Jonwayne

Originating from Los Angeles, Jonwayne—born Jon Wayne—launched his path as an underground producer of beats, only turning to rapping when necessity demanded it. Beginning in 2008 he flooded the internet with a steady stream of self-released digital projects. Once he had secured a foothold at the city’s influential Low End Theory nights, he placed the beat tape Bowser with Alpha Pup in 2011 and quickly followed it with the self-released mixtape I Don’t Care, whose gruffly delivered blue-collar rhymes stemmed largely from his inability to locate suitable MCs for his productions. A partnership with Stones Throw commenced the next year via the instrumental album Oodles of Doodles. His debut appearance on the label as an MC arrived in 2013 with Rap Album One, which earned BBC DJ Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Winners Album of the Year honor.

In 2014 the nine-track collection Cassette on Vinyl distilled Wayne’s Stones Throw Cassette trilogy and included contributions from Jeremiah Jae, Zeroh, and Oliver the 2nd. The five-track EP Jonwayne Is Retired, featuring vocals from Anderson Paak, appeared in 2015 as the inaugural release on his own Authors imprint. Contrary to the EP’s title, new material surfaced throughout 2016, beginning with the Authors single “Wonka” and continuing with the vinyl-only instrumentals album Here You Go, issued through House Shoes’ Street Corner Music. Rap Album Two, a deeply and at times darkly introspective work, followed on Authors in 2017.