As a general rule, I don’t like mixtapes.

For one, they are often titled with too many capital letters and intentional misspellings (i.e., DJ KOOL- MIXTAPE VOL. IX:  EAZY STREETZ MIX SO U CAN LIST3N IN YOUR KAARRR). *shrug*

Beyond that, while they demonstrate creativity, they too often major in studio tricks and minor in great vocals, which is not a combination that suits me.  But I get that some people like to do ‘em, and I get that some people like to hear ‘em.

When I heard Onitsha was releasing a mixtape, I thought “interesting… no one in their right mind would allow a VOCALIST like Onitsha to be drowned out by beats and studio tricks… this might be GOOD.”

Cut to this morning, when I finally got a chance to reeeaaaaally listen to mixtape since its worldwide, FREE release on Thanksgiving Day.

The scene:

EJ’s in his jammies, sipping coffee… he slowly starts inadvertently bopping his head.  He’s aware of music in the background, but he’s got to blog… and what is he gonna wear today?

He listens to “Holdin’ Me Down” and thinks “yep… this is dope… good job Eric Dawkins, good job Amber Riley.”

He gets to “Somebody” and, in between keystrokes on the computer, he starts playing the bridge’s chords on his air piano, a sure sign that he’s diggin’ the musicality.

He’s out of coffee, but doesn’t want to pause or leave the speakers… he decides he’ll go dry for a minute. (wow)

EJ gets to “No Woman, No Cry,” and enjoys  how incredibly Onitsha gives voice to the passing of her father, and all that goes along with that, to the popular Bob Marley tune.

He looks at the clock– time to get ready, and OOPS!  Need some coffee, for real.

The boppin’ turns to one of those bites-his-lip-cuz-the-groove-is-niiiice situations as “Karaoke,” featuring Drake, plays.

Enjoyment turns to sheer mirth when the iTunes hits “You.”  As the verses come, he immediately recognizes them from a live stream studio session that O did back in 2009– must be a good song.

But by the end of the song, EJ began to worship.  Definitely didn’t mean to– had things to do, AND the song had a beat to it (that’s a joke… worship, dear friends, is not defined by a beat or tempo. Lol)

“Why are my hands raised and why am I doing the Holy Ghost rock in my chair?,” he wondered.  As he tried to answer himself, he realized he should blog about it…

See– it was one of those moments in which I was reminded that God is the giver of ALL creativity, innovation and gifting. And every now and then, I hear SUCH gifting that it smacks my face away from the giftED, and directs me upward, toward the giftER.

And I happily lost my mind for a moment, thanking God for still giving us beautiful things to enjoy in such a cursed world (that’s deep, but true– it’s gracious of Him, if you think about it).  More personally, I thanked Him for still giving a dude like me– who adores music more than he could EVER express– glimmers of overwhelming musical excellence in the increasingly barren landscape of the music industry.

Back to my story– EJ had to listen to the rest of  the project as he got dressed (no one wants to hear “hey, sorry I was late, but Onitsha has this dope new mixtape, and, well YOU know…”).  But he did catch the Spinners sample on “Falling” and managed to scream “BRILLIANT!” while throwing a pen at his speakers.  And he nearly squeezed lotion onto his toothbrush, distracted by “Try Me,” featuring Teddy Campbell… that would have been a problem.

Anyway, this is a very basic, unsophisticated way to say YOU NEED TO DOWNLOAD THIS FREE MIXTAPE BY CLICKING RIGHT HERE.

I really do believe you’ll love it.

If you’ve already got it– can I get a witness???

Word has it that Onitsha will be releasing a mixtape, titled Love, Onitsha, this Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, available at http://www.LoveOnitsha.com.

The project is said to feature performances from Eric Dawkins, Teddy Campbell and Drake, as well as Glee’s Amber Riley.

Onitsha’s got some of the smoothest and most precise vocals in the game, so I’m thrilled that she’s hitting us with some more music.  She’s a vocalist and artist who knows her craft, not just a singer whose voice is being set to music.  That’s not a jab at anyone else– I’m just sayin’… gotta appreciate true musicianship.

Who’s grabbin’ it?

Word has it that Onitsha will be having an online listening event next week, during which fans can help her select the first single from her upcoming sophomore album, Journey.

The listening party will take place on her UStream channel– http://www.ustream.tv/OnitshaTV– on March 5th at 8pm ET.

Onitsha’s voice… jeepers. I have no words for what she’s able to do.

If you’re unfamiliar with her, (1) WHAT?! and (2) watch this video:

I got a chance to catch-up with Jamiene “J Skills” Thompson, one of the most popular brand-spankin’-new producers in the gospel industry.  And, I was honored to have done so– this is GospelPundit.com’s FIRST interview with producer (but it won’t be the last).

You’ve heard J Skills’ work on George Huff’s latest project (he wrote and produced the hit single, “Don’t Let Go,” along with half of the entire project) and, most recently, on the awesome track, “This Is Me,” on Coko’s new album, The Winner In Me.

I wanted to chat with him NOW (before he gets any bigger… and he will), so that we can all say that we knew him “back in the day.”

‘Nuff intro… here’s J Skills:

*     *     *

EJ:  Hey bro, how are you?

JSkills:  I’m doing pretty good, man.

EJ:  Very good.  Thanks for chatting with me, I really appreciate it.

JSkills:  Oh yeah, yes sir.

EJ:  Folks might say that you’ve blown up in a relatively short time.  I think the question on a lot of folks’ minds is “where did he come from?”  But it may not have been a short journey for YOU, so tell us… where did you COME from?!

JSkills:  Well… *laughs*  It’s funny that you ask.  I’ve been around for a while.  I’ve actually been producing for about 11 years and God just allowed things to happen for me in the past couple of years.  But I’ve been around– producing for 11 years, I’ve written for a lot of different artists.

EJ:  You were a songwriter first?

JSkills:  Yeah.

EJ:  Who were you writing for?

JSkills:  Well, at the time, I was doing a lot of ghostwriting.

EJ:  Oh, wow.

JSkills:  Yeah, for different artists.  And I was singing background as well.  If you know of a guy named Carnell Murrell, I was singing with him and his group when I was a little younger.  And I got my start there for singing.

EJ:  Yeah, I’ve heard of him.  Now, you mentioned ghostwriting and a lot of times, we hear about ghostwriting in hip-hop… is it popular in gospel, too?

JSkills:  Well, in some sense, it is.  Sometimes, as a writer, you don’t get full credit for writing songs.  I won’t name some of the artists, but I’ve been in the studio with different artists, wrritten songs, and never did get any credit for ‘em.

In the early days, when I started writing and doing things, I was young and just wanted a chance to write, so…

EJ:  That had to be discouraging.

JSkills:  It was.  It was very discouraging, you know… being in the studio, writing, and you think people will give you credit or tell others about you, but they don’t.  Or, a year later, you hear the song come out, go buy the CD and your name is not on there.

EJ:  Man!  Knowing that you worked on it?

JSkills:  KNOWING that you worked on it.

EJ:  And hearing your ideas on there.

JSkills:  Right.  Right.  So, I would encourage all producers, writers… whenever you’re working with a known producer or writer, make sure you do a split sheet after everything is completed.  Make sure you handle your business.  Make sure you have your information about who contributed to the song.

EJ:  And that’s unfortunate, that we’d have to do it in gospel for fear that someone is gonna steal your stuff, but it’s real.

JSkills:  Oh yeah.

EJ:  How would you characterize your production style or sound?

JSkills:  I would say definitely a lot of vocal harmonies, very urban… in a sense, there’s a church element to it, but a very urban type of sound.  That’s my sound.

EJ:  And I think you do it well.  A lot of people can’t merge urban with churchy, but some of the stuff you’ve done with George Huff and, most recently, with Coko, you managed to pull the churchy sound into the urban gospel genre.

JSkills:  Thanks.

EJ:  How long does it take you to create a track, from concept to completion?

JSkills:  Well, it depends on how I’m feeling the track.  If I’m REALLY feeling the track, I can do a full track in about 30 minutes.

EJ:  No way!

JSkills:  Yeah.  And just to let you know, George Huff’s lead single, “Don’t Let Go,” that track was done in about 45 minutes.  And after I finished the track, I wrote the song in about 30 minutes.

EJ:  And that’s an awesome song, dude.  I remember hearing it and thinking that it reminded me– and I told George this too– reminded me so much of Kim Burrell’s Everlasting Life album and the work she did with Asaph Ward.

JSkills:  Wow.

EJ:  Yeah, the vocal and musical production of it sounded like that album to me.  And I don’t think anyone was prepared to hear George Huff like that… you kinda brought that outta him, I think.

JSkills:  Alex Asaph Ward is one of my favorite producers.  I have really been influenced by his productions.

EJ:  He does some phenomenal stuff.  I dunno if you saw my interview with George Huff a few weeks ago, but he recounted the story of how you two hooked up– how he blew you off at first and wasn’t too sure about you once he saw your studio set-up…

JSkills:  Right.  Lemme just say this… *chuckles*

EJ:  *laughing*

JSkills:  I had more equipment than he really said I had.  It wasn’t just a computer… *laughing*  Cuz I sure did call him, I said “George, what are you talking about?!” *laughing*  He said it was just a computer and a small mixer, but it was more equipment than that!

EJ:  *laughs*  Thanks for setting the record straight!  What was that experience like for you?

JSkills:  Wow.  It was great.  George is a very comical type of person.  He’s very funny, but he’s also very spiritual.  As far as working with him in the studio, it was great.

Vocally, I just feel like he’s one of the best out there and I feel like a lot of people, in the past, have overlooked his true vocal ability.  The Lord allowed me to pull stuff out of him– it was already there, but I think that when you get a good producer and a good artist together, and they have that chemistry in the studio, magic happens.

EJ:  Absolutely.  And I think that a lot of people, though you’ve been around for a minute, a lot of people took notice of you.  Did that lead to your placement on Coko’s latest project, with the track, “This Is Me?”

JSkills:  Yes and no, in a sense.  We did a song together when she was on George’s project, the song “Destiny.”  I submitted a song to her and God allowed me, at the last minute, to get the song on the project.  She heard it and said “this really fits with where I’m going.”

EJ:  Awesome.  That’s one of my favorite tracks on her album, too.

You just announced on Twitter that you got an endorsement deal.  Can you talk more about it?

JSkills:  Yes, I can.  It’s an endorsement deal in the works with an audio production company.  I’m in the process of getting a deal for the software that they’re releasing this year.  So, God is really blessing me, man.

EJ:  That’s awesome, man.  And for readers who don’t know, what is an endorsement deal and why is it important?

JSkills:  With an endorsement deal, the producer endorses the product and the company allows you to use it.  So, whenever you go somewhere, whether you’re endorsed by a drum company, a keyboard company, or whatever, you use their product for free.

EJ:  Good for you.  Can you tell me what else you’re working on right now?  What’s coming up, where are people gonna start seeing you?

JSkills:  Right now, I’m working on my wife’s project.  For those of you who don’t know, her name is Cassandra and she’s an artist in her own right.  We’re working on her project right now.  And I’m actually submitting some songs and doing some work for The Church Girl, Onitsha.

EJ:  Nice!  Wow, that’s gonna be good.

JSkills:  And then I’ve got some other artists in the works.  Let’s just say that I’m producing and working with an artist that was on Sunday Best.  So you’ll be hearing from her soon.

EJ:  Really?  And you can’t say anything about who it is? *laughing*

JSkills:  *laughing*  Well, I’ll say it like this… I’m actually doing something for TWO people from Sunday Best.

EJ:  Okay, now you’re just teasing people.

JSkills:  *laughs*  I’ll say that one of them is out of Chicago.

EJ:  From THIS season?

JSkills:  From the first season.  But you’ll find out soon enough.

EJ:  *laughs*  Fair enough.  Well, this seems to be your year, where everyone is starting to take note, finally.

JSkills:  Definitely, man.  I just believe that when you’re faithful to God, when you’re a giver, and when you pour out to others, God will bring that blessing back to you.  I really believe that.  When you seek God and stay humble– a lot of producers get to a certain point and don’t stay humble… they change in a lot of different ways.

But I believe, if you really stay the same way that allowed you to GET to that point, and you stay humble,  God will continue to bless you.  And that’s for artists, producers, or whoever you are in the industry.  We have to stay humble because we’re just people who got an opportunity.  There’s always somebody out there that can take our place.

EJ:  That’s the truth.

JSkills:  Especially in gospel music, we have to learn how to fellowship with one another.  It shouldn’t be about competition because we’re building the Kingdom of God.  We gotta show more love, man.

EJ:  I agree.  Listen, man, I’m a supporter in a big way.  I think you’re a good guy, but I also love the music.  I’m following your gift because I think you’ve got a lot going for you and the Lord is going to open many doors for you.

JSkills:  Thanks, man.

EJ:  No doubt.  And thanks for taking the time to chat with me.

JSkills:  Man, I thank you for the opportunity.  And I thank God for you and what you’re doing over there at GospelPundit, man.

EJ:  I appreciate that.  And let’s keep in touch.

JSkills:  Definitely, man.

EJ:  Alright, bye-bye.

*     *     *

So, that’s my chat with J Skills.  I’m thrilled that I got to chat with him because I think God has great things ahead for him… excited to watch the progression.  And some great advice for all of you aspiring producers/songwriters– get your business in order!  That’s real talk.

Visit http://www.myspace.com/producerjskills to connect with J Skills.  And follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/JamieneJSkillsT.

What do you think about what he had to say?  Holla at me!

The average consumer might think “I love Onitsha cuz I enjoy her music,” without really being able to explain why.  The musician hears the nuances and intricacies of the stuff that she does, and thinks “OH… MY… GOODNESS.”  Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, Onitsha’s just… great.

Today, my wife (who put me on to Onitsha in the first place) said “post a video of Onitsha… there’s one where she’s sitting down in a studio, singing a song from her first album.”  Sure enough, I found it and thought “THIS is going up TODAY.”  Thanks, honey!

Watch her sing, with producer Shep Crawford on keys, “This One”:

BANANAS, right?!  Maaaan… if you’re not following her on Twitter, you oughta… a few weeks ago, she let us watch her live in the studio on UStream.tv.  It was incredible to watch her process.  Go to the TwitterRoll for the link to her profile.

And good news: I hear that her project may available in early 2010!

Word has it that American Idol is THE SPOT for gospel folks to land in their off-season.  No, not as contestants… in the band.

Onitsha, who is currently working on her sophomore gospel album as a follow-up to her acclaimed debut Church Girl, is a background vocalist on the show each week.

AAAAAND, Teddy Campbell has long been a drummer for the American Idol band.  In case you didn’t know, he’s also the lead singer of the Stellar Award-winning gospel quartet group, Soul Seekers, and the husband of Mary Mary’s Tina Campbell.

*packing my bags to go and git me a gig*

I’m off to Hollywood!

Word has it that Onitsha will soon be releasing her sophomore album, the follow-up to her acclaimed debut, Church Girl.  You can check her out on MySpace by clicking here.