ROX-TV catches up with Jay Watson, founder of Placenta Recordings for a sit down
It’s a pleasure interviewing you for ROX-TV Jay. We celebrate the underground and the people that help make it work. If you could tell us a little bit about yourself, starting with what led you to the underground music scene to begin with?
What up doe Mike & ROX-TV!? I appreciate y’all having me on! I’ve been supporting ROX-TV since I met some of the staff at the Anybody Killa in-store we hosted at Hot Hits Records! Anyway…My name is Jay Watson, I run the label Placenta Recordings, am the leader of an avant-garde Noise collective known as Dental Work, I produce and make beats in a variety of underground Rap projects worldwide, I am a photographer, film maker, author, artist, DJ, and I have 4 cats and a lovely girlfriend and awesome family. I first started collecting Rap cassettes when I was 5 years old, saving money I earned stacking wood for my grandparents and picked up a tape called “Rap The Beat” for $5 at the liquor store at the end of our street. I quickly became obsessed with Eazy-E, which led to searching the shelves for Rap CDs. I found Esham and Insane Clown Posse. It’s been on since then. That was around 1995.
You are the head man at Placenta Recordings, what exactly does that mean? Do you run the business side of things?
I run the label Placenta Recordings top to bottom. I started the label in 2005 as an outlet to release the unapproachable music I was making at the time, under the name Jehova Wrinkle. I began with home-burned CD-R releases with printed cover art that I would distribute to my friends and at local Hardcore Punk and Rap shows. In 2007 I released the first Dental Work EP “Mike Vick Raped By Pit bulls”, which was my new project that I would pursue heavily, leaving Jehova Wrinkle in the dust. I started releasing more and more music from friends, internet penpals, and eventually artists who are heroes of mine I grew up listening to.
We have released nearly 650 albums to date under Placenta Recordings, on tons of different formats including CD-R, CD, cassette, vinyl, DVD, we make and publish ‘zines, have our own clothing line, we host shows and events, have our own annual music and art festival called “Mental Spaghetti Fest”, running 9 years strong. We have a radio show. We do interviews. We make tons of crazy merch. Who is “we” you ask? Mainly myself, with the help from my main man Sean Barry who is my intern and VP of Placenta Recordings. Jon does some of our cassette releases, Patrick Harsh is the head of our street team and external distro through Trashfuck Records, with help From Charlie, Casey, Zen, Aimee, Ashley, and a few other loyal members of the fam who wish to remain anonymous.
I understand that you are producing a Pig Duke comic book? Please tell the readers about this project, what its all about, and where they can get a copy for themselves!
I am writing and illustrating a comic dedicated to the deceased Detroit comedian, hood icon, ghetto savant Pig DukE. This man is an underground Detroit Horror Rap legend who was an old affiliate of mine. I am in charge of his entire discography of over 50 albums that were never released until after his death. I was left a full hard drive of material in Pig DukE’s will, so I am taking it upon myself to give a proper representation of the universe that Pig DukE and the rest of the Devil’s Night Gangstaz click lived and breathed before their untimely demise(s). Pig DukE has 25 albums available digitally + on CD, tape, and vinyl, plus t-shirts, box sets, and more all available at placentarecordings.bandcamp.com/merch which is where you will be able to order the Pig DukE comic once it is finished. Expect a summer release…
There is an underground book project about to begin/get underway with none other than me. What are your hopes for the publication? Tell the readers about how this project came to into existence? What the plans are moving forward and what people can expect to read about in the book?
That’s right folks! Mike and I are working on a book together! Our intention as Michigan Rap historians is to educate and enlighten the fan of the darkness within evil Underground Rap/Hip-Hop that surfaced out of Michigan in the early to mid-90’s until today. We are going to be covering all angles from the Juggalo family to the Reel Life Suicidalists to the Majik Ninjas, The Flint shit like Project Born, The Dayton Family, Top Authority, Black Hippiz, and so on, the Lansing underground with groups like Simken Heights, the list goes on. We hope to document one of the most underground scenes in Rap history, with interviews with a ton of Michigan legends. Stay tuned fam!
You were a guest contributer in the upcoming Project Born Book “Forever in the Jects”. If you can, tell us a little bit about your relationship with the group or a personal story either involved with the opportunity or something you’d like to add about the PJB Fam.
I am absolutely honored to be a contributor to the PJB book. Like, HOLY SHIT. I have been listening to Project Born since I was around 12 years old, discovering “Born Dead” which I picked up on a family trip to Hot Hits. They instantly became one of my favorite Michigan and Rap groups period, who I followed the best I could for years to come. I reached out on MySpace to Project Born letting them know I was performing that night in Detroit, and invited them out. To my surprise, Lil’ Polk hit me back and said he was gonna come through. I was in awe because I had been a fan for over a decade at that point. He is a man of his word and he pulled up and kicked it at the show all evening. He hooked me up with a copy of “Born Dead 2”, and our friendship has been on since. We have done tons together since that, they headlined Mental Spaghetti Fest 8 and I got to DJ for them during the set (dreams come true kids!), they have been on my compilations, Polk and I are currently working on a collab track “810 To The 313”, and I actually just was in Flint to do an interview with Project Born last week. It is a minute under 2 hours long, and can be heard here: youtube.com/placentarecordings666
What else is Jay Watson working on right now? Your a busy guy, please let the readers know about musical collabs, remixes, rewinds, or anything else you have in the kitchen, boiling up for the fans?
You are certainly correct on the busy tip, fuckin’ A. 4 cats, a girlfriend, the label, running my companies, all of my project, my ‘zines, it gets crazy. We are working on promoting our catalog, settling into our new location, opening a record store/recording studio with some of the Placenta Recordings fam, writing this book on Michigan underground Rap history with you, working on a whole new line of clothing that will drop this summer, lots of photoshoots with local Detroit models, lots of new books and ‘zines dropping, working on a documentary film on Noise music, which involves lots of travelling to interview heavyweights in the scene who I came up with in the Noise underworld, tons of new releases in the works from Dental Work, more solo Jay Watson albums (“Mother North Servin’ The World” got some great reviews and did really well), more unearthed Pig DukE/Devil’s Night Gangstaz tapes, re-issuing a bunch of our back catalog for fans who never got to hear, all kinds of shit. I am working with Trashfuck Records as the head of their street team, Patrick and I have been working together for nearly two decades and counting. Lots of shit happening constantly.
You wear lots of different hats at Placenta. What are some of the lesser known services that the company offers?
We do everything. You can hit us up for recording, production, mixing, mastering, etc. Sean Barry and I offer Placenta Fam audio services to the public. I can also press CDs, tapes, and vinyl for up and coming bands/artists, do album covers, photography, film, make merch, design websites and social media, promotion, distribution, imports, all kinds of shit…You need it, we can prob help you out.
What’s your favorite underground group? Any time frame…..any genre. If you need to list more than one, I’m all about it brother!
Esham. Natas. Insane Clown Posse. GWAR. Frank Zappa.
This is the spot to drop your shout outs brother. Let your homies hear it on ROX-TV. Who are you shouting out tonight?
Shout out ROX-TV, my girl, my cats, my parents, Sean Barry, Justin Smith, Patrick Harsh, MD, JSun, Ryan King, Will Olter, Aaron, Doc Colony, Nice, Ray Huncho, Pig DukE, Krazy K, Kris Smith, Morgan Feger, Watabou, Kessenchu, Bubblegum Octopus, Project Born, Krysti Mathz, Maribel Rodriguez, Karina, Ariel, Nirma, Aubrey, Ali, Sue Abbiss, Hot Hits Records, Uncle Charlie, Aunt Pix, Aunt C, Heidi Johnson, Lawry Zilmrah, Robert Pepper, Steve Davis, Lob Instagon, Cock ESP, Adam Cooley, Tom Kittendorf, Andreas Haslauer, Whitey Alabastard, Crank Sturgeon, Willam Sides, Death Factory, Bridget O’Hern, FluiD, Yatagarasu, Xrin Arms, Monica Jackamino, Dave, Matt Fitzke-Loll, Stale Dale, Clee, the list goes on for sure. I love y’all and I wouldn’t be the person I am without y’all!
ROX-TV is so thankful for the interview, we are supporters of the underground scene and want to thank you for the interview. Any parting words Jay?
Appreciate every last one of my supporters! I hope to see a ton of you once we can start doing shows again. Everyone stay safe and keep it real…Be weird and be yourself. New shit constantly dropping at placentarecordings.bandcamp.com – go buy some stuff! Support the underground! Peace! Fuck Beef. Enjoy life! – Jay Watson
Signing Off,
Mike Shepard
ROX-TX Head Writer
shepard2909@hotmail.com
kidvicious810 IG
Please check out other recent interviews available only on ROX-TV website
Juggalo History Hour: Another Chapter in the unfolding ROX-TV series is here
