About the Editor - Jay Baldwin
Jay Baldwin (Jacy Baldwin) was born in Orange, California on March 22, 1984. Raised in Orange County, living in the same Garden Grove apartment since he was still in diapers, Jay was exposed to various forms of art very early in his life. Music, poetry, and drawing run deep in his roots as both of his parents were aspiring artists in their young-adult years prior to his birth. His mother, Nina Cherri, was a multi-talented song-bird who loved singing, writing songs and poetry, and various forms of free-hand art, from sketching to painting. His father, Gary, was the lead singer of his band throughout high school and became a local favorite in the city of Santa Ana for many years by performing at schools and small venue concerts, as well as winning a few talent contests in the area. Gary's band played live instruments and covered songs from funk and soul artists like Al Green and Earth, Wind, and Fire. As Jay grew up, he explored each of the art forms that were introduced by his parents, as well as others and deeply respected each one. Throughout his scholastic career, his artistic talents were recognized in his school as he won contests and awards for various areas from drawing to modern/original art as well as "Best Musician" as a drummer in his marching band.
High school opened the door for him to experience classic art such as poetry, creative writing, and acting as well as to venture into graphic arts and fashion. Discovering that he had the talent and drive to create art in multiple areas, the young artist decided to embrace all of them starting with his original exposure to music and combining that with his writing talents. Baldwin soon became interested in song writing and music production, and formed an R&B group with two of his closest friends from high school. The trio did not last long as there were personal differences between Jay and one of the group members that caused a split from the group as well as a split from R&B altogether.
The remaining group members, Jay Baldwin and Sam Ramirez, kept a close bond and sidelined singing and song writing for fashion; creating the Urban/Skate fusion brand, Elafint. The two styles proved to be a great combination as many prototype designs were created and Elafint generated an underground buzz with many followers anticipating the release of the brand; however due to limiting schedules from the two attending college and working full-time jobs, it never got out of the prototype phase, and the brand was dropped in a mutual understanding.
Attending the University of Phoenix, Baldwin was in pursuit of his degree in Business Marketing to understand how to make a business successful through exposure. Jay laid out his various talents and attempted to create a hybrid of his talents and use them as skills to benefit companies and/or eventually to benefit one of his own business ventures.
Behind the scenes, Jay made the decision to reinvent himself musically and turn to a new genre with no sore spots from his past, which was hip-hop. Hip-hop runs about as long in his family as art runs deep. More than half of the second generation in his family is involved in hip-hop in one way or another. The Rotton 'Mpire, a hip-hop group consisting of his only brother, Branden Williams aka "Sheer Kan", and several other family members, the door was wide open for Jay to make an impact. Never completely dropping music throughout his fashion venture, production was one of his fortes. Jay made over 90% of the music for his R&B group as well as countless other compositions of dance and hip-hop beats for fun. His brother always noted his talents, but never quite looked at him as an option for producing music for the Rotton 'Mpire until Jay made a drastic change in his production style. Soon Jay became "Dueces" aka "Duece Duece" (a nickname formulated from the day of his birth, 22) and now produces music for the Rotton 'Mpire as well as his own hip-hop duo, EAC with Sam Ramirez. Both groups are very talented, however they have very little support because they lack exposure; which is what leads us to the hybrid that was created using his artistic talents combined with his education; Tha Blizzog! Jay Baldwin created this business venture by combining what he loved with what he does in an effort to help artists get the exposure they need in order to make a business out of their talents.
"Fame is not the goal in mind; the goal is to make a career out of what you love."
- Jay Baldwin
High school opened the door for him to experience classic art such as poetry, creative writing, and acting as well as to venture into graphic arts and fashion. Discovering that he had the talent and drive to create art in multiple areas, the young artist decided to embrace all of them starting with his original exposure to music and combining that with his writing talents. Baldwin soon became interested in song writing and music production, and formed an R&B group with two of his closest friends from high school. The trio did not last long as there were personal differences between Jay and one of the group members that caused a split from the group as well as a split from R&B altogether.
The remaining group members, Jay Baldwin and Sam Ramirez, kept a close bond and sidelined singing and song writing for fashion; creating the Urban/Skate fusion brand, Elafint. The two styles proved to be a great combination as many prototype designs were created and Elafint generated an underground buzz with many followers anticipating the release of the brand; however due to limiting schedules from the two attending college and working full-time jobs, it never got out of the prototype phase, and the brand was dropped in a mutual understanding.
Attending the University of Phoenix, Baldwin was in pursuit of his degree in Business Marketing to understand how to make a business successful through exposure. Jay laid out his various talents and attempted to create a hybrid of his talents and use them as skills to benefit companies and/or eventually to benefit one of his own business ventures.
Behind the scenes, Jay made the decision to reinvent himself musically and turn to a new genre with no sore spots from his past, which was hip-hop. Hip-hop runs about as long in his family as art runs deep. More than half of the second generation in his family is involved in hip-hop in one way or another. The Rotton 'Mpire, a hip-hop group consisting of his only brother, Branden Williams aka "Sheer Kan", and several other family members, the door was wide open for Jay to make an impact. Never completely dropping music throughout his fashion venture, production was one of his fortes. Jay made over 90% of the music for his R&B group as well as countless other compositions of dance and hip-hop beats for fun. His brother always noted his talents, but never quite looked at him as an option for producing music for the Rotton 'Mpire until Jay made a drastic change in his production style. Soon Jay became "Dueces" aka "Duece Duece" (a nickname formulated from the day of his birth, 22) and now produces music for the Rotton 'Mpire as well as his own hip-hop duo, EAC with Sam Ramirez. Both groups are very talented, however they have very little support because they lack exposure; which is what leads us to the hybrid that was created using his artistic talents combined with his education; Tha Blizzog! Jay Baldwin created this business venture by combining what he loved with what he does in an effort to help artists get the exposure they need in order to make a business out of their talents.
"Fame is not the goal in mind; the goal is to make a career out of what you love."
- Jay Baldwin
