Jon Connor is a name you might not have heard of. He’s an artist, a rapper specifically. He happens to be signed by a pretty well known figure in the hip-hop industry, Dr. Dre, who signed him to his Aftermath label in September of 2013. Through the three years since then, Connor has released a number of high quality mixtapes, he’s yet to release his official studio album Vehicle City. But, when i had the chance to chat with him last week, there seemed to be an issue far more important to him than music that he wanted to discuss. Specifically, Flint, Michigan.
The town of Flint, Michigan has been in the news quite often lately. Located 70 miles from Detroit, the town once housed General Motors’ largest factory plant; jobs were plentiful and the area was a strong working class town.
But that was then.
Now, 41.6% of Flint residents live below the poverty line, with the median income of $24,000 (one of the lowest in the country), even worse, they are in the midst of the worst water crisis in American history. Budget mismanagement and corruption has caused the city to source water from the Flint River as the city’s main water source, and area residents are facing drastic health risks from the chemically imbalanced water.
Aftermath emcee Jon Connor had seen enough, and tells me he wants to use his platform to shed light on the ignored crisis. Connor is standing up for the town that molded the man he is today.
Releasing an ode to the crisis, the rapper’s poignant single “Fresh Water For Flint” feating Keke Palmer is a call to action for the country to aid his hometown during this difficult battle.
Connor has done more than just release music, however, he has held meetings with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, partnering with the Flint Good Bank, and rallying teens in the area in an attempt to bring attention to the situation which desperately need a solution. “I feel like I’m the voice of Flint, so I’m trying to verbalize how all the natives feel,” Connor remarked to Billboard Magazine. Young and Reckless, a street-wear clothing company, caught wind of Jon’s message and felt compelled to support his platform by filming this video showing the residents’ perspective of this dire crisis. “I was definitely inspired to act when I heard his message,” states Young and Reckless Founder Chris “Drama” Pfaff.
Connor had a unique childhood in Flint. Though his family lived in the far poorer North Side, arguably the roughest part of the town, his mother wanted more for him, and worked as many jobs as she could in order to send him and his sister to private school in a better neighborhood. And it was during his time at school he received a culture shock he credits for shaping his unique personality and worldview. Musically, at home his parents often their favorite musicians Luther Vandross and Earth, Wind, and Fire, while his sister and his friends from the neighborhood preferred rap, listening to Tupac, Biggie, Cash Money, and southern rap group UGK, made up of the legendary MC’s Bun B and Pimp C. However, at school, his friends exposed him to music from a different world, with Connor mentioning specifically the bands Nirvana, Third Eye Blind, and Oasis.
It was this odd mixture of musical genres of experience he believes has helped give him a wide range of eclectic musical interests and inspirations that he uses in his own music.
But, it’s the craft of hip-hop and lyricism that he most loves and feels most compelled by. Though in the time since his signing, many of his credits have appeared in the form of mixtapes, Connor is not stressed about changing the perception some may have of him being “a mixtape rapper.” He says he’s used the years since his signing to hone his technique and delivery so that the album would be the best of his work, not just songs driven by a publishing deadline, and that the time has also taught him important lessons on how the industry functions, not to mention a steady stream of opportunities to work as a producer and writer for other artists. At the moment, his work in Flint aside, he says he’s putting the finishing touches in collaboration with Dr. Dre on his anticipated studio debut, Vehicle City. He says while the album will have a minimum number of features from other industry rappers, there will be a number of singers on there. But again, he stresses, he hopes to focus on what’s really important.
“There is a special pride in all people who are from Flint.” according to Connor.
He believes part of it is because of the town’s relative proximity to Detroit, forever in the shadow to its older brother, and he credits this for the familial nature of the townspeople in helping those in need as well as in trying to bring attention to the cause. That little brother mentality created a pride in calling the town home, and now that’s being threatened with no apparent alarm by an extremely seriously water crisis, one that is far from over. Realistically, he says, the media narrative aside, this had been a major issue for almost two years before the press gave it adequate time and coverage.
There’s still a lot that has to be done. People participated in a few water drives, and have forgotten about it. Yet there are children each day testing for high levels of lead. People are suffering and this town will be dealing with issues that arise from this for a long time to come. It is not an issue that will go away quickly, and needs attention from America.”
His biggest fear is that if Detroit has been so abandoned, what will happen to this little predominantly black town. But he refuses to accept that fate, optimistic that if we can continue supporting the community, a solution can be found, if we rally around a call for it, that is, and he’s doing everything he can to make that happen.
But the reach of one man is limited, and it takes a group to solve these complicated problems, as well as time, attention, and money. He believes the best way to move forward is taking it day by day, working with whomever he can, politician to grassroots volunteers, to help the place that raised him. For now that means taking things day by day and slowly chipping away, whether it be meeting and planning with politicians, to organizing strategies and volunteering with grassroots organizations in the area.
“Music is my life, he said. And this town gave me that life. So it’s a responsibility to do anything in my power to give back.”