Just Rapping for Peace: Off the Cuff with Milwaukee’s Just Chris

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Photo by Tom Jenz

Just Chris

Just Chris is a well-known Black rapper who hails from Milwaukee. A late musical bloomer, he has a large fan base throughout Wisconsin and the U.S. He wrote the popular Milwaukee Bucks song, “Go Bucks Go Bonkers.” I met up with him at McGovern Park where a video shoot was underway. I asked him what the video was about.

It’s going to portray an unnecessary Black on Black killing and show how it might have been prevented. I wrote the song, "Put Em Down," for the Voices Against Violence movement. The message of the song and the video is “put down the guns.” The artists QB and Quala also wrote some verses. It was produced by Doc Holiday.   

Do you have any opinions regarding the Voices Against Violence?

As a Black man, I’m so tired of us blamin’ everyone else for our problems. Every time somethin’ don’t go their way, they loot, they riot. The perceptions of the public is we Blacks all agree with that. We don’t all agree. To me, tearin’ up another man’s hard-earned business is wrong. Trashin’ and goin’ at it with the police is wrong. That’s not gonna solve anything. The purpose of the “Put Em Down” video is for us Black men to blame ourselves for killings. We have to start with us Blacks. Nobody can fix the Black problem besides the Black people. It’s our own mentality. That’s why it’s time to put the guns down and lift each other up.  

I have to say your take is kind of unusual, considering the current state of racial unrest. But tell me about your background. Where did you grow up?

I grew up mostly in Milwaukee. My mother’s from Peoria, IL. She moved up here when I was about seven. We lived in the North Meadows, 91st and Brown Deer. I went to high school at Milwaukee Tech on the South Side, had to get up two hours early just to get to school. Long commute. In 1996-97, my neighborhood was so dangerous, the cops wouldn’t even come in there. Lots of violence, I mean real violent, no fences up, it was DEF all the time. I had a very violent gang history. I went to prison in 2002.  

What was your crime?

In 2000, I shot up a Wendy’s restaurant and was officially charged with reckless endangerment and for illegally carrying a gun for the third time. Later, I also was charged with other crimes stemming from that same lifestyle. I got out of prison in 2007, and I ain’t been back. I did my time and eight  years on probation without a scratch. I went from being on Milwaukee’s Most Wanted list to having my own Just Chris day.

Were you writing and performing music in prison?

I used to do kernel music where I rapped about violence. I was an atheist, but then I met an apostle named Elbridge Lock from Unity Gospel House of Prayer. He helped change my life, and I gave my life to Christ. I decided I’d write and perform rap music but just for Jesus Christ. I’m still a member of Unity church.  

Could you tell me about your family?

I don’t know who my dad is, and I don’t care. I used to let it bother me, but I left that burden at the altar. I got a hard-workin’ mother who did what she had to do to make sure we ate. Now that I am profitable and successful, I try to make sure that my kids, my family and my mother don’t have to go through the poverty that I did.  

You are married with two kids and have a son from a previous relationship and lives in Washington Heights, west of Washington Park. Why did you settle in Washington Heights?

My neighborhood is very diverse, a lot of educated homeowners, and we make each other accountable. If your yard ain’t done, I’ll knock on your door and ask if you want me to do it because we need a quality neighborhood.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the inner city, 35th, Keefe, Burleigh, North Ave, 27th Street, trying to get to know some of the residents. Most of them hate the ongoing crime that goes on in their neighborhoods. Do you have any thoughts on the Black-on-Black crimes in the central city?

It goes back to “each one, teach one.” We have to break the mentality we’ve been subliminally taught. The no-snitchin’ policy. If you know your friend is doing something wrong, you have to say something because you might be the victim one day of the same person you were afraid to tell on. People don’t love you if they hurt you. If you’re hurting the neighborhood, something needs to be done. 

Young Black men and boys don’t seem to get taught about jobs in the trades, electrician, carpenter, plumber, practical courses that prepare them for good jobs. Do you agree?

Yes, I agree. We need to teach our kids about finance, credit, being responsible. I never knew about that stuff growin’ up. Black kids, they don’t get taught about buyin’ land or property. Seems like the only thing we Black people teach our youth is to be celebrities, athletes, movie stars, music artists, and that’s the only way you get out. Truth is so few of the rich Black athletes and entertainers help the poor neighborhoods. You can teach your kid to change tires and change oil. Maybe someday you’ll open your own Valvoline store. Or hey, it would be cool if you were a plumber, they make $70 an hour. Or a welder. We don’t teach them that practical stuff. That’s why I say it starts with us Blacks. We have to break the barriers. We have to stop blamin’ the white man. No, we doin’ this to ourselves.

To read more Off the Cuff interviews, click here.