The Philly emcee Japhia Life who was identified in an article entitled “Jesus Raps?” featured in the September 2004 issue of URB Magazine hinted at Japhia's secular label courtiers looking for sign him for being so inspirational and so street simultaneously. Japhia has kept his music street by releasing numerous mixtapes and two independent releases which shook the streets of Philly and across the globe. Japhia Life is one of the strongest lyricists in the genre and the least known about, that is why in an Hip Hop For The Soul exclusive interview Japhia bears his soul.

How did you come up with the name Japhia Life?

My Grandma had a big book of biblical names, so I'm thumbing through it and I get to Japhia. I start reading the meaning and it said that it meant (Shining), so I'm like, this would be a nice name for a boy if I ever had a son. So when I started trying to think of a stage name, Japhia kept ringing in my head. Also a lot of the people that I would play my music for would always go, man I love how you let people into your life when you do songs. So I just put the two together because it was so different and I wanted a name that nobody else would come out with.

How did you begin rapping and who was your inspiration?

Basically, around ‘93, two of my boys that I grew up with used to rhyme. One of them put a tape out, and the other one was just known for just ripping cats apart when it came to freestyling. So it used to be about seven of us everyday rhyming and just bugging out on the block. So one day the two of them start going hard back and forth, everybody's going bananas. After about 20 minutes of that, one of them was like, Yo, I wanna hear ya'll rhyme this time. So we start looking at each other like not me. After awhile everybody just gave it a shot just for the fun of it. When it was my turn I was really nervous man, because the two of them were so good, but when I started, I saw the look on there faces was like, wow! By the time I finished they were like, okay from now on ya'll are gonna rap more often. That was just the beginning because the person that made me really wanna take it serious was “Biggie” when he dropped the “Ready to Die” album. When I heard that record I lost my mind. He was talking about everything that I was felling deep in my heart. That's all I played for months. As a matter of fact, I went out and bought it on CD the other day because I lost the tape along time ago (laughs).

Your latest release is entitled “Hell's Diary: The Healing LP.” What will listeners hear on this release?

When you listen to this album you're gonna hear my heart, and feel my pain. In my opinion it's not street, it's more heartfelt than anything. I put my life on the paper, and my life hurts a lot because of the weight of my purpose. A lot of the time my purpose causes me to have to be alone. I talk about that on the album also.

What do you feel is your favorite track off the album?

My favorite track is “Early Grave.” I'm in love with that track because of the way it makes me feel when I listen to it. I remember the day I recorded it. I was in the studio with a producer that I used to work with named “Saint Man” and I was like, I want U to do a track with one of the guitars. He starts playing around with some melodies and I go, Yea stop, that's it right there. The licks were so crazy that I just wanted to go for a walk and come back and hear it when it was finished. So I told him that I'd be right back. It was a graveyard across from the studio so I walked in there and as soon as I walked up the steps and through the gate, the words just started hitting me. I remember because it was nice outside, and the sun was shining bright. It was just a really beautiful day. When I got back to the studio I could hear the beat from outside, but the door was locked. So I'm banging on the door, but he couldn't hear me because he had the beat turned up. I'm trying to call his cell phone and everything. He finally opens the door like, Yo wait until you hear this. I'm like I know, I could hear it from outside, it's crazy. I finished the whole song in like an hour. The verses, the chorus, everything. If the music is really good, it'll pull words out of me. We did 90% of the album that way.

What inspires your songs?

Honestly, I never know what's gonna inspire one of my songs. It could be a conversation I have with one of my fans. A song that I hear, you know whatever. I'm a very open minded person. I'm not afraid to take chances, especially when it comes to my music. If you're a closed minded artist then it'll become difficult for you to reinvent yourself, and that's what I try to do on every album. Plus I listen to everything from “Switchfoot” to “Mahalia Jackson”, so my creative juices are always flowing.

What happened with Beatmart?

That's a question a lot of people seem to want to know the answer to (laughs). Basically, I got a call from my lawyer saying that Beatmart wants to drop me because I put out “Hell's Diary.” I still have the letter to prove it. I had just been in Nashville with Todd and I played the master copy for him, and told him that I was gonna put it out myself, and that's what I did. They knew it was out. So I said to myself, these guys must only won't me to eat on their terms. I guess they didn't expect it to get as much attention as it did. I was selling out everywhere. The “Beatmart Mixtape” had dropped after that and it wasn't getting as much attention as “Hell's Diary.” The worst part of it all is that he had me believe that we were friends. I stayed in his house with his family, ate dinner and watched movies with them. I went to the gym and hung out with his wife. Her and I have sat and talked about racial issues that plague society. In my mind, she is still one of the nicest women that I've met in a long time. I recorded in the studio with this guy until we were sleepy. Some of the tracks we did together could've won Grammy's. Now I hear he's telling people that we parted ways because of creative differences. What creative differences (laughs)? It's funny to me now because I'm a lot wiser and my career is just getting started. Getting dropped from Beatmart was a blessing for a lot of different reasons. I have so many doors opening for me now, its crazy.

Any new label prospects?

Yea, I got a few situations on the table right now. I'm actually getting backing from a label to distribute “Hell's Diary: The Healing LP” to stores this summer. My hustle is limited on my own, so I had to get some people to run it through a bigger machine. It really needs to be heard. I know once the consumers that support this genre get a hold of my music and my movement that they will embrace it. A lot of other labels are interested in me also, because they've been looking for an artist that can reach the people in the street. I look just like them, dress just like them, talk just like them, I can rhyme just like them, if not better, and my story is similar. I'm not coming over their head, I'm meeting them right where they're at. They feel like they're listening to Jay-Z or 50 cent. The only thing that's different about me is that I got up off that, and I'm riding with the Lord now, and they wanna know why. Once they identify with me they can see that I used to be just like them, so they know it has to be something serious if I left that way of thinking alone. They look at me as a leader because I come from them. They go, it must be more to God than we thought it was. I show them a different side of God that they never knew existed from watching there aunt that goes to church almost everyday. I watch how artist like “J Lo” get artists like “Fabolous” to rhyme on their tracks and I say to myself, I know artist like “ Mary M ary” & “Kiki Sheard” want rappers that represent the same things that they do to spit something stupid over they're joints. That's where the Lord is gonna use artists such as myself to come in.

What albums are in your discography?

So far I have “Pages of Life,” “Hell's Diary,” a gang of mixtapes, and a few other projects that I'm featured on. That's basically it.

What inspired you to do a mixtape of your own?

When we did the first mixtape “The Sum of All Fears” it was basically to introduce myself and my crew the streets, and letting them hear some artists that rap for God that understand their pain. I felt like it was no love or transparency in the music I was hearing was supposed to be Gospel. Let me just say this, my team does not get a kick out of dissing the world. We don't grab our mouths in awe when we hear an artist on a CD throw a shot at them. Those people that they are dissing are our family members. We will present them with the message that they are in need of a savior, lets not get that misconstrued. If that's how God is telling them to rhyme, cool. That's just not me.

Tell me more about Arms Out Ministries.

Arms Out is basically my movement, I'm the founder. Everybody on my team has their own imprint that represents who they are, but we're all merged together. TK has (X-Cali), S.O.G. has (A.B.B.A), Rob Hodge has (Wise Men Inc.), and I have (Arms Out). We know it can get confusing at times, (laughs). It's basically like (G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath) you know? We're just not actual running labels so to speak, as of now. We just have our own separate movements that are merged together. As of now Arms Out consists of myself, my first in house producer from Orlando “Kid Classic.” I'm also working with a female emcee from Philly by the name of “Baby Girl.” She was gonna be first lady in the “Dogg Pound” when she used to ride with “Kurupt,” her flow is crazy and she has a heart for the people are still out there. Her style is very classy but gangsta. I also have a reggae artist down with me named “Linkz Virus” this kid is a straight monster. They're all on “Hell's Diary: The Healing LP.” None of them are signed with me because I'm not a label. As of now, Arms Out is just a movement. I am planning on getting a label deal when the time is right and the right situation presents itself. A lot of these distribution companies wanna see if you know how to market yourself, and move units on your own before they give you a label deal.

What would the ultimate reward for you be?

Just to keep seeing lives changed by my music, and to be able to show the world God's face with out the makeup. Right now the church has no large scale influence on society, but there is a church on every corner. You can do the math. It's not because the world doesn't want God. Yea, sometimes it is that, but 90% of the time it's our presentation of how God looks. So it's like we gotta come behind a lot of these religious church folk and clean up.

What's in store in the near future from Japhia Life?

Right now I'm just trying to get my hustle up. My website will be back up soon, it's in the process of being revamped. I wanna make my music and just the “Japhia Life” brand as a whole as accessible as possible to the public once my site is back up. Oh Yea, I'm working on putting together a tour with “Rob Hodge” called (A New Day in Hip Hop: The Love & Life Tour). I've been building with him almost everyday for a while now about making some serious power moves. He's ready to go hard.

Any last words?

Yea, I wanna just say to the fans, we love ya'll, and we thank ya'll for your constant love and support. Thanks for the emails letting us know how your lives and minds are being changed by our music. Thanks for being leaders. We know what caliber of people ride with us. One!


Interviewer- Caleb Kinney (Hip Hop For The Soul)