Local Davis rapper strives to bring music and happiness to communities

PHOTO: Lil Jube and producer Peris inside the studio creating single “Racks N Shit”. (Photo Courtesy: Lil Jube)

By Luis Carvajal,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Lil Jube checked his direct messages on his Instagram page, just as he does every other morning. On this occasion, the local rapper happened to receive a text from a fan in Florida. Their conversation went as most did: banter about his music and his various musical endeavors. 

However, the talk had one notable difference: the fan had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and one of her last wishes was to get matching tattoos with Jube. Her trip across the United States, planned for next year, would conclude in California, where she had hoped to meet Jube. He willingly said yes to both requests.

Jube is a 21-year-old musician who lives in Davis. He created his first song over a dispute, creating a track about a classmate.

“My first song, it was a diss track. It’s the last few days of the class. Homeboy, he was a foreign exchange student. This man just says bye, and then drops a hard ‘r’ after that. I hit him in the front of the head with a book. I got in trouble,” Jube said.

He responded to the transgression by contacting his friend Miles, asking him to recreate the beat of the song “123” by Smokepurpp. This interaction would begin Jube’s musical career, leading him to his current catalog of more than 8,000 songs.

“Everyone’s like, Jube, you should fight him. Real talk, I ain’t even no fighter. I had my friend Miles, I sent him this Smokepurpp beat. And he did that, and so I made my first diss track,” Jube said.

Jube began actively pursuing music while attending Cosumnes River College in Elk Grove in the fall of 2018.

“I started making music on my iPhone 5, on Garage Band. I took a class later on at CRC for radio engineering, so I could play on the soccer team,”  Jube said.

Jube’s talents stretch past music. He also plays soccer, shown through the various posts and clips posted on his Instagram page. Most recently he played for the Sac Republic, going on trial for the LA Galaxy before leaving to pursue rap.

“During the time I was in class though, I was just making music. Of course, it got more serious with time, but that’s pretty much how I really got into it,” Jube said.

Davis High junior Riana Gonzales has met Jube while out with friends. 

“I went to a party one night and I met him there and I walked up to him and I was like ‘what’s up Lil Jube’ and it was great. He was talking about how he just wants to give art and music to the community and just make the people happy,” Gonzales said.

Junior Anna Szymoniak was surprised to find out about Jube.

“I was surprised … wow a Davis rapper, that’s pretty cool,” Szymoniak said.

Szymoniak was impressed by Jube, citing a commitment to both his listeners and his craft. 

“I think he’s really cool to his fans and he seems to work very hard on his music … I respect his hustle,” Szymoniak said.

Junior Luc Carner went to ‘Off Da Bench Fest’, a music festival that started in Davis then later moved to Sacramento. Lil Jube was one of the headline acts at the performance.

“[Off Da Bench Fest] moved to Sacramento, but me and my friends still went, and it was a fun time for local and underground artists to share their music,“ Carner said.