New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ StereoFame) From child piano prodigy to blues & jazz virtuoso to...rising hip/hop superstar? Oddly enough, this description only scratches the surface of Stereofame.com's May 2011 Artist of the Month, J. Dash.
The Florida native who was playing Mozart at age 8 is now busy crafting instant dance classics that are every bit as hot and sticky as the state he calls home. Despite already having a string of radio-ready, booty-shaking anthems to his credit, J. Dash considers himself to be a student of all styles of music. Between his roles as a rapper, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist with a degree in computer science from the University of Florida (of all things), to say J. Dash wears many different hats would be an understatement.
"When I come across something I like I want to learn everything about it and really understand it," he said of his diverse musical tastes.
But for J. Dash, the world of hip/hop holds a special place in his heart.
"When I was growing up, hip/hop was kind of dangerous, it was music I wasn't supposed to be listening to," he said. "(I) would sneak out of the house to go see some underground show...and it just became a part of my soul."
Although having already amassed an impressive collection of material, J. Dash's pulse-pounding dance hit, "WOP," is starting to inspire some much-deserved buzz. (see video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb2Oqfj_c70. Here, the official music video (in addition to the Director's Cut), both featuring J. Dash's friend and major label rapper Flo Rida, is quickly approaching 1/2 million views on YouTube since its release 4 months ago.
"The WOP was a dance that me and my friends grew up doing, but we never had a name for it," J. Dash said, "I thought it looked like we were wopping and the name stuck. The track came together in about three hours."
In fact, J. Dash approached "WOP," with the same breakneck ferocity with which he approaches all of his music. Preferring to write his lyrics on the spot in the studio, J. Dash's rhymes have an urgency and spontaneity that is infectious.
According to J. Dash, through Stereofame's unique platform, he has been able to introduce a worldwide audience to his music in a brand new way.
"We have the power," he said of Stereofame's artist-friendly format. "We decide who we want to sign to our labels and it's all wrapped up in a game, how genius is that?"
With "WOP" poised to be a world-wide dance phenomenon, J. Dash isn't showing any signs of slowing down. A new album is slated for release next month and while J. Dash is tight-lipped about the details of the new record, he does offer one prediction.
"It's going to be big," he said. "All I'm going to say is 'I told you so.'"
Stereofame Founder Ken Underwood agrees and has added his own indicia to WOP.
"For me, WOP stands for 'With Out Prejudice.' No matter who you are or what you do, everybody loves to WOP. It breaks social, economic and cultural barriers. If music is the universal language, then WOP is the universal dance."
The "WOP" single and ringtone are now available for download on iTunes at https://stereofa.me/ituneswop and through Amazon at https://stereofa.me/amznwop.
To hear more from J. Dash, check out https://www.stereofame.com/jdashmusic.
StereoFame is debuting their 2.0 version in September as a multiplayer game application on Facebook. It's like fantasy football, but for music. And just like fantasy football, success will be dependent upon the real world success of the major label artists that players sign. Players can also promote their favorite artists like Lady Gaga, Eminem, or One Republic, for example, and be even more successful.
