For those who don’t know, how did working with Trey Songz come about?

JRIt came through a musical friend we both have, AG. I was in New York actually trying to get a deal with another label and I just got a call out of nowhere just saying that I can have another meeting with a guy from Def Jam, his name’s AG. From there, we never really left each other.

What was it like growing up in St. Louis?

JRIt was confusing for me as a child because I grew up in foster care. My father was killed not too long after I was born. Back in the 80s, drugs were a problem and my mother had her own issue, so I was put in foster care. I got adopted when I was six and that was kind of my one thing [music] that I did all the time. Where ever I went I just stayed focus on music or I listened to music or was reading magazines about rappers and R&B singers. That was what I kind of use to fantasize about. To have a life how you want it.

In your interview at HOT 104 in St. Louis, Trey was saying that it’s important that you’re getting support from back home before you worry about getting support from anywhere else. How has your reception been so far in St. Louis?

JR Oh, they love me. It was actually almost surprising because since we’re in the middle of the country, we get all of our influence from up North, East, West, South. We get influences from everywhere, but with that being said, you just gotta find a way to make people appreciate your brand and we did that. The city has been doing nothing but supporting. We have a stigma of being a city that hates on all and accepts outside people first, but that’s not really how things are going anymore. I feel like we have something to do with changing that.