The soothing sounds of jazz music capture the ability to bring listeners into another place in time. Unfortunately this genre of music has become significantly less popular over the past few decades. Nowadays, hip-hop has taken the reigning title and it’s rare to hear the two genres as a hybrid. But thanks to guitarist and producer Justice Der, this has been able to happen.
21-year-old Justice Der has taken some of hip-hops most legendary anthems and added his own touch of hypnotizing guitar riffs and soothing sounds for a refreshing jazz twist. His discography is predominantly song covers, although the musician has created a vast amount of original music for his listeners too.
Justice Der’s music is everything your ears need to hear to put your mind at complete ease. Without a doubt, Der’s intriguing sounds enable listeners to feel cool, calm and collected. Get to know the complex mind of this multi-talented musician in Sheesh Magazine’s exclusive Q&A below.
Q: Was electric guitar your first musical instrument you learned to play? When did you first pick up the guitar?
JUSTICE DER: “Guitar was really my first instrument I picked up on and started playing consistently. My sister was always playing piano growing up, so every once in a while I would mess around with piano. Around the age of ten I started playing guitar. I got into it pretty quick and started practicing every day. My grandpa built me my first guitar. I would teach myself and get lessons. I started on an acoustic guitar, but the first guitar I bought myself was electric after a year of me playing my acoustic.”
Q: Do you play anything else?
JUSTICE DER: “I can play piano. I can play a bit of drums. My secondary instrument is bass. I played a lot of it in middle and high school. My computer is an instrument too, so I use that a lot of times. I’m always trying to layer more sounds and instruments into my music.”
Q: Is hip-hop your favourite genre of music since it’s majority of your covers?
JUSTICE DER: “I do really love hip-hop music. I got into hip-hop through jazz because a lot of hip-hop samples jazz. I was into jazz first and then I got into Kendrick Lamar, he was one of the first hip-hop artists I liked. I love hip-hop music and it has so many exciting niches right now. It’s a constant source of inspiration to me. The melodic components of hip-hop music are what I am usually drawn to, which makes me want to cover more songs.”
Q: Who is your favourite artist to cover?
JUSTICE DER: “The Frank Ocean stuff definitely comes really naturally to me. His stuff is kind of its own genre.”
Q: Who is your favourite hip-hop artist?
JUSTICE DER: “I’d say Playboi Carti is one of my favourite hip-hop artists right now. Can’t wait for his new album.”
Q: Did any jazz artists inspire you to take interest in playing jazz?
JUSTICE DER: “My sister inspired me to start listening to jazz. She was playing Bill Evans Trio a lot. I started listening to Miles Davis all the time. I remember distinctly laying down and listening to Kind of Blue, the mood of that album just blows my mind. To this day I always go back to that moment. There is a band from Toronto called BADBADNOTGOOD. They started out covering a lot of hip-hop music as well. They are huge influences to me.”
Q: What other guitar artists have inspired you?
JUSTICE DER: “Bill Frisell, who is a New York jazz guitar artist. His style is a huge inspiration to me. Some artists who have passed also inspire me. Wes Montgomry and Grant Green are two of my favourites.”
Q: Do you have any favourite projects or covers of yours?
JUSTICE DER: “Age of Consent by New Order is definitely one of my favourites. I also really like the Self Control cover I did by Frank Ocean. I spent a lot of time on that one. My girlfriend just recently put out an EP that I worked on a lot with her. I produced and did a bunch of guitar on the project. I think a lot of people look past this, so if they want to hear more of my sounds listen to this EP. It’s called ‘And It’s the Same’ by Rachel Bobbit.”
Q: What does the future look like in terms of music for you? More of your own stuff or continuing to do covers?
JUSTICE DER: “The covers will continue. I am always being inspired by new songs. I always learn a lot during the process and how to spin songs in my own way. The focus is original music though for my future. I am doing a lot of individual projects, while writing and producing for other people too. I love guitar and the stuff I do, but I am always looking for new things to do.”
Stream all of Justice Der’s covers and original music on either Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify or SoundCloud. Keep up with his latest releases and announcements through his Instagram.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Check out more interviews with up-and-coming musicians like Sabrina Fuentes and Saint Jude.
