KJ-52

KJ-52
Jonah

Sometimes it takes a fork in the road to help you see who you truly are. And after sixteen years, hundreds of shows, and hundreds of thousands of lives affected by the music of KJ52, Jonah Sorrentino has emerged with a brand new perspective, sound, and soul.
Jonah, KJ52’s triumph in candor and personal reflection, is a succinct breeze of raw energy in the form of eight tracks. That Sorrentino took of the mask of his stage name for this album and chapter is no accident…he has hit the reset button on his career and emerged with a whole new persona: himself.
“The best way to describe Jonah, is like this: Take an old trusty Macbook Pro (thats me), and add several current software updates. This album is a transparent look at my life, looking back, looking forward and looking inward. It’s everything my fans love about me in an updated package.”

Sorrentino has streamlined his career in every way to embrace the new face of the music industry. Instead of going the traditional label route, he has joined the legion of artists who are crowdfunding their releases and going it alone. 52 Records, Jonah’s own label, is a brand new entity created for the new album and meant to connect more closely with his core audience.

He explains, “I’m coming off two years of the hardest choices I’ve faced financially, spiritually and career-wise. I feel renewed from a creative stand point and feel like I’m in the best place Ive been in years. My workload has doubled but my passion for what I do is 7000 times higher.”

Musically speaking, there is no filler on this release. Though the record comes in at a lean thirty minutes even, there are no album tracks. If only more artists would approach their craft this way; eight singles equates to a much more listenable release than three singles and nine filler tracks. Truly, audiences will find it difficult to identify one, single weak point on Jonah. And these songs are as uplifting as they are infectious, as thought-provoking as they are honest.

True to the precedent he set very early in his career, KJ presents spiritual truth with clever rhymes, from a unique perspective. Only this time he does it with a vulnerability previously unheard. And at the core is one central message: God will go before you, through all stages of life, through every up and down, if you are willing to believe. And within this overarching, career-spanning theme, he is as diverse as they come in terms of song to song thematics. On “Hold on,” KJ addresses his younger self at three different points in his life, offering advice to hold steady and never give up hope: This is all about to change, know there’s a better way. Roll with the punches, you can hold for a better day. On “Get down, Get Down” Sorrentino addresses some of the more awkward moments in his career: Pull up to the curb in my ’05, got the rims on tens as I roll by. No Benz, but I’ve got ten friends in an old ride…fanny pack and strapped for the hole night. And on “Day Job,” Jonah reflects on his decision to pursue music as a career the decade and a half, keeping his eyes on the larger purpose of his music: What if I never quit my day job, just pulled a nine to five trying to get the cake off? Would the ones that you saved have strayed off? Always personal, always candid, KJ will have you listening attentively as he spins yarns and spouts humorously.

Jonah Sorrentino has averaged 150 shows per years every single year of his career. He tours relentlessly without rest, always maintaining his reputation as one of the most visible hip-hop artists in the industry. He has shared the stage with everyone from Lecrae to Toby Mac to Andy Mineo. In support of Jonah, his plan is to take it upon himself to share these songs more fervently than at any point in his career, and to use the past sixteen years of stories to shed true light on others.

“This album is, when you boil it down, about the things Ive seen God showing me. It reflects a desire to be very transparent, more so than I ever have. These days, I’m way more comfortable in my own skin. I’ve found a balance between what I love about hip hop and what I love about being myself, and I feel this project is the strongest one I’ve done in years. Hopefully I can use my personal experiences grab someone’s attention and be able to point them to something that has hope, life and so much more.”