"Still Here, Still Lost": A Conversation with Jon Green

Interview by Imani Dominique Busby

Portrait Photography by Christopher Joseph (@wolfwarriorchris @Cameradatediaries)

Fisheye Photography by VISUALDARREL (@visualdarrel)

We had an insightful conversation with Jon Green ahead of his performance at NXNE on June 11, 2025. We learned about the rapper's roots, influences, and his upcoming release.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and your introduction to making music.

I've been making music since I was around three, four years old. It’s always been my passion. I've always been that little kid that tried to make songs in the bedroom, freestyling to old school Dilla beats, freestyling to all the Wutang, Slum Village tracks. So for me, it just really resonates with my soul, and my family, they're really into it.


Awesome. And are you from Toronto, the GTA?


Yeah, I'm from the GTA. I'm more east, closer to Scarborough.


Has being closer to Scarborough influenced your sound? And if so, how?

Honestly, just being around, being around my friends, being there. I went to a sports high school that wasn't in my city. But I was able to go to different places, hear different sounds, hear different rapping, travel to the States a lot, and just be influenced by the culture.

Has being an athlete influenced your music?

Yeah. For a long time, I found out that a lot of the times that I would be showing out on the ball course, showing out hooping, it was more so I just like to show out to a crowd. So then I just moved and shifted that over to music.

You also just released an EP called “Still Here, Still Lost". Can you tell us about the creative process behind that EP?


Yeah, sure. I wrote all those songs in my room, just listening to music, vibing out. Then I connected with an amazing engineer/producer, and we got together and we just produced the whole thing ourselves. We did it with a live band because we wanted to bring that live band aspect back to music. That's just what we're on right now.

Awesome. How do you feel about playing NXNE?

Honestly, I'm having a great time. Everybody here has been beautiful. I'm honestly just having a fun time just spreading the message, sharing my music, and it'd be great to be back.

If a listener could only hear one song from your catalog, what would you recommend and why?


Can I recommend two?  I lock in on “Mind Yourself” and lock in on “Sunlight”. They're not the same, but they're bangers.

Aside from yourself, who's your favourite Toronto artist?


Honestly, I'm a big Daniel Caesar fan. I'm a fan of what he does. I'm a fan of what he represents, the creative aspect, bringing it and also representing for the city. There's a multitude of artists that I like, but he's one of them for sure.

Do you have any last words or thoughts to share?

Just lock in on the EP, “Still Here, Still Lost”. We're going to have more music coming out soon. I have a song dropping June 13th. It's called “Walk the Walk”. If you guys want to tune into that, that's all I got to say.

Awesome. Thank you so much.
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