Giving up a personal life in order to achieve a goal is Justin Stone’s reality, and as a new emerging rapper he has just made the Top 25 on iTunes Hip Hop charts, but he’s not going to stop there.
“Honestly, I’ve had to really cut back on my personal life for this dream — I’m really buckling down this year. I want to take this to another level,” Stone said. “I was amazed to see it get that high on the charts.
Stone grew up in a small town outside of Columbus and then moved to St. Leon, Indiana for several years before returning back to Ohio. Just like many other young boys, Stone had a desire to play sports.
“I grew up playing basically every sport. I had my heart set on being a professional athlete,” Stone said. “My parents were always supportive with anything I did.”
Along with having an interest in sports, Stone found a passion for music. Growing up, he said he used to always write his own music and lyrics.
“I used to want to be in a band, but I couldn’t sing or play any instrument,” Stone said. “I grew up on All American Rejects, Yellowcard, Angels and Airwaves, and Reliant K.”
Stone said he was 14 when he started listening to underground hip-hop, and soon found inspiration from the artists he was listening to. While reminiscing on the stages of writing his raps, he said some of the first artists he found himself listening to were Sammy Adams, Mike Stud and Chris Webby.
Now, Stone has new inspiration as he evolves throughout his music career. He said he appreciates rappers who have the ability to send a message through their music. Not only does he find inspiration through their music, but from their background as well.
“I would have to say, currently, my biggest influence is Logic. I love his message and his come up story. Another artist I’m influenced by is G-Eazy—seeing him grind for years, going from some of the same blogs I’m on to selling out shows,” Stone said.
It’s important for him to set a standard for himself in order to stand out from different rappers, according to Stone. The name of his game is to not lose sight of how much he loves making music.
“Rappers, nowadays, are too concerned about how they think the media will view their content and lose sight of why they are even writing music in the first place,” Stone said. “If you don’t love making music, you shouldn’t be making music.”
In order to stand out, Stone said he’s not like the typical rappers. He writes about his experiences in order for him to express himself.
“I write about what I’m feeling and what I’m going through not just what I think people want to hear,” Stone said. “Another thing that sets me apart from other artists is my lyrics — all of my songs are clean.”
As a rapper, writing is essential to his career, according to Stone. He said he has tried to learn the production process of making beats and music, but he wants to master his craft as a writer first, before anything else.
Stone hopes to be remembered as a leader and as someone who followed his own path. Not only is he inspired by fellow music artists, but also by his grandfather.
“A quote I use often is, ‘If you don’t stand for something, you are bound to fall for anything,’” Stone said. “[It is] a quote I picked up from one of my grandfather’s sermons.”
Besides music and his strong-willed nature, his motivation is driven by the thought of “proving people wrong and being someone that people can look up too.”
Stone said fame can be a scary thing, but he hopes he can stay true to himself and to always remember where he came from no matter what height his success is at. His goals are high, but he has one focus: to make a living from only music.
“I would love to do a nationwide tour with a bigger artist like Logic or Mike Stud,” Stone said. “I want to have a song make it on the radio.”
Stone dedicates his success mainly to social media because he is able to connect with fans and supporters, who are the ones that push him to create more music.
“[Social media] is why I think I’ve been so successful over the past couple of months—I’ve really been making time to interact with fans and I think that really helped me out when I released my album Long Time Coming,” Stone said.
The best advice he has received is “work until you don’t have to introduce yourself.” With the start of his career unfolding, Stone said he’s amazed with the success he has had so far.
“I would’ve never dreamed my debut album would get that high [on the charts],” Stone said. “One of my highs for sure.”
To follow Stone on his music career journey or to get more information about his upcoming show at the Newport in Columbus on May 13, visit www.JustinEliStone.com or follow his Twitter @JustinStone_ and Instagram @justinstone25.
Gabrielle Sharp
Executive Editor