PONY will always be a product of two things: the city that made us, and the people who believe in us.
Whilst New York has changed a lot since we first came up, the energy that powered its evolution hasn’t, nor have the people. Every day we see the vitality of our communities in the grit and personality of real talent out there doing their own thing.
Jonathan is a musician and producer on a personal journey. We wanted to discover the source of the inspiration and cultural nuances in his work. Becoming a recognized figure in the music industry takes patience, talent, and craft. But what about the need to create? What’s that a product of?
PRODUCT OF____
TALENT & CRAFT
Tell us the story of how you became a musician. Was there a moment, person or place that set you on this path? Yeh. When I was a kid I found a copy of Neptunes Presents: The Clones in my older brother’s glove compartment and the cover looked so cool. To see a black guy and an Asian guy in space making all genres of music opened my eyes in ways I couldn't imagine. I wanted to be that.
What’s been the biggest challenge to your creativity? Time
How do people’s responses impact how you create? Would a negative response make you change it up? They don’t. I don’t allow people access to my creative work unless we’re working on it together. By the time people hear it I'm already in love with it and no one can change that.
What motivates you to keep making music? Confession
Who or what inspires you today? Does that ever change? The omnipresence of God, Sampha, and the absence of Frank Ocean.
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MY CITY
Where do you live right now, and how does that place shape your work? I live in New York. I mean…it works for now. But I want to move to the middle of nowhere. Somewhere where there's a lot of forests.
Do you think that places make people, or people make places? Why?
Where do you practice and create your music? How important is it to you to have that space? I create at home. It's literally the best place. I find it hard to be vulnerable outside
Would you say that musicians need to be active in their city to create interesting and original work? Or can they be a homebird and still create innovatively? I am the homebird.
If you could choose three things about your city to write about, what would they be? The people from here, the seasons, parties
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BACK HOME
Do you ever write about your home life growing up? yeh.
Has your relationship with that past changed over time? How has that affected your music? Learned that vulnerability is the true strength. I released my best work yet last month.
You had a nice line on one of your Instagram posts. ‘What’s the reward for good work?’ To put a spin on that, can we ask what is the reward for a storied past? Do you need to have led an interesting life to become an interesting musician?
What’s more important, school education or life education? I mean, they done told lies in history class so i don’t know man…
What about your friends and people from back home. Are they a part of your creative life now? Sure, yeh.
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HOPES & DREAMS
What do you want to achieve next with your music? Complete an LP
What matters to you more – making a reputation or making connections? Relationships are way more important.
How do dreams figure in your music? I try to stay away from dreams in my creativity and just stick to reality.
Do you see your inspirations evolving in the years to come? Yeah
Can hope get in the way of making music that’s real? Maybe, idk. That's kinda deep.
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In one word, what are you a product of? Heaven