Why Care About Jonathan Shapiro?
The Write Up
New York, where the jungle is concrete and dreams are made. Being from the south, I sometimes find it hard to connect with artists in the northern scene but this one artist in particular struck my curiosity. Jonathan Shapiro is 21 years old and although he lives in Binghampton, Jonathan informed me he has been spending most of his time in Rochester connecting with other artists and performing shows.
As everyone knows, internet is king nowadays when establishing yourself as an artist. I actually came across Shapiro on TikTok with the intentions of finding a new artist to write about. The ability to pump out consistent content all while dropping great art is impressive. Jonathan informed me that he does get local support, (mostly people he went to High School with.) Although, social media apps such as TikTok have proven effective in finding his demographic of listeners.
“Why You Care Now,” is one of my personal favorites from the upcoming Prince of Upstate. I asked Jonathan how this song came about and he informed me he actually recorded it after his very first show, which had a great turn out by the way. Feeling yourself + getting behind the mic is the only way to bring this type of energy to a track. Jonathan also takes pride in his freestyle / punching process in order to capture real time emotion. He doesn’t write much unless he feels it is needed.
Inspiration
You are never too young or never too old to express your art. Jonathan started recording at the age of 13! How did this come about? Well, he actually was an avid soccer player at the time and encountered an injury. Shapiro broke 5 vertebrae and had to take his focus away from the sport for a while. One day while Jonathan was bed ridden, his brother came in his room playing West/East Coast legends Nas and Kendrick. From that point on he was obsessed and ready to write his own music.
Every artist has their preference of music they listen to. I will not say this is a direct influence on how they produce their own music, but what you’re attracted to does come with inspiration. Jonathan gave me a list of artists he frequently listens to such as
- JPEGMAFIA
- Mac Miller
- MF Doom
- Billy Woods
- Earl Sweatshirt
A great catalogue with a humble personality are rare. Do not miss out on hearing this 21 year old creator. Chances are the algorithm will recommend him to you soon anyways! Listen to “Why You Care Now” below.
