artists have been the most pivotal in your growth? Do some of these artists influence you more than others?

JITTA: Kanye West and J Dilla influenced me the most, as well as Bob Dylan and up-and-comers. Kayne West is base god though [chuckles].

Jones: Why do you think some people don’t consider being a rapper an actual job?

JITTA: Because anyone can be a rapper. I’m not saying everyone can rap well, but anyone can rap. Not everyone can be an artist though. Being a rapper is not a job, being an artist is. Being a rapper is just showing off your skills and talents. I feel like actually putting [music] together and making something out of it, is being an artist. Being a rapper is one step closer to being an artist.

Jones: In 2012, you were selected for the “Rise Competition”, in which you got to open for Drake. So congratulations on that.

JITTA: Thank you.

Jones: How did the opportunity boost your spot and help build your name?

JITTA: That opportunity let me know what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was one year into college and I decided I wanted to make music full-time, so I dropped out of school. After I was done with my internship, and touring, I decided this is what I want to do. It showed me what I could have if I work hard for it.

Jones: So I really enjoyed the conceptual music video for “Knockturnal”.

JITTA: Thank you

Jones: Can you explain how you came up with the idea? When you were visualizing it in your head, how did you get your vision on the screen for your fans?

JITTA: We shot “Knockturnal” the same day we shot another video called “Good Day”. We got back to the crib and we had everybody from the shoot come with us—to the house we were staying at—it was in LA atop a penthouse, one of tallest, most beautiful buildings there [sic] and I was like “You know? Let’s shoot one more video”. We just did a one-shot video and actually it was harder than it looks. It was harder because I kept messing up. If you notice, the first thing I do is take a hit of a dab and I fucked up at least eight times, so I had to take eight dabs. Then the second part was taking a shot of Patron and I fucked that up eight times, so I had to take eight mini-shots. Throughout it we were doing various things, so if you fuck up, you got to start right back from the beginning. So you had to get it done and hope you can walk out [sic]; we got it done and it was dope. It was a very, very interesting music video. It was on the spot and if we messed up, it was crucial because we could only mess up a certain amount of times before I couldn’t take anymore.

Jones: What is next for Jitta? What should your fans be looking out for?

JITTA: I am moving to L.A. Homegrown [da producer], Chris Webby, and myself will be out there. I’m starting to produce now. I’ve been working with a lot of other producers like Sap and I did a joint for OnCue. I’ve just been dumping records to artists in Connecticut. What I want to do is make a sound for Connecticut; I want to start dumping my singles, my hottest beats to all the artists out here and just give them a blueprint to work with. For the last four weeks, I’ve just been trying to get everyone’s’ singles pumped. There’s a certain sound that I’m going for, so once that sound starts rolling and I start other big artists on it, we have the potential to blow this area up. Connecticut is kind of a hole-in-the-wall for hip-hop. It’s not looked at as “hip-hop” and that’s because we don’t have a defined sound—everyone’s trying to be somebody else. I’m working on my mixtape which is set to drop in late July, early August. It’s called “Mood Swings” and I got Kembe X on it, he’s a dope artist from Chicago. I got QuEsT, he’s an artist from Miami. I got Grafh on there, he’s the homie from New York. I did a lot of production it, so this is a side [of me] that nobody’s ever seen because they just know me for rappin’. I’m finally getting behind the board and getting my Dilla on.

Connect with Jitta on the Track
Facebook.com/JittaMusic | Twitter.com/jittaonthetrack