Jern Eye – Vision From The Bay

Although many of them haven’t hit the mainstream airwaves yet, the Bay Area has been producing some of Hip-Hop’s most talented artists for years. Jern Eye has seen this both as an insider, as a current resident of Oakland, and an observer, as a former resident of the Bay’s southern counterpart, LA. Jern, who in addition to being a solo artist is a member of the group Lunar Heights, has earned a spot among the Bay Area’s Hip-Hop elite and on October 13th he’ll be releasing his second full length solo album, Vision. Today (Sept. 1st) the first single from that album, “Get Down” b/w “So and So” featuring Guilty Simpson, was released to radio and I caught up with Jern Eye to find out more about his music, how many hours without sleep it would take to cover the entire Bay Area Hip-Hop scene, and why if you see a girl on his arm it’s highly unlikely that she’s a Hip-Hop head. Here are some of the highlights from the interview:

On how his love of Hip-Hop developed:
In high school I’d sneak out in my dad’s car before I even had a driver’s license and hit up these shows. I think being around the scene at that time really inspired and helped me jump start what I wanted to do with myself in terms of being an artist and being an emcee.

On the Bay Area’s Hip-Hop scene:
It’s very community based. You don’t go being out here in the scene without either getting a chance to work with another artist or doing a show with another artist and/or breaking bread with another artist.

On the differences between Authentic Vintage and Vision:
Vision was more of a conscious effort. I really sat there and was like OK, it’s time for me to make another record.

Check out the full interview at RapReviews.com.