When Tupac Shakur and Johnny J were in the studio, music was made around the clock. Tupac recorded more tracks with him than with any other producer. He is indispensable to understanding Tupac’s sound in 1995 and 1996.
First Sessions Around 1993: Instant Chemistry
Johnny Lee Jackson was born on August 28, 1969, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and grew up in South Los Angeles. Around 1993, he and Tupac came together and clicked immediately.
From this first phase came Thug Life with Big Syke, Pour Out a Little Liquor for the soundtrack to Above the Rim, and Death Around the Corner, which appeared on Me Against the World in 1995. In February 1995, Tupac went to prison, and the collaboration broke off.
“Six or Seven a Day”: Eleven Songs for “All Eyez on Me”
After Tupac’s release in October 1995, both worked day and night again. Johnny J contributed to eleven songs on All Eyez on Me, including the single How Do U Want It with K-Ci & JoJo, All About U with Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, and the Outlawz, as well as Life Goes On. The pace was enormous: “We did six or seven a day,” Johnny J said in a 2008 radio interview about their sessions together.
In total, the two recorded over a hundred songs. Only a portion of them was released during Tupac’s lifetime; many formed the core of posthumous albums such as R U Still Down?, Until the End of Time, and Better Dayz, often in remixed versions.
Royalty Dispute: Rumors and Contradictions
On fan sites such as 2pacworld, it was later claimed that Death Row never paid him the agreed advance of $100,000 or his three-percent share per song. No lawsuit or ruling on this could be found. His friend King Tech said in 2008, on the other hand, that Johnny J took care of his business and lived well off the Tupac royalties.
Fall in the Cellblock: Death at 39
On October 3, 2008, Johnny J died in Los Angeles County’s Twin Towers jail, where he was serving time for driving under the influence. According to consistent reports, he jumped from an upper tier of the cellblock; an apparent suicide was reported. He was 39 years old. In September 2011, XXL magazine dedicated an extensive feature to him under the title Mourn You Til I Join You.