His message is peace.
Juan Hernandez, 22, from Delano, is a communications major at Bakersfield College. Some might know Hernandez by his emcee name, JList.
Hernandez plans to transfer to CSUB and pursue a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in the future.
Hernandez began rapping as a hobby about a year and a half ago and has recently joined a hip-hop group, also from Delano, named Block Style.
“A lot of rappers don’t even talk,” said Hernandez. Hernandez would like to see more rap artists unified and believes that it is important to have peace not only in music but across the world as well.
Hernandez mentioned the current situation in the Middle East with the uprising of the ISIS group. His thoughts on ISIS are, “I think it is crazy what’s going on.” He also added, “It’s a negative thing because of all the killings, all the massacres, so it is a very negative thing.”
Hernandez believes that there should not be any U.S. involvement in the Middle East and that those countries should deal with those issues by themselves.
“Why fight when everyone can get along?” he said.
The reason Hernandez is pursuing a degree in psychology is because he has always been fascinated with trying to understand people and their behaviors.
Hernandez said that he pursued music because he was always good at writing. “I was just really good at writing,” he said. “The whole microphone thing, I just bought me one, and thought, why not? Let me try it out.”
As far as famous hip-hop artists that influenced Hernandez to rap, were Fort Minor from Linkin Park and Eminem. He said that after a while he stopped listening to hip-hop and was listening to a lot of punk rock, but Immortal Technique made him go back to listening to rap music.
At the moment JList and the group Block Style have been performing in cities like Porterville and Visalia. “The Sinister Club in Porterville,” said Hernandez, “It’s like a biker scene, it’s just a bar, they have a lot of pool tables, couches, and it’s pretty cool.”
JList and Block Style also perform in places like Visalia. “They have a movement out there, people come all the way from Fresno to perform out here too,” he said.
One thing JList hopes for is that more opportunities open up for performances in the Kern County area. “It would be cool if we spread [the movement] to Bakersfield,” said Hernandez.
With his busy schedule, and the need for more money, JList is optimistic that he will release his own solo mix-tape in the near future. “I was planning on coming out with a mix-tape, but right now I’m trying to save up money or find a way to burn a lot of CD’s,” Hernandez said. For about $50, JList says he can get a couple hundred printouts of the cover, but he would have to also purchase CD’s on top of that.
JList’s message to his fans is, “Listen to rap because honestly it’s the best art form when it comes to music because it’s the most expressive, and carries the best message, and overall it teaches you how to act.”
JList’s music can be found online on YouTube and the account is under TheJuanh911. One song that hip-hop fans can find on YouTube is ‘Wise Guys’ featuring Asil.