Jamal Gasol shows Mc’s are alive and well. Releases his latest album “The World Is PIFF 3”
Jamal Gasol is an Mc to be on the lookout for. The Niagara Falls artist has been releasing quality projects consistently and laying down the ground work. Not many rappers have come out of Niagara Falla but there’s been a lot of Mcs from the Upstate area getting notoriety. Jamal is carrying the Flag for his town and the culture. He’s worked with rappers like 38 Spesh, Vic Spencer and Heem. His latest release “The Worls Is Piff 3” displays his brand of reality rap, clever wordplay and storytelling.
Q: What led you to want to start writing rhymes?
A:I would say I started to writing rhymes based on the influence from my surroundings. As a kid hip hop was like a soundtrack to the day to day life. Car rides, cookouts , playing outside as a kid you heard rap it made you wanna move and do more. My uncle Chill Will use to have the studio in the neighborhood people came to record and my older cousins use to go in there and do skits or lil freestyles and I wanted to be apart of that so I started writing raps as a kid around 11-12.
Q: How was the Hip Hop Scene in Niagara Falls when you first started?
A: The hip hop scene in Niagara Falls has always lacked originality to me. We did a great job of mimicking others. We use to have a “Black Experience” festival where locals use to do dance like drill teams or people perform other songs but a few would do original songs. I remember being a kid watchin them on stage saying that’s gonna be me one day and I use it as motivation.
Q: What do you consider your first official project?
A: My first “official” project is the one technically a lot of people haven’t heard but if you know you know. I did a EP titled “Dirty Waters” I named after a slang term we use to call my hometown Niagara Falls. My official project of introduction to the people was “No Joy Without Pain” produced by my boy Kil down in DC but he from Philly. I’ve dropped others later that got me heard but those 2 were thought out and invested projects with rollouts.
Q: Do you think you’ve your sound more or less or are you still trying things?
A: I can say I’ve developed into my sound more over the years. I was always into the mixtapes and freestyles so my formula was G-Unit, D Block, and Dipset. They developed the style of gangsta rap for me but then I came across people like Max B and French Montana who made it a lil more fun but reality rap. Putting a spin of my real life and experiences made me more relatable and I’d rather be realistic than a fantasy.
Q: What are some of the things you feel have helped you progress in your career?
A: Some things that helped me was never quitting and being told No. No we can’t work, no I don’t like that song, no I don’t wanna buy your CD. Hearing “No” made me think more instead of being mad. Working on myself went from appeasing others to pleasing myself with the result as it should’ve been first and foremost. It was like a fight or flight mindset where I was either gonna accept it or do something about it.
Q: When did you start Piff Music Empire Records and what can listeners expect from it?
A: Started it originally in 2011 with a couple cats from the area. Tez was wit me from Day 1. Rico is my cousin and although he was one of the bigger name’s in the city for music he never played me off or did some Hollywood shit. Always keepin in touch not to mention Chill Will is his dad. It will grow over the years with more artists to come but with this 3 man weave we got some music for the people 2024.
