Check out our exclusive interview with Jon Connor. We discuss his new album, Food For The Soul, which we feel is an early album of the year candidate, upcoming projects, his work with Dr Dre and much more so check it out. Audio version is embedded below.
All right, we’re here with Jon Connor. How’s it going, man?
I’m blessed, man, I’m blessed. How are you?
Doing good, doing good. Let’s get right into it. You just dropped your new album, Food For The Soul, towards the end of last month.
Tell me a little bit about the album and how it came together for you.
Well, man, actually at the end of 2024, I knew that I just wanted to be super consistent in 2025. I love creating, I love making music, but also there is the sport aspect that still gets me excited about making music and creating and hip hop. And so for me, it was like, I want to leave my mark on the world.
I want at the end of the day, whenever I’m done creating hip hop music, I want my name to be one of those names people bring up as somebody who left a mark on the culture. So in 2024, I was thinking, I just want to be super consistent, I want to stockpile a bunch of music, I want to just keep creating, creating at a level that I’ve never created before as far as the quantity, like of how much I was creating. And that all started with creating the Food For The Soul album.
And that Food For The Soul, to me, it’s a part of a bigger plan, you know. We got Food For The Soul, then it stopped. And then I got another album coming in April.
And then after that, another one coming in June, July. And how this particular album came to be was, man, I just was taking, reaching out to just a bunch of different producers that I knew, and telling people, send me joints, send me beats, because I was just in a really dope, creative space. And I ran into this cat, Dylan Kusch, man, and he was just sending me fire.
And it went from me just, me listening to his beats, like maybe I’ll ride on a couple of them. I love his sound so much that it inspired me to make just an album that was in the same vein of the hip hop classics that I grew up loving, or the hip hop sound that I grew up loving, like Common Be album, or listening to The Pharcyde, or listening to Black Sheep, or listening to just that era, or one of my favorite records is Queen Latifah, Just Another Day. I’ve always loved that style of hip hop.
And Dylan Kusch was coming with it. So it was a wrap after that, man. He sent me a beat pack, and then that turned into him sending me like a hundred beats, and then that turned into Food For The Soul.
So I’m just less than grateful for Dylan Kusch. And yeah, the album came about just as a first part of phase one, if you will, of a bigger plan. So I’m just glad people liking the album, and I was happy to make it, man.
Yeah, absolutely. I call it lyrical therapy. I mean, you cover a little bit of everything on this project.
And you have definitely laid down the gauntlet. This just for it being in the January, you’ve already got album of the year candidate in my book. It’s not too many albums that are gonna be able to match this.
“Production, lyrical content, everything. And you cover so many different topics with it. As far as visuals, do you have another video?
Do you have any videos or visuals set to drop from the project?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve been talking to a couple of my video guys now. We’ve been coming up with concepts.
And just wait to do things different, man. Also, I want to answer your question, but also I want to say thank you. And I really appreciate the compliment you just gave me, album of the year.
Wow, thank you. Like, I really appreciate that, man. Like, that means a lot to me, because that’s what I do it for.
Not the accolades or the adulation, but to connect with people, and to, like you said, lyrical therapy to give people a release, and to give people, like, you know, just that, some part that lets them get away from the bullshit that’s going on in the world. So if I did that with this album for you, man, that’s my Grammy. That’s my Platinum plaque.
And I really appreciate that, man, for real.
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. It’s incredible.
It’s an incredible album. Absolutely incredible.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, man.
Yes. Yes. So we’ve been talking about doing videos as well.
I just want to try to do different things, opposed, you know, from just me rapping into a camera. Like, that’s what I tried to do on my last Project 3 by having all of the videos be animated. The videos for Double Standard and Dreams and Greatest Show on Earth were all animated videos because I’ve been creating music for a long time.
I’ve been rapping in the cameras for a long time. So it’s like now I just want to express myself differently, creatively, you know, visually. So yeah, I’m looking for different concepts to create visuals for this project.
But yeah, they on the way.
OK, absolutely, absolutely. Definitely, if you guys can get some you and Termanology for that Double Murder single.
Man. We were talking, bro. It was funny, man.
We were talking about that Term. Actually, he just did a collaboration project with a cat from Detroit. So he’s going to be in Detroit probably this spring and summer.
So, you know, he hit me and he’s like, yo, we definitely need to do a video for that joint. And I’m down because Termanology is my brother. So yes, be looking out for it, dog.
Hey, Termanology killed it. I was telling somebody the other day, my favorite part of the song Double Murder is when it first came on. And Termanology be like, this paper rapper could never.
Like that’s my favorite part of the whole record, man. Because it was like you could hear his voice, like this about to be some shit. So I’m glad you dig that joint, man.
Yeah, I’ve been a Termanology fan since he dropped the Watch How It Go Down with DJ Premier. And I just always, I mean, he just absolutely just murdered the whole track from start to finish. He kind of, and he says, you know, I rap in the spirit of pun.
And that’s almost what it feels like when you listen to it, like listening to a capital punishment, when you first heard capital punishment, and him just lyrically just destroying the whole track. But, I mean, I have so many favorites on this album. It’s like it changes from minute to minute and listening to it.
But that’s dope because you guys are talking about possibly doing a video for it. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for it.
Absolutely. Absolutely, yes, yes. We on the lookout, man.
Okay. And I know it’s been quite a few years, well, almost 10 years since the Compton album had dropped with Dr. Dre and Aftermath, and you were big with that lyrically and just everything with that album. Do you have any good memories or anything, once again, on the one-shot kill record.
And you and Snoop were absolutely just, just lyrical volleyball back and forth just on that track and for the love of money as well. Do you have any good memories or anything from working on that project or working with Dr. Dre?
For one, man, that is so crazy to think that Compton is 10 years old now. Like, that it’s 2025 and that album came out in 2015. That is crazy.
Like, it just time flies in the blink of an eye, man. Just so, that’s insane. But any good memories from that time?
Yeah, I think off the top of the head, I had a lot of good memories, you know what I’m saying, creating over there. Let me think of one to share with you. I think the creation of One Shot, One Kill was a beautiful moment, because I had just recently got to the label and we all went to Hawaii.
And we recorded in the studio that I believe Kanye recorded, 808 and Heartbreak In. And so for me, I’m just a kid from Flint, Michigan, dog. Flint, Michigan is not a big city at all.
It’s a poverty-stricken city. You know what I’m saying? We grew up very humble.
So that was my first time going to Hawaii, let alone going to Hawaii with Dr. Dre. You know what I’m saying? So you’re getting the preferential, presidential treatment, you’re staying in the hotel that Obama stay in when he go to Hawaii, and it’s beautiful when you wake up and you get room service and all of that.
And I remember being in the studio on one of them nights in Hawaii where him and Focus was working on the beat for One Shot, One Kill. And I think it was just me, Dre, and Focus in there. And we were so passionate about that record that we stayed up like all night working on that joint.
And at the time, it wasn’t even like we was working on the Compton album. We were actually just making records just to make records. So the beautiful thing about that was we created that joint in Hawaii.
And we had, I had forgot about it, honestly. I come to the studio one day and when I get there, like I wrote my, I wrote the record with Dre in Hawaii. And I forgot about it.
I come to the studio when we’re working on Compton, he like, yo Jon, I got a surprise for you. And the surprise was when I got there, Snoop had recorded his verse, you know what I’m saying? So it was just a beautiful thing, like to remember how hard we worked on that record in Hawaii and the love and the vibes and all the good food, and then to have forgot about it.
And then, you know, it just got, it kept getting taken up another level cause now Snoop on it. So it was crazy. It was that, that’s probably one of my favorite memories from working on that album.
Okay. Absolutely. Absolutely. Do you have any shows or tour dates?
So yeah, looking to go hit the road this summer, but glad that you think Plan has it yet. You know, just did a couple shows. There’s a show in Detroit last weekend.
Ann Arbor, man, I’ve been, helly, helly shows in Michigan lately. You know what I’m saying? Just showing love to the crib.
But then there was a lot of times that I wasn’t on the road. When I was on Aftermath, like, I didn’t really get a chance to touch my people in Michigan. So, like, my most recent shows have just been around, around Michigan, just giving back to the people that have been supporting me my whole career.
Okay, absolutely, absolutely. What’s your website, social media? What’s all your contact information from people looking to check out and see what you got going on musically?
Well, yes, anybody listening to this interview right now, go to www.connorculture.com. That’s comnorculture.com.
My whole back catalog is on there. My new music, old music, exclusive music that’s only going to be available on connorculture.com. We got to normalize getting the art directly from the artist.
If you, and this is anybody listening, it don’t even have to just be me. Whatever artist you like listening to, support them directly. These streaming platforms are robbing artists of the compensation that they supposed to get.
So if there’s any way for you to support your favorite artist directly, I encourage you to do that. So if you want to support me, go to www.connorculture.com. There’s merch.
Season one of my docu-series, Road To Legendary is on there. Like I said, my old music, new music, everything is on connorculture.com, man. And yeah, yeah, there’s more music to come man.
All right. Well, I appreciate the time, appreciate the interview. I don’t know if you remember, I interviewed you back like in 2007.
I’m trying to remember what project was out around that time frame, but I’ve always been a-
Word?
Yeah, I’ve always been a big, big fan of your music. You’re one of the lyrical giants out here, man. So I was super amped and excited, and you completely exceeded my expectations.
Again, it’s going to be tough for anybody, major, independent, anybody to top. I’m telling you, I’ve told so many people about this album. And it is, it’s-
Listen, man, let me tell you something, man. And we don’t have to rush the interview. If you have more questions, it’s all good, too.
But, bro, I just want to tell you, just for real, man to man, before I’m an artist, I’m a human. Before I’m a rapper, I’m a child of God. That’s the way I live my life.
So I think for me, it’s a blessing, it’s an honor, and it’s a privilege, man. Somebody once told me, the greatest gift another human can give another human is the gift of inspiration. So hearing you say how you feel about this album has let me know I’m walking in my purpose.
Because just like anybody else, man, like I’m a human, we have our down days, we have our days where, you know what I’m saying, we get down the press and we need something to uplift us as artists. And what does that for me is hearing what, like things that you’re saying right now. The music hit me in this album of the year, and it helped me and it inspired me.
Bro, that is the currency, that is the spiritual currency that keeps me going. So I just want to say for me to you, it’s like man, if you’ve been rocking with me from 2007, man, thank you. I can’t say thank you enough.
It is nothing but gratitude and love. I don’t ever think I’m too much, or I don’t ever be on no Hollywood shit, bro. I’m from Flint, Michigan.
Like I said, I got humble beginnings. So even for anyone to listen to my music, let alone like my music, it means more than you’ll ever know, and I really appreciate it, bro.
Yeah, absolutely, man, absolutely. Do you have any last words or shout outs you want to get out to the people?
Yeah, man, just get ready for a crazy ride for the whole 2025. Like I said, this album, Food For The Soul, thank you so much for the compliments on it. It’s phase one of a bigger plan.
I have another project dropping in April. What a project that I got coming out. I don’t know the order in which they gonna come out because I got a lot of music that I’ve been working on but 413 by me and DJ Silk, me and KLC, the legendary Beats by The Pound.
We got a project called 24 that’s coming. I also have a project. Yeah, it’s crazy, bruh.
The legendary KLC who produce Move Bitch, Get Out The Way, produce Make Em Say Un, produce all those big records for No Limit. We got a whole project together, and I’m excited about that because Southern hip hop is what made me wanna rap. And this is kind of like my tribute and my ode and my way of giving back to the South through my heart, is making this album with KLC, who I’ve admired and been a fan of since I was a kid.
And it’s a joy to have DJ Paul on there, Lil Wyte from Three 6 Mafia, Fiend, Mr. Serv On, D1 from New Orleans. You know what I’m saying? It’s like that project is truly my salute to Southern hip hop.
So that’s on the way. Also, what’s the other one? The other joint I got coming out is called The Confirmation.
And then it’s another one called Fire Sign. So this whole 2025, man, like I said, it’s like a Marvel. This shit like a Marvel rollout, bro.
It’s like Food For The Soul is Phase 1, and then we gon go into Phase 2. But yeah, then I’m dropping some new merch on Monday. So it’s a lot going on.
Season 2 of The Road To Legendary, my mini docu-series is on the way. It’s on, man. So just connorculture.com, man, and I appreciate everybody who’s been rocking with me.
And no matter what point you got turned on to my music, whether it was my underground years, whether it was the Aftermath years, whether it was the Double XL Freshman cover, whether it was at South By Southwest, or whether you just got introduced to me now, I am truly grateful for anybody that supports what I’m doing. And I’ma keep on giving y’all quality and quantity. You know what I’m saying?
As only I can, I’ma keep being the people’s rapper, man, and I appreciate y’all.
All right. All right, appreciate the time, appreciate the interview, man.
All right, man, I appreciate you, and thank you again for the love, man.
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