June The Jenius
Houston music producer, June “the Jenius” James continues to bring a big production sound while incorporating live instrumentation, country rap, bounce, and an unmatched Southern bass to songs such as Grammy-nominated Yosemite by Travis Scott featuring Nav and Gunna, When to Say When by Drake and Everyday We Lit by Atlanta’s own YFN Lucci. Working with mainstream artists like Roddy Rich, 2 Chainz, T.I., and Yella Beezy all while nurturing up-n-coming producers Magic and artists like Laray da Savage, he is molding the new sound of Texas one composition at a time.
Using electric guitar, bass and live instrumentation, June takes the old sound of Texas Hip-hop and transforms it, while keeping what he describes as “that infamous Texas swag.” As a previous college horn player, the backbone of his music has always been Southern soul. Inspired by legendary producers Pharell, Timbaland, Lil John and Shawty Redd, he aims to create eclectic productions with a twist of heart and soul.
June began producing music at 16-years-old, he was a sophomore in high school at Acres Homes neighborhood in Houston, Tx. After seeing the opportunities rolling in and the small achievements he was making in music, he knew at 18 that he’d never work a nine-to-five again. He pursued a degree at Texas Southern University, where he was a horn player in the band. While at TSU, he and his partner DJ Alo teamed up with college promoters and started the LAD DJ coalition. During this time June and his partners began spinning across local Texas colleges, broadening their music’s audience and solidifying Texas’ anthems. Although the coalition was young and didn’t have a strong business infrastructure, the experience gave him the foundation he needed to build his career in music. As LAD DJ’s reach expanded, June’s music career continued to flourish. He soon left college behind to pursue a full-time career in music and June the Jenius was born.
In 2014, he founded the label The Hit Cartel and today he continues his legacy by nurturing up-n-coming producers and artists. “I like signing producers versus artists, because I can speak their language,” said June. With this new business venture, he’s achieving his goals of putting his people on to build a music empire that can’t be stopped. June is a Jenius in his own craft and strives to spread his influence for the next generation of producers out of Houston and beyond.
His competitive drive and ability to rise as the underdog has kept him traveling upward since he started at the age of 16. Although he’s had a small taste of success, he continues to hustle like it’s day one as he reaches his goals of obtaining Grammy awards, displaying plaques on the wall and hearing his tag ringing on speakers across the world. As a father of two, his ambition is bigger than ever and with every new opportunity he continues to push and reframe the producer’s mold. The sky's the limit for this “Never lucky, always blessed” producer as he progresses in his career and composes some of the biggest records to ever come out of Houston, Tx.
Credits Include: Drake, Lil Keed, Youngboy NBA, Kevin Gates