SL Jones is a familiar name around these parts for good reason. The Arkansas to Atlanta transplant turns out music at a fairly prolific rate. Following up the DJ Burn One-produced Paraphernalia, Jonesy now delivers Trapper’s Delight. Produced entirely by Alabama’s M16 (Playaz Circle’s “Duffle Bag Boy”, Young Jeezy’s “I Do,”) it occurred at a precarious time in his life that translated well with “Let’m Talk” and “Just Like That.” The Arkansas emcee elaborates on Trapper’s Delight, giving us some keen insight as to how it came along.
1. You had a little legal trouble over the summer. When did the recording of “Trapper’s Delight” occur in relation to it and how did it affect the project as a whole?
SL Jones: I recorded Trapper’s Delight two, three weeks before the judge sentenced me. I was trying to hurry up and finish it, because I didn’t know if I was gonna get locked up or not. All i could do was pray for the best and prepare for the worst. My freedom was on the line, so it damn near became the subject of everything I recorded. It was always on my mind.
2. To date, you’ve worked with a who’s who of producers, ranging from Burn One, Lex Luger, Shawty Redd and now a project with M16. How do you manage to snag all of the guys? Do you have Ryan Leslie’s laptop? Any one of these producers create more challenging beats, ones that make you have to work a little harder?
SL: This music shit is a lot like the trap — everybody’s hustling trying to get it however they can — but it’s all about who you know. I just built solid relationships, and those relationships opened doors for me. When people say good things about you, your reputation starts to work for you, and it creates opportunities. I treat everybody with respect and stay humble.
I would have to say Burn One is the most hands on producer I’ve worked with, mainly because he prefers to produce the entire project and tailor every beat to your style to create a sound unique for you. He likes to make everything in front of you, from scratch. M16 is like that too, though. He made the majority of the beats for the songs on Trapper’s Delight from scratch. It’s different with every producer and I believe it starts with the artist’s work ethic. I have my own creative process, so I don’t prefer one way over the other as long as I’m making music.
3. You’ve mastered these “snack pack” projects: smaller projects put out in short spans of time. How do you think that helps for fans?
SL: It helps them to identify what it is that I do. I have a lot of range as an artist, so it confuses some people, cause I can really ‘rap,’ but I do this G shit so well. I have a short attention span, and get bored hella easy, so the longer the project, the more my creativity starts to expand beyond the confines of one central theme. For the sake of continuity, I make the projects smaller so you get exactly what I’m feeling at the time without the ADD.
There’s that. And with that knowledge, check out “Trapper’s Delight” in full via the links below.
Download — SL Jones – Trapper’s Delight Mixtape