Meet Jessie Burns Aka Burns 2 Aka Jesster617 | 2x San Diego Music Award Winner & San Diego County Fair Fine Arts Exhibitor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessie Burns Aka Burns 2 Aka Jesster617 and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process behind starting my own business was that if literally anyone else could do it – 𝙄/𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡. Today’s landscape of being a business owner has changed so drastically, and continues to evolve so quickly – that becoming a 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 business owner was kind of a no brainer.

For nearly twenty years, our team has succeeded in co-founding and cultivating one of the most locally known independent hip-hop groups/brands throughout the San Diego music scene – the 2x San Diego Music Award winners – The Brothers Burns. Strangely enough though, being a musical entertainer was never an outright dream of mine or anything I thought to be any business of mine in any sense.

I’ve always had an appreciation for cartoons, illustration and voice-over – and getting further involved 𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑻 realm of artistic creation remains to be my dream and end goal in terms of “business”. Being a mostly self-taught visual artist though, it was only natural that me – and those in my close circle around me – began pondering ways of integrating and applying all of the practices and learnings I’d acquired over the years in the music industry, to my artistic desires.

I can remember the very event, The Bassmint Collective Winter Showcase – where a musical constituent and mentor by the name of Verdell Smith, (of Soul Ablaze Music), challenged me to curate a collection of artwork to show at our next community event. It was nerve-wracking, but it felt so liberating to be able to showcase my naturally given talents, (and stretch my wings), alongside the musical talents that I had grown to nurture and love throughout the years.

It was then and only then that I knew that this had to not only become a consistent part of how I creatively – and authentically presented myself – but I knew I had to find a way to turn this into a sustainable and lucrative part of my business model moving forward.

From that point on we piggy-backed the art on the success of the music — creating and revamping Jesster Artworx: Fine Art, Gaming, & Multimedia, producing small runs of laser-etched and digital artwork — and propelling me into becoming a fine art exhibitor here in town, courtesy of the San Diego County Fair’s Fine Art Competition!

Subsequently, we used all of these vessels to begin building a Youtube channel as well! We recently received enough subs to go 𝑳𝑰𝑽𝑬, and have steadily been integrating everything – building our content, and following since! Bookmark this link and check it out: https://www.youtube.com/@jesster617

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets us apart is our ability to connect with the people, continue pushing the bounds of creation, and our desire to always integrate all that we’ve learned in the equation.

We are most proud to be able to creatively collaborate with anyone, despite the creative genre or medium – and step out of the other end, in a situation that benefits and enriches us all.

The way we got to where we are today? Creative collaboration and squashing the eqo + pride. Was it easy? Hell no. We overcame those challenges by remaining persistent, staying respectful, and always being willing to show up in the room and work hard – despite our level of in/experience or difficulty. We’ve learned that we can overcome anything together, and we invite any and all to join in the experience.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Brunch at Parkhouse Eatery, (home-made croissant French Toast and a scramble by me another day), a stop by literally any dispensary for the week’s provisions, a stroll at all of our beaches, a single drink at Polite Provisions somewhere in there, then a stop by your local natural market to get said ingredients to that drink for $77 instead, A Brothers Burns show, all the open mics, and then a decompression session of music and jamming + smoking the finest in herbals. [𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞] Rinse, repeat, mix, match, and come back for more! Thank you for reading folks, and see you out there soon! Peace and be well in the meantime!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to first shout out my mother for always believing in me/us and nurturing our crafts! (And to our family that has been there all along, just as well.) We’ve come a ways from always makin’ room in our often-less-than-meager budget for art supplies, beatin’ out tunes on junk that one time in the back yard and recording in the back bedroom on third-party, pantyhose-laden computer mics!

To my fiancee — studying candidate/Master of Sociology, graduated BA/certified Thespian, Actor, Poet, and Matron-extraodinaire: P, without your unending support, unwavering dedication and literal co-management of our brand of beautiful chaos – there would be no current iteration of my creative self. From now until eternity – you have my love, my heart, my soul, and our babies. Thank you for always endlessly supporting all that I creatively endeavor in.

My bruv, Burns 1, for pushing and inspiring me to be a better lyricist, beatboxer + storyteller, and 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 believing that I had what it took to be received as a performing artist. Keep telling 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑬𝑺𝑻 stories, feeding your creative genius, and transcending the bounds of this Western patriarchal infrastructure. You owe it to yourself. The geeks 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 inherit the Earth. [𝗔 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 – 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲. 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲.]

My cuzzo, J. Phatts, for being the best damn super-producer that a kid from everywhere-in-San-Diego-County-but-particularly-Normal-Heights could ask for. I’m proud of your journey, and you still continue to motivate and inspire me to this day, even when I forget to pick up the phone. I love you, ninja. Whoop (x2) for the real ones in the back. Make more beats, please.

DJ Redlite AKA flyflako for being one of the best damn creators – overall – that I’ve ever met. DJ, producer, classic turntablist, digital artist, Ai artist, content creator, storyteller, community organizer, and stand-up f*ckin’ dude all around. There’s not much this man can’t do – including teaching marginalized and incarcerated youth how to utilize their talents in constructive manners.

To the 4x, 𝑭𝑶𝑼𝑹-𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑬, fellow San Diego Music Award winner — Riston Diggs — (WoOOoooOOOooOOOOO!!!) for stepping into the video game/streaming spotlight with your boy to bridge the gap between music, gaming, Blerdom, and any tale we wish to tell. Congrats on your “Founding 50!” There is so much richness in each bit of conversation and adventure we’ve had, and I can’t wait to see where this all takes us! His new album, ‘Holier than Thou’, and EP ‘Roadmaps’ – (with local Hip-hop/R&B extraordinaire, Mike Holmes) – are out now on all streaming platforms.

Verdell Smith for being one hell of a musical savant, and a trailblazer through the scene. Endless appreciations for always giving a hand up to the next person in line, and for forming the best “Musical Trojan Horses” a creative gatekeeper could come up against! Let’s get back to work, homie!

‘The Artists formerly known as Chill Clinton’ for welcoming us into their band, building upon it so masterfully, and ushering in the most powerfully received live band iteration of what we had to offer to the scene. Very much looking forward to digging back into the best aspects of who we are and re-presenting that to the world.

See Through Records, for helping us bring a voice to a time-capsule of music that nearly didn’t see the light of day – four times over! Congratulations on your newly revamped studio, 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘴, and absolute best of luck this San Diego Music Awards season to the many talented artists on your label! ‘Nearly Extinct: The Tale of the Emcee’, out now on all streaming platforms. Remixes, coming soon to a Patreon near you – courtesy of DJ Redlite!

Metakate for always showin’ love and throwin’ my/The Brothers Burns’ name in the hat for any and all in terms of comm(unity) events and shows! [Shouts out to Activist San Diego!] You’re a real one, and we hope you’re flourishing in the Bay Area! You always have a place to lay your pristinely braided dome-piece in this city.

To Mimi Luv, The Bassmint Collective family, DJ Blackbelt Jonez, DJ Antbo, IllestRated and The Ill VC (You ain’t artsier than me! HAHA), Michael Pereira AKA Microphone Mike of Michael Raymond Jewelry + Mixmaster Maricon, DJ Kolmega, Aaron Evans Art (Keep roarin’ mah dude), The Kava Lounge (RIP), Mega Ran, Shawn Balch, Jeremy Miller + Krystal Dyer, Kyle Clark at Laserbrain, Langston 2, Sister Speak Music, Cathryn Beeks & Listen Local SD, Sandi King (Departure out now -featuring your boys – on all streaming platforms! Watch with the full visualizer on YouTube!), Rock-a-Block Crew, Irv Da Phenom (His album ‘Big Lover’ out now on all platforms! “Well?!”), Rosie O’ Grady’s & The Rabbit Hole, and anyone else I failed to mention – but always think about. And to the many fans, supporters, and believers of anything and everything that I/we do — thank you oh so graciously. The work doesn’t mean anything if there isn’t someone else out there to appreciate and share in it with! Thank you for encouraging me to believe in myself, and to trust in the element of collaboration.

Website: https://linktr.ee/jessterartworx

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesster617/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessterartworx/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jesster617

Other: https://www.instagram.com/thebrothersburns/

https://www.facebook.com/thebrothersburns

https://thebrothersburns.bandcamp.com

Image Credits
Chuck Lapinsky Photography, Rob Deez, OJ Picture Show, Jesster Artworx