Music Review and Interview with Josh Palmer
Josh Palmer aka : PALMER, a hip hop/ rap artist from Grand Rapids, MI. Born February 26, 1983 started his love for music and words at a young age. Reading and writing poetry since about the age of 12 gave Josh an outlet for creativity. Music and hip hop became hobbies as a teenager and gave way to writing not only poetry but song as well. Josh started playing around with rapping and freestyling at parties and while hanging out with friends in college. Later he began work on his first mixtape project “Away I Go”(released 2010) putting together songs recorded on his laptop. Josh then put together his second mixtape “Behind Bars” (released 2013) with production split between his laptop and local studios. Branching out to begin a career in music and on a quest for his dreams Josh continues to work diligently to become the best Emcee he can possibly be. Inspired by the words of the legendary Buzz Lightyear, “To infinity and beyond!” Welcome to my world.
Music Review for ‘Scars”
Josh Palmer is a hip hop/ rap artist hailing from Grand Rapids, MI. Where he has developed a strong following for his music. This track, “Scars” is what you would get if you mixed Mac Miller with a little bit of Eminem and sprinkled some Machine Gun Kelly on top. Check it out below:
“It’s like our love is slapping us in the face”
Relationships take effort and breakups hurt… This line “It’s like our love is slapping us in the face” is testimony to that! I think we’ve all been there and can relate to this.
Overall, an excellent track and production (even if done on a laptop) of a very good rap song that should make Josh Palmer more well known, with huge potential to become both a hit in the clubs as well as on radio due to its highly commercial sound and infectious melody. I look forward to hearing more of his work in the future.
By HBdidit – Exposed Vocals Music Reviewer and Breaking News Contributor.
A NYC fashion designer, music reviewer and lover of life!
Exclusive Interview with Palmer
Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
Palmer: Randy Morano followed me on twitter and sent me a message about a music review and interview. I thought it was a great idea, so here I am.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Palmer: Well I grew up in Grand Rapids, MI southeast side, burton heights. I always loved music, hip hop and rap growing up but I never really thought about it more than that until college. See when I was a kid and up through high school I would write poetry and stuff, then while in college I started to use my word skills to entertain friends at parties and freestyle rap and mess around for fun. I liked it and so I decided to try and write a song. I recorded a couple songs on my macbook and everyone loved them, so I decided to do a whole mixtape like that and here we are a couple mixtapes later.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Palmer: It is just my last name, simple as that. I tried coming up with a nickname or something but everything just sounded corny, so. I’ve never really had a nickname or anything growing up so if you want to know who I am that’s my name.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Palmer: I see myself as a fan and an artist, but music sharing has effects on many different levels in many different ways. Online music sharing is great for us fans, it gives us access to all kinds of different music in different ways. However for us artists music sharing makes it more difficult to find our way into the industry in some ways and make a living once your there, but at the same time allows for many different ways of exposure to fans as long as you are willing to put yourself out there. I have put every piece of music I have made thus far out for free to everyone. That is just the type of projects I have done so far, going forward I am always looking for ways to make more fans and reach more people so I think I will always offer at least some of my art for free.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Palmer: That’s actually more or less the boat I am in right now, so I should be asking that question to up and coming artist as well. However the best piece of advice I can offer is to make as many contacts, connects and relationships as you can. Meaning everyone from other bands and artists, fans and friends, to business owners, execs and anyone who could help you with your music. We cannot do it alone and the more people you have a good relationship with the easier the hard road becomes.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Palmer: No matter how much you practice and rehearse mistakes still pop up always. I have noticed though if you just ride it out and keep going, most of the time no one notices the hiccup. Being able to play it off and improvise on the spot helps a lot too, but practice practice practice and that helps the most.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Palmer: I have not toured yet. I would love to tour someday soon and reach more and more fans. My family and I love to travel and we are all pretty goofy, so I know when we do tour there will be plenty of stories to tell. Everyone keeps their camera phones ready so you never know when you are being recorded or photo bombed. Lol.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Palmer: Inspiration comes from everywhere for me. Life experiences, imagination and music probably play the biggest role in songwriting for me. The process is always different for every song, but it always involves an idea or concept, a pen and paper ( I never write songs or lyrics without physically writing them down) and time. I am sort of a perfectionist when it comes to my craft, I will sometimes even research stuff for a word or a line just to use it in the most effective way possible. I don’t always take a long time writing every song, some take a few hours others take weeks, but I always put in a lot of effort and thought into every project big or small.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Palmer: I use Reverbnation as my main website now (link: www.reverbnation.com/joshpalmermc) I hope to soon have a full website up and running. Also you can find me on twitter @jpmusic15 and Facebook too. Very soon my mixtapes will be available on datpiff.com and livemixtapes.com for free download.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Palmer: Man I listen to tons of different music and I’m not really embarrassed by it, but I do keep lots of different and weird songs to listen to because I’m always in the mood for certain types of songs at certain times. A few that maybe you wouldn’t expect someone like me to have are old stuff like the Beach Boys, Elton John and stuff like that. Also tons of country music old and new. I love country songs LOL how many rappers do you know that can say that?
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Palmer: Oh man, I would want to do too many things with that kind of time and money to list here for sure. One thing I know though is my wife and I would travel to tons of places and countries around the world. Especially Europe, I want to see so many places and things there for sure. I would still spend a lot of time working on music though, it’s what I love doing and if I had all that free time music and family would take up like all of it.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Palmer: Any upgrades would be a huge upgrade right now. I really don’t have a home studio per say, just a desk, a laptop and a good pair of headphones. Most of my projects are done with only that, but I have spent time in a couple local studios for projects. My plan is to someday have all the equipment and space I need to build a complete home studio.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Palmer: I am still figuring all that out right now as we speak. Social media plays a big part now and word of mouth is always going to be a key factor. I just try and tell everyone I meet about my work and pass along as much material (CDs) as I can. Doing interviews like this are great and I appreciate every opportunity that comes my way.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Palmer: So many places, so many artists, too many to name here. However if I could pick just one right now I would say Eminem in Detroit or anywhere for that matter. Performing with Eminem anywhere in Michigan would be like a dream come true for me, he is a ginormous inspiration to me and one of the biggest reasons why I do music today. Hey, two white dudes from opposite sides of Michigan performing hip hop music together right here in the mitten? You can’t write a better story then that, right?
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Palmer: I am in the beginning stages of an EP project that will be my first real, non-mixtape album. It is going to be a huge step up in production for me so I am very excited to get it under way.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Palmer: I would never not be working on music in some sort of way. Music is my outlet, my passion and my dream. I don’t think I can see myself ever not working on music in some fashion. It just means too much to me and I enjoy it way too much. However, like now I would also be working regular jobs and spending time with my family and friends. I’m pretty simple guy.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Palmer: I do, it was Skee-lo “I wish”. I got my first CD player for Christmas one year, I think I was like 10 or something, and I bought that CD with my own allowance and Christmas money. It was awesome, I listened to it over and over. I actually still have the CD to this day in my case and break it out every so far often. This just made me want to listen to it again, LOL.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Palmer: It’s hard since there are so many things to focus on with having a family and kids, but it’s an everyday act of trying to fit things here and there and put certain things off for later and dealing with certain issues right away. Putting family first is always the most important thing and keeping an eye on the prize for the future and my career in music is a daily responsibility that is important too. Just taking one thing at a time and dealing with one day at a time is really the key. I know it sounds cliche but that really is the only way to juggle it all.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2015?
Palmer: Fans should look forward to hearing more of me and seeing more of me. Exposure is the key and this will be the year that I really get off and running with my music career. So tune in and pay attention, you don’t want to miss anything from me this year for sure. Hop on board and enjoy the ride, it should be a wild one!
