J. Bair Just Wants To Be
Happy
By Dexter Kendrick
“Man, I shouldn't have to do this!”, exclaims
Harrisburg rapper/entertainer extraordinaire J. Bair, as he drops his luggage
and the boxes of his newly released cd “The Pursuit of Happiness” onto the
floor of Harrisburg indie urban suite, PM Bistro & Lounge. Taking a seat at
the ticket table of his own album release party, his cousin who was assigned to
the task is a no call/no show, and throngs of people have already begun seating
themselves to apparent free access. But,
the show must go on. “The Pursuit of
Happiness” is Bair's sophomore work, and comes 3 years after the success of his
first project “Dare To Be Different”.
“[The last] 3 years gave me time to grow as an artist and as a man. When
you're passionate about something, all the drama, headaches, and tests [of
life] can be overcome.” Eventually, his
brother arrives to relieve him of the task of taking tickets at his own show,
and professionally walked around and collected admission from those who slipped
in for free. Regarding “The Pursuit of
Happiness” Bair states “I said [to myself] what if I started making songs about
being happy; about making it through the storms and dark clouds. What if I talked about a desire to go to a
better place mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The rest of the evening, like J.'s local
indie career, goes on to be a success.
The
album itself is a journey into hip-hop soul that invokes jazzy memories of A
Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. As
though the growing pains of life compelled Bair to go into his past (and his
closet), pull out everything that had been left unsaid, and expose it to the
light of day. The album title “The
Pursuit of Happiness”, he says, was inspired by the biopic movie itself about
the rags to riches story of Chris Gardner who eventually finds his way out of
homelessness and poverty, to using his skills at a prestigious brokerage
firm. “That story just seemed so similar
to my story, just trying to make it and find peace”, he says. Recognizing that no man is an island Bair
called upon an All-Star cast of rappers and singers to help him express his
journey. The many cameos of other local renown’s
such as Alonda Rich, DJ Smitty, Chance Kacey, AL Cloud, and executive
production from Alberto “Prem Touch” Mariluz, further invoke the bygone hip-hop
soul era of Spike Lee productions we've come to remember nostalgically. Amidst samples from Marvin Gaye, the
Supremes, and the Spinners, Bair and his colleagues spin us a tale of trials
and triumph we've come to demand from our indie hip-hop.
“I
was going through a lot of things [during the making of this album]” Bair
reflects on the musings and creative inspirations behind “The Pursuit of
Happiness.” We're standing inside the
album lined walls of the Music Man record
store. The premiere hangout of music aficionados,
rappers, singers, and DJ's in the Harrisburg
Check out “The Pursuit of Happiness” here:
Facebook: Jason Bair
Twitter: J_Bair
Youtube: Jbairtv
Dexter Kendrick is an indie
correspondent for levelsreadyent.com and a lover of all things indie. He can be
reached at saturnsfirst@yahoo.com
