I Represent Rapper Ajani Jones On The City His Mother S Encouragement And His Fascination With Dragonflies

Chicago hip-hop label Closed Sessions is gearing up for another banner year. Late last month House Arrest, the distribution wing of important Mississippi indie label Fat Possum, announced it had struck a deal with Closed Sessions; earlier this week, Pitchfork Music Festival announced that this year’s gathering will feature one of the label’s marquee artists, Kweku Collins. The Evanston MC makes a guest appearance on Cocoons, an EP by Closed Sessions’ latest signee, Ajani Jones; the label announced it signed the Chicago rapper last week, on the day it released Cocoons.

Ajani Jones: I linked with them just through AEMMP—it’s a student-run label at Columbia. I had been there the previous year—going to Columbia—and I dropped out. Once I dropped out, my manager, Alexy Erouart, and Noah Sims, they submitted me; I was working on my project Eternal Bliss at the time, and I played a song for the class. They liked it, so they chose me. Alex [Fruchter, Closed Sessions cofounder] runs that class at Columbia.

That’s sweet that you looked for your mom’s approval. What do your parents think of your music career?

Did you grow up in Auburn Gresham?

What responsibilities do you have to people who’ve grown up in similar circumstances?

Yeah.