Art, Music, Business & Family
interview by Jorge Perezchica
From humble beginnings in high school rap battles to becoming a versatile artist, JPatron shares his evolution, seamlessly transitioning from English hip-hop to reggaeton and tropical sounds. His roots in the Coachella Valley are reflected in both his positive outlook and his ability to read crowds, ensuring an unforgettable experience during his DJ sets.
This Colombian-born artist opens up about the intertwining threads of his life—music, marketing, and art. In the midst of the pandemic, he and his wife founded Agency 111, showcasing his adaptability and entrepreneurial spirit. JPatron’s bilingual prowess becomes a powerful asset, breaking barriers and bringing Latin music to the forefront.
As a father of three, JPatron’s commitment to family shines through, and his passion for music resonates as he describes it as the ultimate escape and therapy. Read on for the Coachella Magazine interview with JPatron, where each beat tells a story, and every rhythm paints a picture.
Coachella Magazine: Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your background in music?
JPatron: My name is Camilo Gomez. My artist name is JPatron. I started rapping in high school — like battle rapping, stuff like that. But I didn’t really make music, like legit official music until probably after college where I learned what I needed to get, as far as like a home setup studio. But yeah, I started off rapping, making music, writing, producing. I started producing. And then from producing that led into DJing.
CM: When you rap, is that in Spanish and English?
JP: I started in English. It was all in English. It was all like hip hop and English. And then from that, I started rapping in Spanish. But it was like Spanish hip hop. And it wasn’t until like, I wanna say eight years ago, that’s when I like really started making reggaeton and more tropical stuff.
CM: Was there a shift or transition into DJing?
JP: No, not really. It’s just more opportunities.
CM: You do them hand in hand?
JP: Yeah. Doing ’em both, but more doors started opening up for DJing, you know, I’ve been blessed to have some cool DJ homies that weren’t haters. And, you know, after a few years of me getting my skill up, they put me on some shows and stuff like that and gave me an opportunity. So I think if it wasn’t for the friends that I had, I don’t think I’d be DJing as much as I am now because they’re the ones that were giving me the opportunities to play and allowing me to grow.
CM: You first moved to from Colombia to America when you were four-years-old. What has your experience been like growing up in the Coachella Valley?
JP: I mean, it’s just chill, you know? You experience a couple things like prejudices or stereotypes, but we’re in America. It was nothing severe to where it was gonna break me or anything like that.
But overall positive, everything has been positive out here. Here, it’s paradise, you know? We’re in the desert. Our winters are nice, our summers are brutal, but we get by, you know, we’re close to the beach. it’s beautiful. I love it out here.
CM: Are you still working on new music right now aside from DJing?
JP: Yeah, I am. I’m recording new music, producing new music, putting out DJ type music, you know, not necessarily where I’m rapping on it, but it’s more instrumental type stuff. Doing a little bit of everything.
CM: Do you see more music trending towards Latin sounds?
JP: I think there’s a high demand for it right now as far the nightlife, the club scene cuz it gets people dancing, it gets people turned up, you know, in a positive way. There’s nothing negative about it. It’s always talking about love <laugh>, you know, making love or just being in love and stuff like that and having fun at the club, you know?
So I think that’s trending. There’s so much going on nowadays that people just want to escape and once the weekend comes, they just want to forget about all the problems, and just go out and have fun. So I think that plays a big role into that, where, you know, it’s trending. People want to escape.
CM: When you’re DJing, how do you go about reading the audience?
JP: I look at body language. I see if they’re not dancing, then I know I gotta like flip it up, you know?
CM: And your background in rap and hip hop helps to your advantage.
JP: Oh, totally. Yeah. That definitely helps with like, crowd control, you know controlling the microphone and stuff like that while you’re DJing. It’s definitely a plus.
CM: You also do a lot of other things besides DJing. I have seen some of your paintings in social media during the pandemic. Have you always been painting or is that something new that you picked up recently?
JP: That was like the first thing I started doing. I’ve been paintings since I was in middle school. And then when I got into high school, I started doing graffiti. We’d go down to LA, hit some rooftops and art graffiti and that is what took me to school to develop my graphic design and multimedia, marketing and all that. So that’s been like my first love, I would say is painting.
CM: Is marketing something you want to pursue in addition to music? Tell us about Agency 111.
JP: I would market myself as an artist, but I never did it for other businesses. And during the pandemic, when I couldn’t go on tours anymore, I couldn’t do my weekly events or monthly events, whatever, then I’m like, “Where am I gonna get money from?” So then, I took my marketing and promotion skills, design skills and started selling them, selling those services to other businesses. And that’s how my wife and I created Agency 111 and that’s how that happened, because of the pandemic <laugh>
CM: So you kind of been doing the same things pretty much your whole life, right?
JP: Yeah. As far as music, marketing and art — it all intertwines.
CM: How would you describe yourself in three words?
JP: Passionate, sexy, happy.
CM: Do you feel being bilingual gives you an extra advantage?
JP: Absolutely. Absolutely.
CM: How do you use that to your advantage?
JP: I use it as much as I can, because it’s crazy — before, I couldn’t even get like a Latin night. It was hard for me just to go into a venue or a place and be like, “Yo, let me throw, let me have a night.” And like, they wouldn’t do that. And now it’s like everywhere, man. It’s everywhere. <Laugh>, but it has to be done right.
CM: When you’re not creating music, what do you enjoy doing in your free time?
JP: Before anything, I’m a father. I have three kids and that’s the number one thing. So, when I’m not providing for them, I’m doing me, you know, and it’s either music or running my business.
CM: In the early 2000s you traveled abroad to perform in Mexico. What was that like and how did those experiences impact you as an artist?
JP: It was awesome. It was crazy, because what was it? — I wanna say like 2014, something like that. So, I started touring, right? I started working with artists from Texas and they started putting me on gigs over there. I started doing SXSW (South by Southwest), met some people from Mexico. I started doing shows in Mexico City. I did something in Bogota. And it was dope man, because in Mexico, people really appreciate music. It’s a cultural thing to show love to music, you know what I mean? You just feel different.
In Colombia, it was awesome, because a couple people in the front row knew my lyrics and I was tripping. I took my homie Chuck Films, he’s from out here (Coachella Valley). And he was like, “Yo, did you see those people that knew your lyrics at the front?” And I was kind of tripping on it too. It was dope. Texas is just like, you know, make a cumbia remix and it’s popping out there. It’s super popping.
CM: What goes through your mind when you’re doing a DJ set? What are you thinking about usually?
JP: Try not to mess up <laugh>. No. What’s going through my mind is “have fun,” you know, get in the groove, get in the song and become a part of the song. Become a part of the set, cuz you gotta feel it. People gotta feel it. And if you don’t feel it, people aren’t gonna feel it.
CM: And when you’re DJing with four or more other artists in one night, does that put more pressure on you? Does it get competitive?
JP: No, it’s not a lot of pressure. No, it doesn’t get competitive. What’s going on in my head is, I want the night to run smooth, you know? I don’t want there to be any issues up there, you know? So, I just want to be as hospitable as I can with the homies, with whoever’s invited or whatever, you know? But yeah, it’s fun when you’re playing with your homies, because you have chemistry and stuff like that. So, you can kind of go back and forth as opposed to playing with somebody that you’ve never met before. So yeah, it’s fun playing with the homies.
CM: What music did you listen to growing up?
JP: I listened to a lot of old-school salsa. That’s what I listened to with my parents, which was like all the time and on my own, I listened to a lot of hip hop nineties. Hip hop was when I really fell in love with music. And then from there, I just ventured off into soul because a lot of those beats had soul samples, you know? So, I went to soul music, Motown, and then disco, then it just opened another can of worms right there.
CM: What do you love most about DJing?
JP: Just making music. Being in this industry. A music maker, sound maker. I love that I am blessed to be able to create whenever I want. Whenever I feel creative, I have the tools that can help me execute my vision. That’s what I love the most about it, as opposed to not being able to have a place to record or produce or not have equipment or stuff like that. I love that the most about it. I feel like that’s a big blessing.
What I love about music the most is that it’s the best escape, the best drug, the best anything you could have to control any mood you’re in. It’s like therapy. You listen to something that makes you happy, it’ll make you happy. Whenever you’re feeling a little too happy and you just, you know, wanna listen to a sad song, the sad song will take you there, you know what I mean? You can put on whatever tune in, you can relate to the feeling and it’ll take you there, you know? So, it’s beautiful sound and it’s invisible to our eyes. Insane.
Sound Up
LINKS: JPATRON MUSIC
MARKETING: Agency 111