Thursday we recorded another song and it featured J.D from B.E.T. doing parts of the song in freestyle “uplifting local ” rap that he does so well. I felt so intimidated by his stature, the low deep voice, the mean tattoos on his arm, but he was diligently writing the words to his part on a notepad, and didn’t say a word. Maxx was ecstatic that he was there to be a part of our project.
I’m pretty knew to this R&B, Hip Hop, Dance Hall Reggae thing….so I just sat there and bit my lip. Then he looked at me, and I looked away trying to act like I hadn’t been watching him the whole time. He said, “so, you’re coming in after me, how should I introduce you.” I smiled a big nerdy smile and eheerfully said “an-juh-juh”.
He looked at me without flinching and said, “say what?” This time a little bit of the smile went away and I said, “uh, well, you can call me an-juh-juh.” He wiped his forehead and looked at the sky, took a deep breath and said, “ok.” I was concerned by his tone and asked, “is something wrong? Does it sound bad?”
He shook his head like he was saying no, but didn’t know how to say what he wanted to say. He looked up at the sky again.
“Do you think An-juh-juh-lee sounds better?” I asked. This time he laughed and said, “how about An-double-J?” I said, “well, I guess if you think that’s better.” I felt sad and sat back silently in my chair. I decided to let it be since arguing with this guy was the last thing I wanted to do, even if it was how to pronounce my own name.
So he starts recording, and he’s phenomenal, gets it right in one take….he introduces MAXX Effex and makes him sound like a God. Then he did a piece to introduce me….and I couldn’t believe it, he said an-juh-juh-lee and made it sound exactly the way I would like it to sound. I felt so happy, I stood up and said “woo hoo!!! I love it!” and I couldn’t restrain the nerd in me any longer.
He was really cool. Turns out he was under the weather and still did a superb job. He’s such a pro. Thanks J.D. !!!