2025 Artists

V.J. Retro (Vernon Jeffries) is a Musician, Music producer, Beatmaker, DJ and Vinyl Collector from the suburbs outside of Philadelphia Pennsylvania. V.J. Retro was raised in a musical family as his mother was a pianist at a local church and a collector of gospel music. V.J. Retro began his hobby in music as a drummer for both his school and church and eventually, he would take lessons and perform on the piano, guitar, bass, ukulele and a variety of other instruments. Because of his passion for music, V.J. was immersed in a lot of various musical genres but ultimately, he has found his home in the Hip-Hop community. Ever since he began Hip-Hop production in 2020, V.J. Retro has produced 5 albums and 8 singles. He has also collaborated with local and international artist who have rapped or sang on top of the instrumentals that V.J. has produced. Some examples can be heard in For The Dream, The Fall and Painful Past. V.J. has also participated in local music scenes that brings like-minded beatmakers together. One such community is called FlipABeatClub; a local and national community of beatmakers who come together to collaborate, share ideas and perform live in front of the peers. V.J.'s choice of weapons are the two famous samplers: The Akai MPC X and the Roland SP 404 MK2. If scratching is needed, sometimes V.J. can be seen cutting up records on the Reloop RP 8000 MK 2 Turntables and the Stanton STX Portable Turntable. In his home studio, V.J. can dig into more sounds for his music through his Roland FA-08 keyboard workstation and the 3 Biggest DAWs in the producer community: Reason, FL Studio and Cubase. His music is a collection of Lo-Fi/Boom Bap Instrumental Hip-Hop music. V.J. was inspired by the 90's Boom Bap sound that came from the likes of famous Hip-Hop producers including D.J. Premier, J Dilla, Madlib, 9th Wonder, RZA, DJ Shadow and Sarah the Illstrumentalist. While taking inspiration from the artist before him, he has created his own unique sound to further the unique creativity associated with Hip-Hop. From the smooth and calm vinyl noises heard in Cold World to the wild and eccentric noises in "Which Direction To Go". V.J. Retro hopes to push the boundaries of Lo-Fi and Instrumental Hip-Hop and inspire other producers to do the same and keep the spirit of Hip-Hop alive. You can catch V.J. Retro showcasing his talents on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. His music is available on all streaming platforms including Soundcloud and Bandcamp. Outside of music, V.J. likes to draw sketches, read and play pinball.

Affiliations: Flipabeatclub Philly Chapter