It's all about dancing, feeling good and getting people to move..

: How did you click? 
Jake One: We met through Hip Hop really. He was a Dj in a rap group and I was a producer for a lot of records. and we kind of met up because we had these mixtapes.. 
Mayer Hawthorne: We met in Seattle, when he came to my rap show and we exchanged mixtapes. We were shocked by the fact, that both of our mixtapes had some of the same songs, which were very obscure, kind of rare, early eighties boogie records.

: Are these the mixtape you re-released right before christmas?
J: Yeah exactly. I think I did mine in 2003 and we met in like in 2005.
M: At that time nobody cared about those records. Maybe except for some weird people in France, like the boogie time dudes. 
J: They were hardcore. In my circles this music wasn’t really the hot thing
M: No, besides that, everybody was looking for the early seventies stuff with the drum breaks.
J: …like the Brainfreeze samples. 
M: Syl Johnson and all that shit, mostly like Soul and Funk. Nobody was really checking for these early eighties stuff. 
J: We kind of clicked on that and he eventually played “Just Ain't Gonna Work Out” for me. Until this point I had no idea, that he was a singer.
M: I wasn’t.
J: Around that time I was messing around with different beats, that weren’t rap. I sent him one and he sent me back a song.
M: He sent me a boogie funk beat and I was like “Man that shit sounds hot!”. That track ended up being “Lost Lover” - the first song of the album.

: And then you seeded the first Tuxedo tracks..
M: We just put them out to see the reactions.
J: And he didn’t want to compete with himself at that time.
M: Yeah, I had to put out another solo record for my Universal record deal.

: Who were your influences for the album?
M&J: Roger & Zapp, Leroy Burgess type stuff

: How was it to work with disco legend John Morales?
M: It was awesome, he totally got it. It was perfect.
J: He can give the music this vintage feel, but on the latest production level to make shit sound so much bigger.
M: Yeah, that’s how we imagined the sound! We wanted the sound to be able to compete in the club with Stromae or Katy Perry in the mix..

: When you are recording.. Is it better to start with the sound or the feeling?
J: That’s a good question..
M: Both play in, but if I don’t hear something in that song immediately, I will definitely move on.

: For the track “Number One” you revolutionized the sample technic and created the original sample for Snoop Dogg’s "Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)". .
M: I don’t think anybody else did that before..
J: That is definitely one of our favourite songs and we were always wondering what the original was.. but they referenced really strongly from some kind of west coast funk and just made it up. There was no original sample for it.

: How does it feel to be back on Stones Throw?
M: It’s fun man, those guys gave me my first chance, so I am forever thankful!
J: They made you having a singing career!
M: Yes, I could have never predicted what was going to happen.

: Do you remember the first time you put on a vinyl record? M: That was probably, when I was a baby.
J: I just sat down and watch it spin for hours. 
M: Man, I used to play with the records, just dragged ‘em across the floor and my mom would get mad.

: Did you replace some of her records?
M: I ended up with most of her records as she doesn’t have a record player anymore. There were some I recorded for her on cds and I ripped some as mp3s, so she can put them on her iPod. 

: The Tuxedo history goes all the way back to the 18th century.. What are your fav historical people that sport Tuxedos or Bow Ties?
M: I always think of Frank Sinatra, he looked sharp in every picture!
J: They didn’t have so many cameras back then though..
M: He got paparazzi-ed all the time, but he always kept it classy, even when he got way too drunk. He was a gentleman. 

: What should a Gentleman own?
M&J: A Tuxedo! You have to have a good tailor and when you’re wearing your suit, you got to have a pocket square. You can’t be out there without it. A good cologne is not a bag thing either. You shouldn’t pick that middle of the mall shit.
In the end it’s more about the way you’re caring yourself. 

: Do you open doors for the ladies?
M&J: Of course, that’s a no-brainer. My mom would kill me, if I wouldn’t do that.

: Best Tinder line
M: Man, my whole band was on it and they were driving me nuts. I got on there to check it out and within the first ten minutes I saw a girl with me as your profile picture.. So i was like: "That’s it".

Itv. J2TheM 
portraits: Piper Ferguson, Marchi Marchell