We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jerry Gibson jr. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jerry below.
Alright, Jerry thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
My company is inspired by my late cousin Jaquise Dent who passed away in 1998. I made a promise that I would let the world know about him before I left this earth not knowing how I was gonna do it just knew that I wanted to share my story about him with the world. So anytime you hear Ruthless Killa It’s all in honor of him.
Jerry, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
A lot of people seem to want to be a hustler, but if they realized how much work it takes they’d probably just get a day job. J.A.G.2 hit his hustling stride when he was selling CD’s out of the trunk of his car. At first it was a trickle, but it primed the public for his next release that hit the stores in Daytona like a hurricane. But that’s not how it all started. It took death to bring J.A.G.2 up to the mic; in 1998, his close cousin passed away. A year later, while going through some old cassette tapes he came across a demo his cousin had recorded, and at that moment J.A.G.2 began writing his own material. He kept writing – he wrote for three years before even stepping into a studio. In 2002 he met his best friend Mr. Marage, and they formed a duo called Katastrophe. After writing and recording they released their only album, “Down South Ridaz”. In 2004 they split up to pursue solo careers, and J.A.G.2 found himself in the doldrums. To shake things up, in the summer of 2005 he left Albany, GA for the Daytona Beach scene. After hooking up with his cousin Mr. X they put together some new tracks into a demo and began looking for a record deal. As other true hustlers know, record contracts don’t get handed out like show flyers, and after nothing promising was offered they decided to put it out themselves. At the end of 2005 they released “Ruthless Aggression Volume 1” which got them noticed in the local scene. Heading back into the studio they began work on Volume 2, meanwhile developing relationships in Daytona Beach that led to them releasing it in local music stores. In Daytona Beach alone they sold over 2500 CDs – a smashing follow up to Volume 1 and evidence that even better things were to come. While happy with the success of his work with Mr. X, J.A.G.2 had a solo project that he wanted to put onto the front burner. After nine months of writing and recording, he released the mixtape “Da World Iz Mine” on his cousin’s birthday. Released on February 19th, with 19 tracks, it not only honored his cousin but would produce sales that were double his previous efforts – over 7000 CDs sold between Georgia and Flordia, in stores and out of the trunk of the car. Moving units got him noticed by the locals, and right after the release of the mixtape J.A.G.2 signed the artist Rico to his new label, Ruthless Killa. Rico’s release, “Rookie of the Year” sold 4500 copies and had two songs go to 1 on Power95 in Bermuda. In late November, J.A.G.2 and the Ruthless Killa crew released their third mixtape, “Da Untouchables”, which sold 3800 units based upon reputation alone. Expectations for the new year were high after the success of 2006, and after taking time off for the birth of his third child, J.A.G.2 returned to the studio to work on a full album entitled “Legend in the Making”. As the internet buzz grew, he released two singles, “Ruthless Killa” and “Mr. Shawty There He Go” that both took the 1 spot for weeks on Power95. With heavy support from the south and the islands, he was prepared to take his career to the next level. “Legend in the Making” was released on February 24th and sold another 5ooo copies. Now Ruthless Killa Records have signed new acts Tha Big O, Wholehearted, Asya Marqui and Dre Benjie as they now represent the future of the label. As J.A.G.2 leads the way for the new up and coming artist you can only expect great things from the entire Ruthless Killa Records label in the future.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I think me interacting with different artists and traveling so to different parts of the United States helped me develop the relationships I needed to succeed.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
My willingness to help artists not signed to me understand the business side of the music industry.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.
ruthlesskillarecords.net - Instagram: @jag2rkr
- Facebook: @jag2rkr
- Linkedin: https://www.
linkedin.com/in/jag2rkr - Twitter: @jag2rkr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@
ruthlesskillavevo2324
Image Credits
All images were taken by Tha Big O Vision