Orlando Jones Jr. defies everything you think you know about his genre. Under the name “GOJonesJr,” he has developed a style he describes as “lyrical hip-hop.” Using his music, he has defined himself as a musician and as a person, and plans to take no prisoners as he goes out into the world with two shiny new Bachelor’s degrees from The University of Southern Mississippi.
During his time at Southern Miss, Orlando Jones double majored in Public Relations and Speech Communication. He served on executive boards and as President of two campus organizations, presenting himself as an active and vigorous student. Jones knows his scholarly goals set him apart from stars in his genre, and he couldn’t care less. “I don’t want to be something I’m not,” he says. Jones says his music empowers him to “be different.” He says he’s a musician and an artist, but don’t call him a rapper. “‘Rapper’ has a negative connotation,” Jones says. “Everybody doesn’t listen to rap. If I say I’m a rapper, you won’t listen to it. If I say ‘musician,’ you’ll give it a chance instead of just rejecting it.”
Orlando Jones, a Vicksburg native, makes a point of representing his roots and making his family proud. “Vicksburg is where my grandmothers are,” he says. That’s enough for him to claim the area as his home. “I want to prove that a youngster from Vicksburg can go out in the world and make a success of himself,” says Jones. “You have celebrities from here who don’t even claim Mississippi anymore. You won’t hear that from me. Mississippi is home. No part of my story gets left out.”
So, why Public Relations and Speech Communication? “Music has no color,” Jones explains. “Music is the one thing that brings everybody together. Even if we don’t like the same kind of music, we both like music. It’s universal communication. Speech communication comes together somewhere in there.” He says he loves being in front of a crowd, letting people know hear him. “Anything with public speaking, I’m there.”
So, what’s next for GOJonesJr? He’ll pursue steady employment as a public relations professional, when not playing shows wherever and whenever he can. “I want to be the next person tweeted about on the AMAs or Grammy’s,” says Jones. “It’s not for the fame, it’s just something that I love to do. Why not get paid for it, too?
His upcoming project is called “Apollo.” This will contain what he says is the favorite of his songs. The track is called “I Never Thought.” Jones defines the song as “the single most vulnerable I’ve made myself on any of my musical compositions.” The lyrics strike very close to his heart. “On that song, I include 100 percent of my life… there’s question I’m telling you everything that is me. Everything from my emotional confusion to my relationship with my dad, to me thinking that I wouldn’t be as successful as I’ve been thus far,” he told me, fighting back a catch in his throat. “When I first finished it,” he said, “I didn’t think I’d release it because it was so personal.”
Ready for a HerCampus exclusive? His upcoming work will feature collaboration from 4RecognitioN, well-known hip-hop group, on a song entitled “Ready.” It won’t be long before you hear this on the radio, but I got to witness the phone call that set everything into place. You heard it here first.
Orlando Jones’ greatest passion is for the stage. “I will perform in front of every crowd,” he says. “I don’t even need a microphone… Just give me a chance to be heard.” There is no doubt Jones’ energy, ambition, and self-driving personality will put him in fate’s way. As he goes out into the post-college “real world,” we Collegiettes wish him the best.