Rising Gold Coast star Juwan has returned with his latest offering ‘Mr. If I Don’t Got It (I’ll Get It)’ produced by longtime collaborator SOLLY. Out now via Forever Ever Records and Sony Music Entertainment Australia, the new single arrives with a new music video, directed and edited by Tonyteni Taulaga and produced by Leyla Cetinkaya.
To celebrate the release, Juwan was kind enough to sit down with us and answer a few questions, letting us know the store behind the new single and what's next for the rising star,
Juwan, great to meet you. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for us! First up, we have to know, how did you get into music?
"Growing up, my parents ran a record label called 20 Records. They managed and planned shows for some of my uncles and their friends who were rappers from the North Shore, Beach Haven in Auckland. So, I was surrounded by music as a child, but it wasn’t until we were living back in Australia, and I was going to high school where I chose to pick up a mic and fell in love with making music on my own."
Do you have any major influences for your music and writing?
"J. Cole was a big one that I listened to, Kendrick Lamar, Shore Syndicate, Homebrew, Young Sid; those guys influenced my writing the most."
You have a new single out now, and it has such an interesting title. Where did ‘Mr. If I Don’t Got It (I’ll Get It)’ come from?
‘Mr. If I Don’t Got It I’ll Get It’ was actually a nickname I got given while living in Sydney from the boys. They saw how relentless I can be when it comes to hustling and just getting everything that I say I want. You hear that hustle
on this single and that’s where the name came from. Because if I don’t got it, theres no doubt I’ll get it."
As with your previous work, there's a new video to match the single. What's the main concept behind the music video?
"I gotta thank the big bro Hau for the music video concept, being on road and portraying a dealer but not pushing drugs… we’re pushing music. I loved the idea because it brings two parts of my life together into a music video and
fits the songs hustle."
We’ve noticed your dropping new tracks regularly, and loved being able to hear your sound evolving. Can we expect more music from you this year?
"This year we have so much planned and I can’t wait to show everyone the work we’ve been putting in and the sound we’ve been building on. You’re gonna have to wait and see."
A few quick questions before you go, what would your dream collaboration be?
"My dream collabs would have to be Dave, Mostack or Digga D. Also Roddy Ricch. Those collabs would be crazy to me."
What’s next for Juwan?
"Nonstop music and nonstop hustling."
Adding more about the new single, Juwan said, “’Mr. If I Don’t Got It (I’ll Get It)’ was a fun song to record. The bop of SOLLYY’s production drove me to find the pockets and play within them like hands looking for the house key. And although I have my usual witty bars and creative rhyme schemes, I made sure that every sentence comes from a place of truth; truth that is told confidence."
"I feel my pen game has been continuously getting stronger. In this song I’ve penned some of my favourite lines to date, like ‘It’s chess. They are angling me like bishops a clear advantage like what might cop me some Louis Vuitton’s. So they can get jumped in L’s like knights’. I can feel the evolution in my writing-hand with each beat I touch.”
Speaking more about the video, Juwan continued, “Somehow the rap game reminds me of the crack game’ and the video concept is a reflection of that; the similarities the two professions share – the hustler’s mentality. Which is, by any means necessary…”
‘Mr If I Don’t Got It (I’ll Get It)’ follows on from singles ‘Vent’ and ‘Something To Prove’, the string of releases solidifying Juwan’s place in the scene in 2023.
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