Landon Buford
California native, Jehuniko has been performing music in the United States as well as, overseas for a pretty long time. RESPECT. had the opportunity to speak with the seasoned artist during a recent phone interview where we discussed his upcoming performance on national, cable network “LATV” in November, what message he was trying to deliver to the public as an artist, and what are his plans heading into next year. You can read the interview in its entirety below.
RESPECT.: In your own words can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Jehuniko and I have been performing music in the United States and around the world for a pretty long time. My music is message oriented often time and I have always seen music as a form of medicine for me personally. So, I wanted my music to be able to do the same for others and be therapeutic while allowing each individual to release positive energy. I am from Los Angeles California, in addition, I am a single parent, and I have been traveling the world performing music for some time now.
RESPECT.: When did you decide to pursue a career as an artist?
Prior to recording music, I would be involved with spoken word and also sing in bands, but nothing can compare to hip-hop and hip-hop being the try voice of the people in its most profound poetic form. So, hip-hop or rapping became the obvious priority for me.
RESPECT.: What inspired you to use the name “Jehuniko”?
Jeh is a word or individual from The Bible and he was appointed by the creator God to destroy the evil deities of the world and is far to assume I have not been appointed by anyone. I can certainly relate to the message and Unico in Spanish means “The one and only” Just like KRS-One I am taking the initiative and stacking my claim as the only one, and if anyone encroaches on my name we are going to have to battle for it.
RESPECT.: What was the inspiration for your latest project “Welcome To Forever”?
First and foremost the idea of love and I found a lot of the time the subject of love and intimacy are discussed not in the most favorable way. And as listeners, we are a condition to just take it at face value and rock with it. My inspiration for “Welcome To Forever” is to add my version to the narrative being that love, intimacy, and destiny are very sacred. Furthermore, I wanted to make some feel good music. Historically, I have been known to perform some semi-aggressive and I wanted to switch things up and go in a different direction with this project.
RESPECT.: Every artist has some type of message that they are trying to get across to the public. What is the message that you would like to get across?
The message that I am trying to deliver to the public is self-empowerment, self-love, self- respect and everything that funnels into. Whether that means respect for one another, this land and our culture. I think that is becoming more and more corrupted we as a society need to understand the admin of why “All Lives Matter”, but specifically “Black Lives Matter” first and foremost and I think a lot of finer points of plates as being humans and fighting for what is right is often overshadowed by so many different things. For example, needing to survive having to put food on the table to feed our families, clothes, and shelter. I have always been a believer of giving people messages or medicine so, they are not just fed with information that is not always accurate by the mainstream media.
RESPECT.: Who were some of the artists that inspired you growing up?
Guru from Gangstarr, Mobb Deep, Damian Marley, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, and Buena Vista Social Club from Cuba. These individuals actually open up doors for artists like me.
RESPECT.: What are your thoughts about your upcoming television appearance with “LATV” in November to perform “In The Shower”?
“Thank you for asking about this and I really appreciate it”. I noticed that “In The Shower” was on of the most popular songs from my new project “Welcome To Forever” and the song comments on society’s very corrupt standards of beauty and ultimately being proud of who you are as an individual and being comfortable in your own skin. The feedback that I received was so overwhelming and caught me by surprise that I will be performing this single on national cable network “LATV” and I’m just grateful for that opportunity to seize their platform for a brief moment in time to share my message to tell people “That I believe in you just like you believe in me. I think you are beautiful now matter what society tells you.”
RESPECT.: Who are some of the artists you would like to collaborate in the future?
I’m not really the artist to trip on collaborations, but I would like to work with Damian Marley. I’m really like the way he approaches his craft and the message he is projecting to the public. In addition, I would like to work with Björk that kind of left field, but she is very artistic and unique as an artist. In addition, there is a producer out of England by the name of Tricky he is also an artist and someone I would love to collaborate with at some point.
RESPECT.: What is your favorite sport to watch?
I would have to say I am a die hard Ultimate Fighting Champion fan.
RESPECT.: Do you think Ronda Rousey will fight again?
She was just booked another fight against Amanda Nunes on Dec. 30 at UFC 207 in Las Vegas. Ronda is a savage and I respect her very much. So, we will see what happen with that contest.
RESPECT.: Do you have anything happening heading into 2017?
I have a lot of shows that I will be apart of heading into the new year in the states and in other cities around the world. I have a tendency to drop a lot of music and was planning on releasing another album, but I really want to let this project run its course before releasing any more material.
Where can we find you on social media?
http://www.youtube.com/user/Jehuniko
