J. Monty

J. Monty has a purpose for doing what he does. The rapper/producer was raised by hip-hop in the outskirts of Atlanta as he looked up to the greats like Common, Eminem and Andre 3000 and wrote poems and stories as a child. But his uncle who is a producer showed him the ropes that gave him the inspiration to take music seriously.

At first, J. Monty, born Jordan Montgomery, made music for himself and his friends. After realizing that formal education was not the path for him, he fully committed to his career path and joined a group of hustlers who were highly influential in the city.

Monty was going down a dark path when a year-long process started to reveal to him a greater sense of purpose. After trying to run away from clear signs that were given to him in what he calls “prophetic dreams,” Monty felt he had a final chance to turn his life around. According to Monty, one night he received a vision from God that blood would be dripping from his dreads as a final warning that he was drifting too far from the path God was calling him to. That same night he was jumped in the club and was left clinging to life. His head was split open by glass bottles, chairs and the fists of the 30 to 40 men who jumped him. He survived and decided to submit his life to God, who he believes was the voice speaking to him in the vivid visions.

“It was very clear to me that this was the God of the Bible,” he says of his faith after studying Scripture and attending church. “His son was Jesus and I needed to figure out how to share his story with the world and so I started doing that in the best way I could.”

Monty released his first project under this new direction in 2015, Level 54. That same year, he released Second Born, another mixtape with reflective lyrics and boom-bap production. It featured the 6-minute long “100 Bars, Pt. 3” that went viral for its lyrical prowess. Second Born was a personal highlight in Monty’s career that allowed him to tour, put food on the table for his wife and kids, and gave him the motivation to keep making faith-based music.

“I didn’t realize that I could go somewhere like this without having a degree, without planting a church, I can impact this many people and I can provide for my family,” he shares.

He signed with RCA in -2016-. He once said that he would only consider signing to a label if they offered him something he couldn’t do for himself, which was a hard wager considering Monty handles writing, production, audio engineering, graphic design and videography for himself. But never say never.

“I was really excited,” he explains of his decision to sign the dotted line. “It was a good fit.”

Besides music, Monty is also heavily involved in Victory Church ATL, which was founded by Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell in 2012. Combining both of their powerful experiences of finding God, the friends have been able to bring a message of hope to the city.

“We’ve seen so many people impacted by not just our stories, but just the ministry and the work that we’ve done out here and what God is doing,” he says.

Monty is currently working on new music, which is entirely produced by the uncle, who now goes by the name Vikaden, who first gave him the bug on Fruity Loops, bringing the artist’s journey full circle.