Through The Wire: Q&A With Julito McCullum aka J.Brice

Today we present to you Julito McCullum aka J.Brice. You may know Julito from his starring role in the HBO’s hit series The Wire. He has also appeared in Miracle Boys, Akeelah & the Bee, You’re Nobody Till Somebody Kills You, Loso’s Way & several off-Broadway plays. Since then Julito had begun to pursue a career in music with the releases of his first mixtape, entitled First Take & second mixtape, The Premiere, whose first single received over a thousand downloads on Twitter within an hour. N.A.B. caught up with him & present to you J.Brice.

N.A.B.: How long have you been acting?

J.Brice: I’ve been acting for about 3 to 4 years now. I started out dancing and was doing that for a while, but I didn’t want to be someone’s backup dancer. So I decided to get into acting.

N.A.B.: Is your first passion acting or music?

J.Brice: I can’t really say I love one more than the other. I love them both equally

N.A.B.: Has the transition of the character Julito from The Wire to J. Brice the rapper been difficult?

J.Brice: Not really because my character in The Wire is completely different from the person I am. I know how to balance from being the actor to the naming & the lifestyle to being me. So no, not really. It hasn’t been hard at all.

N.A.B.: What projects are you currently working on, music & movie wise?
J.Brice: Music, I just dropped my second mixtape called The Premiere. Basically it’s a street album, buzzing heavy right now in the streets. I’m performing everywhere & promoting that. Movies, I’m right back in it in 2010. So make sure to look out for that.

N.A.B.: I saw you on Loso’s Way; do you have collaborations with Fabulous? Is there anyone else you would like to collaborate with in the near future?

J.Brice: Shout out to Fab for putting me down with Loso’s Way & Lenny S. We have discussed the possibility. He going hard promoting Loso’s Way & his album. We haven’t had an opportunity to sit and vibe out on a record yet but hopefully in the future. I also like Kanye & Hov of course, we’re both from Brooklyn, and I look up to him. I mean there’s a bunch of people. At the current moment I’m focused on branding J.Brice. Then I’ll focus on collaborating with other artists.

N.A.B.: 2009 is over. What are your plans for 2010?

J.Brice: We going into a full time grind. You will see everything come into play. The album Motion Picture drops in 2010 & I’m back into the movies. Look forward to see a lot more of J.Brice.

N.A.B.: Do you have any words of advice for the youth who may want to pursue acting & music like yourself?

J.Brice: First, you must stay level headed in this game. It’s real funny style how people in the industry could be. You have to stay focused. You have to realize that this is a job. There’s more to it than just making records, there’s more to it than just trying to be in the TV screen & going out there to get auditions. You must know the business. That’s why I took some time off to focus on learning the business. Learn your business & go hard.

N.A.B.: Do you have any last words or shout outs?

J.Brice: Yeah like I said stay focused in this game. There’s enough money in this game for the world to eat. Follow me on www.twitter.com/iamjulito, follow me on www.myspace.com/iamjulito. And look out for a lot more of J.Brice. Go get The Premiere, it’s available online. Shout out to Alwayz Ready Records, Brooklyn Boy ENT & shout out to y’all, N.A.N./N.A.B. for always holding me down.

Download: J.Brice – The Premiere {mixtape}

– A.D. The General / Ms. FeFe