Rising artist J/B is closing out 2025 with momentum. Fresh off the release of his album Scribbles, the rapper sat down with Maxed to talk about where the project came from, how he handles criticism, and what fans can expect as he heads into a big 2026.
Maxed:
“Let’s talk about your recent album Scribbles and moving forward with more music in 2026.”
J/B:
“I am working on new music all the time, whether it’s the music itself or the promoting that goes into it. Ideally, if all goes to plan, I would like to look at doing a little deluxe of my recent album Scribbles for some of the songs that didn’t make it in on time, but in 2026, I am planning a bigger album that returns to my origins and re-explores why I started music.”
Maxed:
“Where did you come up with the album title “Scribbles”?”
J/B:
“That title came as a sequel to my second album titled “A Letter From Your Lover.” While that album has since been removed alongside my first album, I felt like it was appropriate to go back and revisit some of the subject matter. Contrasted from the original album, where I dedicated each song as a love letter to an ex of mine, I used this album (Scribbles) as a letter to myself to see how far I’ve come and see what has changed in my life ever since.”
Maxed:
“In your song you said “your parents didn’t know—about this music thing.” What made you say that in your song and why was your music kept in the dark? Were you afraid of their criticism? How do you deal with criticism on your Instagram posts?”
J/B:
“Ah yes, in Silver Platter I did make a line referring to my parents. I think the reason I kept it in the dark for so long from my loved ones was the fear of not knowing how they would receive it. After all, no parent would want to hear some of the profanity that their child could come up with. I started out with very dark subject matter, contrasting storytelling songs with my own mental health experiences, and I felt like it wouldn’t be quite understood until I had a proper audience that I could show for.
I am always afraid of what could come with the criticism, but I am not afraid of constructive advice, such as how to better deliver on my vocals and delivery. Most days, the hate comments are easy to shrug off, although there are some days or some comments that can easily ruin my day. But also, most of those haters you see are the same ones who are too lazy to go after what they want, so it’s one of those things that you just have to juggle when you get in the spotlight.”
Maxed:
“Your real name is Jacob Briggs. What is the difference between Jacob Briggs and J/B (the rapper)?”
J/B:
“J/B is just a stage name that I perform under, because there’s a lot of other people who release stuff as Jacob Briggs, so I wanted to find something that could make it stand out a little bit—hence why it’s formatted as “J/B” and not JB or J.B. or any of those other variations.”
Maxed:
“Right, that makes sense. Obviously the SEO will help it stick better. We’re happy to see you understand social media a bit. Super happy we connected today. We are looking forward to working with you again in the future, and speaking of the future—what do you have for the listeners to end 2025 and go into 2026? Are we expecting new music? Videos, tours, shows? New partnerships, label deals, merch—what we doing?”
J/B:
“I am glad we connected today as well. As far as my future plans, I have been spending most of my 2025 strongly micromanaging my future music projects. Any verse or line that I don’t like, I change. You can expect plenty of quality new music in 2026 with a potential deluxe album coming in the early part of the year (God willing) and hopefully in the later part of the year, a full new album. I just released some new merch that you can find at shoprealjb.com. My username on all social media platforms can be found @realjbmusic, but on YouTube I do go by @realjb. I’m looking forward to new partnerships, potentially some shows & live performances, and—fingers crossed—if I can get some label deals.”
Maxed:
“I know you’re really busy. Anyways man, it was great talking to you. We’re excited to hear more from you coming soon. For now we’ll put that Scribbles link below and see what everybody feels about it! Keep grinding bro! Any last words before we go?”
https://music.apple.com/us/
J/B:
“I just want to say thank you for your time, and thank you to everyone who supports—and hates—the J/B movement. Both keep me fueled to keep going and keep pushing, and I hope that something in my music can motivate someone out there who is listening. That’s my main goal in doing music.”
