Mic Stylz

J-Zone (born Jay Mumford) is an Emcee, writer, producer and former rapper from New York City. Career: Known for his quirky lyrics and trash talk style of rapping, J-Zone released a string of idiosyncratic and critically acclaimed albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s that acquired a cult following. Of these, the 2002 release Pimps Don't Pay Taxes, was particularly noted; it featured rappers Huggy Bear and Al-Shid, for whom he would subsequently produce a number of 12" releases. In 2003, the New York Times cited his J-Zone, S. A. Smash concert in Brooklyn, New York as a noteworthy pop and jazz concert in the New York metropolitan region. Not finding commercial success, J-Zone eventually walked away from rap, and in 2011 published the book Root For The Villain: Rap, Bullshit And A Celebration of Failure. The book has been well received; the L.A. Times Music Blog stated that "Like his albums, it's equal parts hilarious, self-effacing and sharp. He's the sarcastic older brother putting you up on game. It's a love letter to rap laced with sulfur, the flip side of Dan Charnas' similarly excellent The Big Payback." The Washington Post Going Out Gurus blog called it "a must for every curmudgeonly grown-up hip-hop head", while Nathan Rabin writing for The A.V. Club called it "one of the funniest and most honest books ever written about the modern music industry and its luckless casualties." Discography (selection): Music for tu madre (1999), A bottle of whup ass (2000), Pimps don't pay taxes (2001), $ick of bein' rich (2003), A job ain't nuthin but work (2004), To love a hooker (2007), Writing: J-Zone: Root for the villain. Rap, bullshit, and a celebration of failure. Cambria Heights, NY, Old Maid Entertainment, 2011. ISBN 978-0-615-53227-1