Queens, New York emcee/producer-turned-author J-Zone has maintained a notable Hip Hop career dating back to the late 1990s. In 2005, Zone, who was also a member of The Boss Hog Barbarians with Celph-Titled, last released A Job Ain’t Nothin’ But Work in 2004 on Fat Beats Records, in conjunction with his own Old Maid Entertainment. This week, the man who released a cult classic in 1999’s Music For Tu Madre announced a break in his hiatus with The Peter Pan Syndrome.
In the near-decade since, Zone retired from traditional emceeing and self-released instrumental projects, and side efforts with a Chief Chinchilla alias. He also produced for Mr. Lif, Cunninlynguists and Organized Konfusion’s Prince Po. In 2011, Zone self-published Root For The Villain: Rap, Bullshit, And A Celebration Of Failure, garnering acclaim from the likes of ?uestlove, Slug, Chuck D, and HipHopDX.
In a press statement this week, the signature sarcastic Zone wrote, “What inspired my return to music? Reality! Ever try getting on LinkedIn or going to a job fair with a Gumby haircut and your primary experience being running around a stage in a rabbit fur coat? I did. Ever enter the work force for the very first time in your mid-thirties and try to ‘behave,’ ‘assimilate,’ ‘move up’ and “grow up,” only to go broke, become a misanthrope and go postal after seven months, write a book and become even less willing to grow up? I did.”
Named The Peter Pan Theory, J-Zone’s fifth studio solo album is made with what called “broken 30-year-old recording equipment,” and planned for September release. Now a drummer, Zone confirmed that the effort also revives his Old Maid imprint. Though no specific calendar date was confirmed, Zone’s website and pre-order page notes the effort will come on limited cassette tape (with download card), digital download and limited CD. He added, “A small run of vinyl is a possibility for later in the year, but not confirmed yet.”
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