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Wax brings guitar-driven rap back home for June 26 OB gig
The Harp to host rising local rapper & comedian
Wax started out in Maryland, but hit Southern California in 2006
"For the last 20 years, I have spent a good amount of time sitting on top of those cliffs with a guitar, writing songs,” says Michael Jones, AKA local rapper Wax, who has lived in SoCal since 2006 and spent a lot of time at Sunset Cliffs. “I get a good connection to nature there for some reason. Maybe it is all in my head and I could write those same songs at a gas station in Albuquerque… either way it feels good to be up there watching the pelicans fly.”
He is a vocal advocate for San Diego, naming Pho Point Loma as his favorite place to eat. “My twin brother, who also lives here in San Diego, has been taking his now-teenaged kids there since they were babies. They used to love looking at the fish tank, and now my two-year-old daughter looks at the fish while my nephews hold her up. It is a family-run business that is truly family-friendly. Amazing food at a good price. I just really love that place.”
The Maryland native parlayed a large YouTube following with millions of views into a major recording deal with Def Jam 15 years ago, and then parted ways with the label because of creative differences. He’s grounded and takes it all in stride, releasing his music through other avenues. An album called Lifetime Achievement Award dropped in October 2024. The album was produced by Kush Mody (producer, composer, and half of pop duo Feed the Biirds). Wax and Kush collectively handled the arrangements and majority of the instruments.
“Yes, getting a major label record deal was something I always dreamed of, and it was cool that I had that experience. The ‘dreamed of’ question is fitting, because much like anything in my life from that time period or older, the whole experience feels like it was a dream now. Also, the industry has changed so much since then that I don’t think any young aspiring musician now is too worried about those kinds of deals. Who knows? But it was fun even though it didn’t pan out in a successful way. I honestly think if I would have had big success at that time I wouldn’t have been able to handle it. I most likely dodged a bullet.”
But there are bullets no one can dodge. Like friends who become liabilities and lessons when alcohol is introduced, as he writes about in “Bad Drinking Buddy.” “I have a friend who was a very direct inspiration for that song. No names, but I wrote that song really quickly after a night out with this friend. He was super annoying and did some things that were just plain unsafe. That said, I also noticed that some of his behavior is the same type of nonsense I would often do when drunk, making the song somewhat autobiographical as well. I have been sober many years since writing that song.”
Some influences are less direct, more subconscious, as is the case with Academy Award-winning film composer Hans Zimmer (Batman Begins, The Lion King). “I have seen a lot of these movies, so undoubtedly on a somewhat subconscious level Mr. Zimmer has taught me how classical music can be used to express a wide range of emotions. On a conscious level, I think I mostly know his name because I know a guy who interned for him.”
And it really comes down to fitting the rhyme with the beat, which is why Mr. Zimmer is name-checked in Wax's collaboration with L.A. DJ and producer DJ Hoppa, “Floatin.” “I mostly just wanted to rhyme Hans Zimmer with Frond Trimmer - 'Hollar at Hans Zimmer, me and Hoppa take you higher than a palm tree frond trimmer.' The Hans Zimmer line was in reference to the previous line, ‘It’s a potent type of feeling that we’re giving you,' meaning that Hans Zimmer would be used to score this type of feeling. The next line where I said 'That’s the millionth quote from the GOAT,' I was referring to myself because I have said thousands of stupid bars like this. All in all, I don’t really know much about Hans Zimmer… although I do know a guy who interned for him and said it was not an easy gig.”
Upcoming Event
Wax and DJ Hoppa
- Friday, June 26, 2026, 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
- Harp, 4935 Newport Avenue, San Diego
- Age Limit: 21+ / $33.85
As far as his own gigs and one he attends, he cites The Soda Bar as his favorite place to see a show because the unique layout allows conversation in the bar area. And his favorite place to perform? “My favorite show I do is the Acoustic Evenings Series at The Athenaeum Music and Arts Library in La Jolla. I love playing in a place where everyone sits down and truly listens. That place is fantastic, I have played there five times, I think. Shout-out my boy Jefferson Jay, who puts on that show and shout-out all the lovely people that come out. “
Wax is currently on tour, performing a series of Canadian dates as well as The High Hopes Festival in Bedford PA and elsewhere. He recently released a new track called "Blaow" featuring Jarv and Herbal T (AKA Wax's aforementioned twin brother Chris Jones), produced by DJ Hoppa with an accompanying music video. He'll be hitting OB to perform his brand of guitar-driven rap with DJ Hoppa at the Harp on Friday, June 26.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Wax brings guitar-driven rap back home for June 26 OB gig
The Harp to host rising local rapper & comedian
Wax brings guitar-driven rap back home for June 26 OB gig
The Harp to host rising local rapper & comedian
Wax started out in Maryland, but hit Southern California in 2006
"For the last 20 years, I have spent a good amount of time sitting on top of those cliffs with a guitar, writing songs,” says Michael Jones, AKA local rapper Wax, who has lived in SoCal since 2006 and spent a lot of time at Sunset Cliffs. “I get a good connection to nature there for some reason. Maybe it is all in my head and I could write those same songs at a gas station in Albuquerque… either way it feels good to be up there watching the pelicans fly.”
He is a vocal advocate for San Diego, naming Pho Point Loma as his favorite place to eat. “My twin brother, who also lives here in San Diego, has been taking his now-teenaged kids there since they were babies. They used to love looking at the fish tank, and now my two-year-old daughter looks at the fish while my nephews hold her up. It is a family-run business that is truly family-friendly. Amazing food at a good price. I just really love that place.”
The Maryland native parlayed a large YouTube following with millions of views into a major recording deal with Def Jam 15 years ago, and then parted ways with the label because of creative differences. He’s grounded and takes it all in stride, releasing his music through other avenues. An album called Lifetime Achievement Award dropped in October 2024. The album was produced by Kush Mody (producer, composer, and half of pop duo Feed the Biirds). Wax and Kush collectively handled the arrangements and majority of the instruments.
“Yes, getting a major label record deal was something I always dreamed of, and it was cool that I had that experience. The ‘dreamed of’ question is fitting, because much like anything in my life from that time period or older, the whole experience feels like it was a dream now. Also, the industry has changed so much since then that I don’t think any young aspiring musician now is too worried about those kinds of deals. Who knows? But it was fun even though it didn’t pan out in a successful way. I honestly think if I would have had big success at that time I wouldn’t have been able to handle it. I most likely dodged a bullet.”
But there are bullets no one can dodge. Like friends who become liabilities and lessons when alcohol is introduced, as he writes about in “Bad Drinking Buddy.” “I have a friend who was a very direct inspiration for that song. No names, but I wrote that song really quickly after a night out with this friend. He was super annoying and did some things that were just plain unsafe. That said, I also noticed that some of his behavior is the same type of nonsense I would often do when drunk, making the song somewhat autobiographical as well. I have been sober many years since writing that song.”
Some influences are less direct, more subconscious, as is the case with Academy Award-winning film composer Hans Zimmer (Batman Begins, The Lion King). “I have seen a lot of these movies, so undoubtedly on a somewhat subconscious level Mr. Zimmer has taught me how classical music can be used to express a wide range of emotions. On a conscious level, I think I mostly know his name because I know a guy who interned for him.”
And it really comes down to fitting the rhyme with the beat, which is why Mr. Zimmer is name-checked in Wax's collaboration with L.A. DJ and producer DJ Hoppa, “Floatin.” “I mostly just wanted to rhyme Hans Zimmer with Frond Trimmer - 'Hollar at Hans Zimmer, me and Hoppa take you higher than a palm tree frond trimmer.' The Hans Zimmer line was in reference to the previous line, ‘It’s a potent type of feeling that we’re giving you,' meaning that Hans Zimmer would be used to score this type of feeling. The next line where I said 'That’s the millionth quote from the GOAT,' I was referring to myself because I have said thousands of stupid bars like this. All in all, I don’t really know much about Hans Zimmer… although I do know a guy who interned for him and said it was not an easy gig.”
Upcoming Event
Wax and DJ Hoppa
- Friday, June 26, 2026, 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
- Harp, 4935 Newport Avenue, San Diego
- Age Limit: 21+ / $33.85
As far as his own gigs and one he attends, he cites The Soda Bar as his favorite place to see a show because the unique layout allows conversation in the bar area. And his favorite place to perform? “My favorite show I do is the Acoustic Evenings Series at The Athenaeum Music and Arts Library in La Jolla. I love playing in a place where everyone sits down and truly listens. That place is fantastic, I have played there five times, I think. Shout-out my boy Jefferson Jay, who puts on that show and shout-out all the lovely people that come out. “
Wax is currently on tour, performing a series of Canadian dates as well as The High Hopes Festival in Bedford PA and elsewhere. He recently released a new track called "Blaow" featuring Jarv and Herbal T (AKA Wax's aforementioned twin brother Chris Jones), produced by DJ Hoppa with an accompanying music video. He'll be hitting OB to perform his brand of guitar-driven rap with DJ Hoppa at the Harp on Friday, June 26.
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