For the last several years Jonathan Ramsey has been a key figure in the development of NJ’s thriving Hip-Hop scene. From hosting live events like the recent New Jersey Live 3 at House of Independents, to a long run on college radio and writing about Hip-Hop for several publications, Ramsey has been instrumental to the growth of Hip-Hop in the Garden State.
His current platform, called “What’s The Movement?” encompasses interviews, album reviews, live events and a podcast that provides coverage of this emerging scene in real time.
NJ Next’s Angelo Gingerelli recently got a chance to sit down with Ramsey and find out “What’s the Movement?” for himself.
When does Hip-Hop enter your life and when did you become a fan?
Hip-Hop has been in my life since birth but honestly I don’t think I really became a fan until middle school. I grew up on what my parents were listening to and that was Gospel, R&B, Pop, and Funk. My father Gary would pull out the crates and cassettes and play rap every so often. He was big on Run DMC, The Fat Boys, EPMD, Kurtis Blow, and KRS One.
My uncles were always blasting Slick Rick, Dana Dane, Big Daddy Kane, and Rakim when they picked me up but I was the R&B kid. I liked Usher, New Edition & Mary J. Blige.
Fall 2003 was when I’d honestly say is when I became a fan. Outkast dropped Speakerboxx/The Love Below which is what I call the perfect merge of Hip-Hop & R&B next to Biggie and Mary J. Then The Black Album by Hov. Classic. Caught my first middle school dances listening to that (laughs). Also at the time I got really into the movie Brown Sugar and it was curtains from there!
When did you decide to start documenting the culture and become a personality, writer, host, etc.?
In 2011, I was in college and asked a journalist in a lecture what steps should an aspiring beat writer take to be successful? He told me to make a blog about the niche things I was into. So I found myself on Tumblr talking about sports, sneakers, and music. A girl I once knew put me onto The Weeknd before he gained some steam and I wrote a review about his “Thursday” mixtape. It blew up on Tumblr and it got some pretty good numbers.
A few weeks later I wrote our first ever Hip-Hop Album of the Year review raving about Watch the Throne. In college I studied Broadcast Journalism at William Paterson University. I had an indie rock show on our FM station on campus. I knew then I had a few platforms and outlets that would accept me and I haven’t turned back since.
What was the idea behind stating “What’s the Movement?” and how has that evolved and changed over the years?
After the rock show ended I wanted to program a rap show based around my blog. I didn’t have a name and I hit up my cousin. We always say “What’s the Movement?” as a general greeting and it stuck. During my time on air it was the best rated show on campus. In 2013 WPSC 88.7 FM was the number one ranked college station in the country. We were even nominated for an MTV Woodie award. We didn’t win but I knew for certain I was doing what I was meant to do.
I met a lot of people that year and realized we were giving indie artists all over jersey a show to be on the radio. I even got to phone interview Talib Kweli, 9th Wonder and the late Mac Miller. When my time at the station was over I continued covering new music on our blog. There I built a team of writers tackling the mainstream as well as the underground. These days we’re still doing that and I’m hosting our branded show, the “A-Side B-Side” Podcast which is available everywhere you listen to podcasts.
How do you decide who/what to cover on your platforms? How can artists submit material for coverage?
“If it don’t hit my spirit I don’t get near it, that’s point blank, period.”- Joey Bada$$.
So where we specialize in highlighting music in Jersey you don’t necessarily have to be from here to get coverage on WTM. If it’s dope we’ll cover it. Artists can send their press kits and EPKs to WhatsTheMovementTV@gmail.com or contact us directly on the site. Honestly it’s not a complicated process. Just be a real person, be professional, and for the love of God don’t just send a link with nothing attached!
I understand everything isn’t for me or marketed to my eclectic taste. Different strokes for different folks. When something is dope, you feel it. That’s no diss. We don’t write bad reviews on WTM. If it’s not for me, I pass it to someone on the staff, and so on and so forth. If no one likes it we’d be remiss to write a bad review or lie.
I like to consider WTM a filter for the people who love music. If it’s not up to par we have nothing to say but go harder and give us something to talk about. We cover music for the person who puts their phone on shuffle and anything from Fetty Wap, Fred Hammond, Frankie Beverly or Freddie Gibbs will come on back-to-back.
Where are you from? What’s the Hip Hop Scene like there? How has it changed the last few years?
So, I’m from the shore. I spent the first half of my childhood in Ocean then the rest in Neptune where I graduated high school. Growing up in Neptune I think everyone tried rap at least once. Whether you were good or not you probably have an “A Milli” freestyle out there or just battle rapped to defend yourself at the lunch table.
I think people put Neptune and Asbury Park in the same box as far as the music scene. It’s all melted together and it probably should be considering we all have family on both sides of the city line. Neptune reminds me of Atlanta but not in the way everyone thinks. It’s like people hear ATL and immediately think “Trap” but Atlanta sounds like Migos, Ludacris, Childish Gambino, 6lack, T.I., Bow Wow, Outkast, Jeezy, Gucci, Bone Crusher, Killer Mike, and more. All of them operate and sound completely different within rap. That’s how I feel about music around here.
I’ve often complained about the area because it’s been so hard to get rap shows curated in Asbury. It has such a rich music history known for Rock-N-Roll because of Bruce and Bon Jovi. I think what people forget is the “Queen of All Media” is born and raised in Asbury Park with Wendy Williams. She used to DJ Hip-Hop & R&B on 98.7 Kiss FM. I think the scene is more inclusive.
The music venues have started to warm up and embrace Hip-Hop as a genre but there’s always more work to be done. I think what has happened is they figured out they can monetize it and they are willing to embrace it more for that.
Hip-Hop is the most popular genre in the world. I understand there is risk and these are business owners and their livelihoods that go into their venues. I applaud the artists, booking agents, and curators that are getting it done for the city. I think we’re more organized that ever before. Aside from the negative and inaccurate stereotype and stigma, I think preparation may have been an issue in why Hip-Hop shows were not happening.
What’s next for yourself and WTM?
I’m at a place where I’m trying to take myself more seriously. Over time I think WTM has moved in a reputable way and we should start acting like we belong in the room. We recently threw our first live show since having that college SGA budget and it went really well. We came in the year with the goal of throwing something every quarter whether it was sponsored entirely by us or cosponsored with other organizations.
Look out for more curated events and experiences. In addition we’re looking for more contributors to the site for anyone that likes to write about music mainstream or not. We’re trying to build the team and we’re creating a media channel of original content and shows in pre-production now. We’re just trying to make it a well-oiled machine and experience for everyone to share in.
Rapid Fire Questions:
Top 5 Rappers Dead of Alive
I won’t say top five but I’ll say my five favorite. Andre 3000, Jay-Z, Black Thought, J. Cole, and Rapsody.
Top 3 New Jersey Artists with the potential to blow up in 2019
In no particular order: Marcus Ariah from Newark, Joe College from Neptune, and CinSay from Asbury Park are one step away from doing something very special. Marcus and College are super skilled with mobilized fan bases that move with them. They’re both polished in a way I can’t say many acts in Jersey are quite yet. Cinsay has the most upside. She raps, sings, and has island roots. What’s trendy for some is natural for her. It’s not corny plus she has sex appeal without having to sell sex to push a record. I’m interested to see what the 3 of them do this coming year.
Top 2 New Jersey venues for Hip Hop events:
PNC Bank Arts Center is huge. You haven’t made it until you played here and that’s probably any genre. House of Independents in Asbury is perfect. Right down the shore. Blocks away from the beach. You can roll out the chairs for more intimate shows or go standing room only for a stadium feel. It’s so versatile.
Top 1 Reason everyone should check out “What’s The Movement?”
It’s always been about love in so many facets. Creating an experience is what we’re all about. We want you to exist in real life. Be in the room, not on Instagram.
