Jose Valcourt III who goes by the stage name of JV3 since it makes up the initials of his full name is an Puerto-Rican decent artist from Melbourne, Florida whose focus on lyrical wordplay will have you gravitated. His goal? Simple. JV3 aims to bring lyricism to this new sounding generation of hip-hop. He incorporates personal feelings and experiences into his songwriting to convey a story. He feels as if lyrics are a key component to the genre of rap and it isn’t frequently emphasized in today’s culture of hip-hop. JV3, an artist who experienced loss and deaths these past two years, has lots of significant stories and messages to tell in his music.
“There’s not many lyrical rappers in Broward County Florida, my county.” “I have lyrically sent a lot of N***** to their grave.” were the highlighting lyrics that stood out to me during this song. The reason for it? JV3 mentioned how lyricism is something that’s important to him as a rapper, and something that’s highly ignored in today’s music. Therefore, I believe it was essentially proof in the pudding when he represented his beliefs in “Like A Movie”. He already gives his listener something substantial to work with. That’s what I found to be highly memorable is how JV3 stays far away from transparency. A very raw, authentic, and realistic rapper who delivers his bars with a hard-hitting beat like the beat in “Like A Movie”. The flow was on point, without a single error noticeable to me. “Like A Movie” will resonate well with the huge hip-hop heads who feel as if the rap culture is declining. JV3 gives hope to the genre while maintaining a nice contemporary feel to his music, which shows he can easily move with the currents of today’s sound.
Check out "Like A Movie" here and read more below in our exclusive interview!
Welcome to BuzzMusic JV3! How is the music scene in Florida? Would you consider your environment an influence?
The music scene in Florida is very versatile. You got rappers that are all about hype and beats, some who fast rap, some who get people in their feelings, and then some like me, who focus on wordplay and lyrics while conveying stories and messages. Brevard has lots of talent in it and I get inspired everyday by my peers, all these artists in my county and the hustle, itself.
Speaking of influences, who are some rappers you would say served as an inspiration for your style and career?
Some of my biggest influences of previous generations are Lil Wayne, Eminem, Rakim & André 3000. These guys bend words and rhymes to compliment other words while spitting some of the most clever metaphors and play-on-words that I have ever heard. Of the newer rappers, I am big fans of Cole, Kendrick, YBN Cordae, JID, Denzel Curry...I mean I could go on and on. These guys make me want to rap in the current era of hip-hop and try to make my lyrics stand out in my songs.
Knowing you’re big on the lyrical stand-point of rap music, what’s your take on the current state of hip-hop?
I will not lie and say that I do enjoy listening to some rappers categorized as "mumble rap." I like Young Thug especially because he has recorded thousands of songs that haven't released and he always grinds out new music. I admire his work ethic. I also enjoy Migos, Lil Baby and Gunna, to name a few. With that said, I don't see it as something for me and I think hip-hop is all about the lyrics because thats how it originated on. I think we need more lyrical rappers both in the underground and mainstream, where bars can be appreciated and honored, especially in the dominating culture of mumble rap that exists today. That's my opinion.
What was the main message you were hoping to achieve in “Like A Movie”?
The main message was to just display some of the lyricism that I am able to create. I tried to come with a ton of bars on one track and I really think I accomplished that. My life, in my opinion, has been truly the best it has ever been and I have been winning at everything I do, so I wanted to keep it real and talk about how putting in the work pays off and emphasize truly how my life has been "like a movie."
What’s next for you JV3?
I am working on my debut mixtape called "Harbor City" and this single serves as the leading single off of it. I got some collabs on it and I am only gonna continue to make new music and promote it. I've been doing a lot of feature verses for other artists both in Brevard and in other places nationally. Blessings soon to come.
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