Reason Interviews: CJ Visuals x Social Skills

Sion · March 2012

Welcome to Reason Interviews everyone, this time around we did a little something different to compliment the new era of the IC with all these upgrades. Now normally I interview MCs and sometimes producers but this time we decided to interview someone who I felt - through his work embodied HipHop, covering everything from DJing (Diaspora Muzik) to art (Social Skills), photography and more. I welcome CJ Visuals to Reason Interviews and I hope you all enjoy this interview.

Sion · March 2012

Hey fam welcome to The Reason Interviews. I've been meaning to interview you for a while now. Tell me fam how is everything going ?

Thanks, everything is going well. I've been really busy, which is a good thing.

Who is CJVisuals ? Where is he from & what does he represent ?

My name is C.J. Johnson, and I'm a visual storyteller(filmmaking/comics/photography). I was born and raised in Houston, Texas but I've been living in New York for the last 9 years(on and off). I represent myself. I'm about creating and sharing art, and I'm here to build with people and get into some interesting discussions.

What is Social Skills ? What's that movement about ??

Social Skills is like my own version of Mad Magazine, in a way. It's a webcomic that updates every Wednesday, and we have comics, illustrations and serialized stories. It's really about fully embracing your cynical side, and of course the visual aesthetics of the artwork.

How long have you been doing this & what motivated you to do it ?

It started on June 1st, and I'd always wanted to do a graphic novel, as well as have a weekly outlet for my thoughts and ideas. I love comics and editorials, and it wasn't until a year ago that I seriously began to make steps towards creating, and not just reading/viewing them. Also, I really did/do feel like it's illegal to be cynical. Everyone wants you to either be happy-go-lucky or keep your mouth shut. Cynicism is necessary for survival, and I'm a naturally sarcastic person so I decided to let Social Skills be an outlet where I could just be as relentlessly cynical and sarcastic as I can be, with no apologies.

Explain what the stories in your comics are about & what your creative process is like in putting that together ??

Well, there's only one story, "Yeah, YOU'RE Cool." The rest are individual comics/illustrations. "Yeah, YOU'RE Cool" is about Jameer and his girlfriend Clara, who live in New York and are seemingly the perfect couple. It follows Jameer and his group of friends, and temptation in various forms. It's a character driven story, and the characters are brutally honest people, who live a very relaxed lifestyle(they're both artists, and go out to parties, hang with friends, etc.) and tend to intellectualize every aspect of relationships. Then, there are the stand alone comics and illustrations where I'm just making observations on human behavior, and pop culture. It seems like "selling out" is a foreign concept now more than ever, and it's not about integrity just "getting money" and doing any and everything to "make it" whatever that means.

As far as the creative process goes, it begins with an idea I'll have that I either know right away is perfect, or I'll think about it for a few weeks before committing to it. I write the script and conceive of every visual detail, but I work with a great illustrator who executes my vision. So, I'll send her the script with detailed instructions, and photo references, and she adds her own signature style to it and visual suggestions, and then I'll make revisions before the deadline approaches. Most of my ideas I either get on the subway or at work.

I listened to your tape on SoundCloud & I thought it was dope. That's not something that you see people doing often these days. Almost seems as if the DJ aspect of Hiphop died a long time ago. Why did you decided to put together that mixtape ?

Thanks a lot, I appreciate that. On Soundcloud it's just a preview of the first 18 tracks, but if you download it, you can hear all 30. You're right, the DJ aspect is almost gone, because every artist is releasing solo mixtapes/street albums. The days of Clue, Kay Slay, Big Mike, Green Lantern are numbered, as far as mixtapes with new material from various artists goes. I always make my own personal playlists, but I decided that it would be cool to make a mix tape cover, and have the songs be representative of where my head was at when I was creating some of the work. Also, because of the way people share music, I knew that eventually, "Diaspora Muzik" would be some person's introduction to Social Skills.

What is theme you're trying to convey with the mixtape ? How did you decide what cuts would make the tape & which ones wouldn't ??

Well, with Diaspora Muzik, I arranged it thematically into three separate parts. The first theme is celebratory(bragging, partying, girls, etc.), the second theme is socially aware/militant and the last theme is reflective. On the cover, it's the idea of you standing over a beautiful girl in your room, in your Jordan 11's(celebratory), a big book(knowledge/socially aware) and weed with a bottle of water(health/reflection). All of these were songs I'd been listening to over and over, and I decided to just structure them to fit the themes and to add additional audio from TV, movies, and sound effects just so it could flow together as one piece. They're all songs that have personal meaning to me, and represent a mind state or a time that was helpful while I was coming up with ideas for Social Skills. Also, it's representative of the balance that I feel is missing in mainstream representations of hip hop as well as the balance that my personal musical tastes were missing a few years ago(at one point I ONLY wanted to listen to lyric driven hip hop). One of the tracks is actually by someone who posts here named J.O. Cool, but his screen name is "Miles High." It was important for me to not just have artists that we know, but also mix in some artists that most don't know now, but soon will. I plan to do more of that on the next mixtape as well.

Sion · March 2012

Speaking of Miles High, man if he's still around I wish I could interview him, I swear for sleeping on his music I owe him fam.... Can you elaborate more on your mind set at the time when you were putting together Diaspora Muzik & Social Skills ?

Diaspora Muzik was a playlist I made of what I was listening to at the time, but I also wanted it to represent the different types of sub genres within hip hop. I decided to make it more than just a playlist and add different audio from movies, TV, interviews, etc. and sequence it in a way that tells a story(celebratory, political, reflective). Also, within that past year, I'd broadened my own horizons and didn't limit myself to just lyric driven artists, and listened to people that I never would've listened to before(Shawty Lo, Waka, Gucci, French Montana, etc.) and I really appreciated what they were bringing to the culture. We all have a story to share, and we're all artists doing this to express ourselves and relieve our stress, and there isn't just one way to do that. Also, I wanted the mixtape to reach people who otherwise wouldn't know about Social Skills.

Hey CJ, I seen recently that you have 2 websites, 1 geared more towards your comics, music & the like and another which seems to be geared towards photography ? What's the difference between the two ??

Well, my personal website has my short films, and photography, plus updates on other projects I'm working on and just my own personal thoughts. It's like a visual journal, and I update it pretty frequently(including reblogging my weekly Social Skills updates). So, Social Skills is just for weekly updates of the webcomic(with the occasional interview that I've done or questions from readers) and cjvisualsnyc.com is where you'll see a lot of my photography because that's more immediate and it's an area where I'm currently trying to become even stronger at. I love photography, but just recently started sharing my own and began making a concerted effort to put together shoots, or do street photography with strangers. My background is in fine art, but I want to become more versatile and explore different styles.

Ahh man on your Social Skills site I was reading some of the questions fans be asking you... some of it gets pretty personal, I seen one with the girl with genital warts reaching out to you. But what I respect is that you answered her truthfully and with no kind of judgement, how important is it for you to keep in touch with fans ??What's the craziest thing a fan ever asked you for advice on ?

Haha, thank you. Well, it's extremely important for me to talk with anyone who's interested in my work, no matter how crazy their questions are. I know that I like discussing an artist's work if I'm a fan, no matter if they're famous or only have two people who know of them, so it's flattering when anyone shows an interest. The craziest thing anyone asked me for advice on was probably either the woman with genital warts or the man who wanted to know "who's pussy is better" between two of the fictional characters in the comic, haha.

Lets go a bit more into some of the artwork on your site.... in particular this:

Fam you gotta elaborate on this piece.... I wasn't sure if it was satire, honest or both lol....

It is both haha but really, it's my response to non dreamers who passive aggressively want to see you fail. People that always ask, "So, what's your back up plan if this doesn't work?" really can't conceive of what it's like to have a dream and to be passionate about something. They're not asking that because they're genuinely concerned, they're asking that because they don't know what it's like to feel as if your art is the only thing that keeps you sane. Van Gogh died poor, but his work and influence is immeasurable. Imagine if he did a few paintings, and then went into accounting once he realized he wasn't making any money? It took Morgan Freeman decades to even get notice in a film role, but imagine if he followed his back up plan before then? Of course, you have to be real with yourself and assess whether or not you have talent, but again, it's about self expression and doing what's right for you. I never want to look back on my life and ask, "What if?"

Alright as I normally do, I gotta ask you for your top 5 artists (can be music, acting, art, anything) of all time and then I'd like to know what are your favorite 5 music albums of all time ??

My Top 5 artists of all time? Thelonious Monk, Nas, Andrei Tarkovsky, Jean Michel Basquiat and Spike Lee. My 5 favorite music albums? Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners, Raekwon(ft Ghostface) - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ..., Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation, Bad Brains - Banned In DC, and Nas - Illmatic.

Sion · March 2012

I like what you said about "there not being only one way to do it" so I gotta ask you..... I remember a while back (and even on the IC) there were cats out there saying that music from the South wasn't Hip-hop because "it didn't have" the lyrical attributes familiar with rappers in New York... How do you feel when you hear cats downplay rap music from the South ??

Yeah, being from Houston it bothers me, but the thing is, there are a lot of lyrical MC's in the south, but they don't get mainstream love, or love in their own region sometimes. It's a different culture, because it's a car culture, and things move at a slower pace, and the music generally reflects that. People wanna chill, and listen to music in a car or a club, and the music is perfect for that. But, there are lyricists from the South that are overlooked because people already have a bias, so they don't give them a chance. At the same time, the kids coming up from all regions(as exhibited by ASAP Rocky) grew up on and were influenced by southern music, and you don't see that bias so much from people 21 and under. I think, like everything else, the lack of balance as far as what's pushed is what contributes to the bias(plus some people are just hip hop elitists and don't want to hear anything outside of lyric driven hip hop).

Hhhmm Thelonious Monk.... I'm gonna single that artist out since you named him down twice LOLOL. Tell me fam, how much influence does that artist have on you ? Why that artist ?

(Picture of Thelonious Monk)

Wow, how much time do we have? haha Thelonious Monk is my favorite artist of all time, because of a few reasons. First and foremost, his music is perfect for me. Before I knew who he was and was interested in jazz back when I was in middle school, the type of jazz that I wanted to hear turned out to be exactly what he was making. It's hard to put into words, but he's an artist who created work that I feel connected to in a personal way, as if it was made for me.

Second, after I got into his music in high school, I would always listen to his work and find more, but it wasn't until last year that I read a really comprehensive biography about him. He was making music exactly how he wanted to make it, and it was considered avante grade or "wrong" and he only had a few loyal fans at first, and was living in poverty without a day job, and a family to take care of -- but he never compromised his work to do what was "hot" at the time, in order to just "play the game" and "get money." He was a real artist, in the purest sense, and his work was more than just a hustle to make money. He would've rather died broke than to sell out and sacrifice the one thing that he could count on to keep him going. Because of his perseverance and artistic integrity, he eventually broke through, but on his own terms. You can't do anything but respect that.

It seems like nowadays there's very few people who are incorporating art, photography & the DJ element in Hip-hop, I remember that aspect was vibrant till around the mid 90s.... do you think that it's possible we could see a resurgence today ? In the age of Lil Waynes, Drakes, Iggy Azaelia, ASAP Rocky's & French Montanas of the world ??

I think so, because the technology has become less expensive when it comes to making great work, and there are less barriers when it comes to building awareness for your work. So, you can take risks now in a way that you couldn't before, and money is becoming less and less of a barrier to talented people with limited resources. And, things are only going to get less expensive as the years go on, and computers, mobile devices and wi fi will be available in more and more places. Tyler the Creator and Lil B are perfect examples of that, and despite what you might think about their music, you can't argue with their abilities to live the artist's dream, which is to make exactly what you want, with no interference and make a good living off of it. The DJ element is another subject, because there are some purists who don't respect you as a DJ if you don't use vinyl, but to be honest, that gene ration's opinion will be irrelevant within the next 20 years. I'm very optimistic about the future of music and art in general, but the only thing is you can't expect to find it in the mainstream(for the most part), you have to work hard yourself and dig for it, but it's worth it. There are people on twitter who've made some of my favorite music in the last few years, and they have less than 2,000 followers, but their work is doper than people with millions of followers.

Sion · March 2012

Hey I want to ask you a bit more about some of these pieces.... you gotta break down some more of these lolol....

This one....

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzf4mpqaHX1qk3pzgo1_1280.png
Some of these are too big so Im just gonna post the link for yall to check out.

Haha That one is about people who can't take an L and keep it moving basically. They can't cope with the idea that not everybody is into them, so they shift the "blame" on the other person instead of saying, "Oh well, maybe they just aren't in to me." It's weird for me to see, and not to be sexist, but a man should never get upset and emotional about being turned down by a woman. Guys trying to talk to girls, getting shut down and responding with, "Well fuck you anyway, bitch, you're ugly as hell" is just pathetic. But, I'm interested in writing about people who justify their unpleasant behavior, and never admit that they were wrong or of no interest to someone they're very interested in. That's life, you have to move on.

This one is jokes

Thanks, haha. That's just basically me sarcastically saying that it's wrong to consider it "normal" to spend your entire life doing things that cause your soul to disintegrate and make you one of the many consumer beings who believe in a system designed to keep you complacent. I know that sounds cliched, but I believe that and feel that it would be funny if "Oscar The Grouch" justified his lifestyle on an episode of Sesame Street by putting things in perspective. Kids need to hear that early. I'm just building on what was featured in a Chapelle's Show skit, but in a way where he's calmly intellectualized it.

You gotta break this one down too

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyuopnGzQU1qk3pzgo1_1280.png

Well, this is just what I've observed and it's a shameful double standard. I don't advocate letting everyone fight, but I definitely don't advocate letting everybody fight in one contact sport that just so happens to be overwhelmingly white, and demonizing others in a sport that's overwhelmingly black. I've watched hockey, and every time there's a fight, the person says something akin to what I've written. Also, in basketball, when people fight the commentators act as if they're animals who need to be tamed. It's pathetic, and see through. Anytime someone black does something like fight or make it known that they want off of a team, there's always this parental tone in the commentary that you hardly hear with white players. These are observations I've made as a life long sports fanatic.

CJ before I conclude I have to ask you.... Where do you see yourself in 5 years ?

In 5 years, I still want to be doing Social Skills for free, but doing graphic novels, feature films and freelance photography in order to make a living, but doing it my way. I've also been recruited to help a friend with a political/lifestyle website(We Will Be Heard) and I hope in 5 years it will be the go-to place when it comes to information in the way that The New Yorker or Complex Magazine is. Pretty simple, but the other thing I want is for Social Skills to be a brand that's respected in whatever area I choose to branch off into.

If you were to die tomorrow how would you want to be remembered ?? What kind of legacy do you want to leave and why ???

Just that I am what I say I am when it comes to being an artist. Also, hopefully I've inspired people to go after their dream and be yourself, because it's better to succeed on your own terms, and even fail on your own terms. You're the only person living your life, so it would be senseless to let people dissuade you from doing what you want. Also, I want you to think of excellence and pure artistry when you hear my name.

Do you have any final words for the IC or anybody reading this interview ?

Yeah, for all of the artists here, I'm always trying to hear more music, or see more artwork so I don't mind people asking me to listen to their music or see their work if you want an objective opinion. Also, I'd like to thank all of the posters here that share their knowledge of the culture, because I'm a hip hop head, but I've learned so much here, plus this community offers a lot of inspiration.

Sion · March 2012

For those interested check out the Diaspora Muzik mixtape:

http://soundcloud.com/cjvisuals/sets/diasporamuzik

or download the tracks here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?880lfd0309cn081

And be sure to visit his website at:

http://socialskillsnyc.com/

Feel free to ask him questions he responds fairly quick, read some of the questions people be asking dude.

bignorm · March 2012

Yo, this is an ill interview.

Props to CJ for his movement man.

I'ma start checking for your work.

Props Sion for bringing this back.

ROZAYTABERNACLE · March 2012

nice man. and yo sion, miles high is still around man. you know who to do for the next interview lol

Sion · March 2012

bignorm wrote: »

Yo, this is an ill interview.

Props to CJ for his movement man.

I'ma start checking for your work.

Props Sion for bringing this back.

Yeah man it took a while cuz the IC went down a while back but we got this one done. I was excited to interview CJ cuz he brought something new to the table with art and also incorporating music into it as well.

Sion · March 2012

hip-hopisalive wrote: »

nice man. and yo sion, miles high is still around man. you know who to do for the next interview lol

Yo I owe dude an interview lolol, if he's up to it I'd give him an interview he's really talented.

Judith48 · March 2012

Ienjoy this interview.

CJVisuals · March 2012

bignorm wrote: »

Yo, this is an ill interview.

Props to CJ for his movement man.

I'ma start checking for your work.

Props Sion for bringing this back.

Thanks appreciate that, and yeah, thanks again to Sion.

inthacut · March 2012

good drop.

CJVisuals · March 2012

^^ Thanks, just put up a new one and check the sig below for more.

thetruth391 · March 2012

niiiiice

traestar · March 2012

dope interview man, keep doing the damn thing, CJ!!

Miles HIGH · March 2012

Ayyyyyyyyyeeeeeee...Good look again C.J...Tape came out dope, and the website been dope.

And Sion, you can interview me mane...

CJVisuals · March 2012

Thanks! Spread the word ...

blackdemo · March 2012

Great interview man, i actually want to start interviewing local artist but that are actually nice on the mic so im analyzing how u ask questions, buty ill def put some of my own personality in there, im savin up for a camera right now.

but im down with this movement tho, goood work

Washington_Red · March 2012

This was dope

Sion · March 2012

Miles HIGH wrote: »

Ayyyyyyyyyeeeeeee...Good look again C.J...Tape came out dope, and the website been dope.

And Sion, you can interview me mane...

Cheeaahhh !!!! Yo im currently working on one for J.I. but afterwards I got you fam. I've been wanting to interview you for a long time chief.

Sion · March 2012

blackdemo wrote: »

Great interview man, i actually want to start interviewing local artist but that are actually nice on the mic so im analyzing how u ask questions, buty ill def put some of my own personality in there, im savin up for a camera right now.

but im down with this movement tho, goood work

Thanks man, real talk tho it couldnt have been done without CJ , dude is deep and has an interesting personality. On his website you should check out the responses he makes. Really interesting stuff.

And I wish you the best of luck on your endeavours fam let me know how it works out, I wouldnt mind helping you to feature some of your own work and successes.

Sion · March 2012

Some more art....

tumblr_ly80mqrz4u1qk3pzg

Florence76 · March 2012

I arranged it thematically into three separate parts. The first theme is celebratory(bragging, partying, girls, etc.), the second theme is socially aware/militant and the last theme is reflective. On the cover, it's the idea of you standing over a beautiful girl in your room, in your Jordan 11's(celebratory), a big book(knowledge/socially aware) and weed with a bottle of water(health/reflection). All of these were songs I'd been listening to over and over, and I decided to just structure them to fit the themes and to add additional audio from TV, movies, and sound effects just so it could flow together as one piece. They're all songs that have personal meaning to me, and represent a mind state or a time that was helpful while I was coming up with ideas for Social Skills.

Peezy_Jenkins · March 2012

great interview bro

ashily · March 2012

That' s right.

r4i

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