We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jamal Monsanto. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jamal below.

Jamal, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I would have to say the answer to this is two fold. First and foremost I believe one of my most meaningful projects I’ve created is my album “Ella.” I remember in 2011 I stumbled upon a movie called “500 Days of Summer”, and it inspired something in me. The movie explored the rise and fall of a relationship and it took me through the motions in a way that I related to more than any other love film. From then the idea sparked…. In most relationships there are 3 phases. Pre-relationship phase, relationship phase, and then the post-relationship. Each of these phases are very important to the overall experience, and if I was able to create something musically that explored these phases, and told it the right way, it could could be one of the greatest love stories told over beats. I dreamt big lol.

Once the idea was planted in me, it was time to get it going. I remember thinking this album needs a world built around it, and the world has to be more important than the music itself. I researched relationships, tapped into my own experiences, watched hella movies, all before writing a verse for the album. I decided to write the love story first. I made myself the main character, and this main character was dumped at a soundcheck before one of his biggest shows. And then the story began. To help build the world around it, I tapped into my fanbase at the time and asked them to send in photos to be included in a big collage for the album. I just wanted them to be included in any and every way. I did bit of traveling to connect with film students, friends, musicians, etc. etc. all over building this world. We’d literally sit for hours plotting. Things became real real quick.

By the time I began recording the music, the story was fully built out, the production was on tap and flowed freely, and close friends of mine volunteered as tribute to play roles that brought the album to life with skits, interludes, outerludes, and so on. Oh, before I forget, one huge reason for making “Ella” was to bring the topic and idea of love to hip hop in a different way. A way that told a story of uplifting women. A way that showed a man being vulnerable. To display all the perspectives. To peel the onion back a bit. And I think I got it right.

Jamal, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Jamal and my stage name is ScienZe. I’m a Hip Hop recording artist from Brooklyn, NY, currently living in sunny LA. I started makIng music when I was about 9 years old, all thanks to my bigger brother Seven. He would volunteer me to help him create beats on a tiny casio keyboard and I quickly fell in love with the craft. We would literally be playing on the same keyboard at the same time, him on the right, me on the left, and vice versa. As a kid around that time I also watched my big brother and his friends make music, scratch records, freestyle, and I thought it was the most FIRE thing to watch and be a part of. Til this day I close my eyes and I can see all of the tags on the wall. I can hear the bass rumbling from beneath my bedroom floor. I can hear their voices through the walls as they freestyled.

From that point I knew I NEEDED to make music. It became a part of me. Years later I decided to take music seriously, and wanted nothing more but to make organic music that flowed naturally. I knew that was what I had to offer. Life music. Relatable music. Love music. Time pieces. Timeless pieces.

Ultimately, I want to bring change in this world doing something I LOVE to do. My aim is to make people feel good. And if it doesn’t do that, I want it to at least make people feel. Music connects us and it’s a blessing to be a part of such a beautiful force.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Dig. And keep digging. Don’t settle for what’s given to you on the surface. There’s so much out there. There’s so much music, so many artists, so much art. When you stumble or find art you resonate with, support it. Spread it. Share it with those you love. If they love it, have them share it as well. If you can, buy the merch, rock the merch, buy the physical copy, cop the vinyl, go to the exhibit, buy the ticket for you and a friend. The creative’s path has no blueprint and often times can feel like a very lonely path. As necessary as the arts are, the artist at times can feel like their art isn’t necessary based on impact or lack thereof. Art thrives with the people. We need each other.

How did you build your audience on social media?

For a long period of time my social media presence was pretty okay. I tried to keep up with all the socials I “needed” to be a part of like tik tok, ig, etc etc. After a while I decided to choose the platform that I best resonated with, the one I found most fun, and the one I felt I could uphold naturally and sustainably. This for me was IG. Without doing much and with no real understanding or direction (other than posting vids and photos), I was able to sustain a decent following. What changed the game for me was applying research and analytics. Being more intentional. The key for me was looking into where my music was most loved and played. Spotify for Artists was clutch here. I gathered data there and pinpointed which cities, states, and countries nurtured my biggest following. I then started running IG ads on bite-sized rap videos called “Rap Anywhere. Rap Everywhere,” (shout out to Saint Charles for helping bring this to fruition). With each of these visuals, I ran ads to where my fans showed the most love, and instead of directing them with a call to action to buy or listen to my music, I simply directed them to my IG page, which in turn inspired the follow. Kept this consistent for a while and the following grew fast. A blessing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.scienzeclass.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scienze/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScienZeClass/
• Twitter: https://x.com/ScienzeWasHere/status/1760757875948097973
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/scienzeclass
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/scienze

Image Credits

Charles McDougald
Tameka Jacobs