Today we caught up with Positive Society for an exclusive interview.

Who are you and tell me how you got your name?

I am a CHH artist from Southern Cali who goes by the name Positive Society and I now reside in Stockton, CA. I came up with the name Positive Society in 1999. With so much of the music focused on killing, glorifying a wicked lifestyle, & hatred for others, I realized that society is not recovering from what this focus has caused to a whole generation. I made it a point to be a positive influence and spread the love & good news of Yeshua.

How did you start doing music?

I started rapping in Jr. High (88′) with some schoolmates. We used to gather in a huddle during lunch and freestyle rap. I had got ahold of a pocket size, rhyming dictionary back then that I was reading to help learn rhyming words. I wan’t that good at first, but I kept at it.

My freshman year of high school I partnered with a friend and neighbor Mike who was a DJ. We would spend  time doing music together. I went by the name Too Much back then. Throughout the rest of my high school years, I kept at it and began to improve, but I didn’t take it seriously, to me it was just a hobby or something I loved to do.

To be honest, my time and energy was spent on martial arts training and music followed in priority, but that’s another story.

Tell me more about your musical journey.

Back in 94′, I used to compete in rap battles in Hollywood on Friday and Saturday evening. A record store owner and DJ named Stephanie would put on beats in her store (Posionous Records) and folks would battle. It was on Vine St. near Hollowood Blvd. At times it would be so packed, folks would be standing out on Vine St. Later she moved a few blocks west on Hollywood Blvd. She made a makshift boxing ring with microphone cables coming down. That was a fun era.

In 1999, I recorded 4 songs in a studio in LA, but never released them. Many years later, I began realizing that I wanted to take music more seriously. In 2008, I recorded a 15 track album as Positive Society titled ‘Zome’. This album was co-produced by a good friend and DJ out of LA named DJ Finah and featured ‘Kondi’ on 2 songs. Back then the social media platform was My Space and they allowed up to 6 songs to be uploaded for streaming.

Due to martial arts training, competition, & a career change, years went by without putting out any more. I spent my free time making beats. In 2020, I finally decided to go all out in my music and in 2021, I released ‘SPIRITUAL WAFARE’. This album again featured ‘Kondi’ on a couple more songs. I dropped my 1st music video ‘GREEN LIGHT’ from this album.

I followed this up in 2023 with a 17 track album titled, ‘NOT ON MY OWN’. This album featured some of my favorite artist: Mouthpi3ce, Monster Tarver, and CY (Cyclone) three established and decorated artist in their own right.

In 2024 I released a 15 track album titled ‘I’M FREE’. This album featured Monster Tarver, KingJay1255, & NuTone,  This included 11 music videos for ‘THE FIX’, ‘SO CONTAGIOUS’, ‘COME CORRECT’, ‘I’M FREE’, ‘CHEERS’, ‘END GAME’, PRAISE YHWH’, ‘BELIEVE NOW’, ‘HE’S THE KEY’, ‘MADE NEW’, & ‘LIFE CHANGE’.

IN 2025, I released a 17 track album titled ‘THE WHOLE WORKS’. This album featured Fern (of Social Club Misfits), Mouthpi3ce, KingJay1255, Antonious, Monster Tarver, & Miguel Bey. I released music videos for ‘THE WHOLE WORKS’, ‘LOVIN U’, PSM WALK, ‘YOUR WAYS’, & ‘LETS FIGHT’.

I will be releasing a new album in the upcoming months as well as music videos.

How were your grades in high school?

Well, they weren’t all that good. I attended 3 high schools before graduating from the 4th. I can remember in high school, I had a literature teacher, Mrs. Peoples. She was one of those black women that didn’t tolerate nonsense in her class. I recall the class was supposed to be reading some type of shakespere type material. I took out my notebook and was writing raps in it. I wasn’t paying attention to her and before I knew it I saw her hand reach from behind, over my shoulder and snatched my noebook. She then walked up to the front of the class and sat at her desk & began reading my book. I couldn’t say anything because I was supposed to be studying, so I looked at a neighbors book to see what page to be on and pretended to be reading my work. The whole time I was noticing she was looking through my notebook.

Now, back then my lyrics weren’t clean and sometimes foul. I visited a local church of a girl who would invite me every now & then and I would see Mrs. Peoples there as her husband was a deacon. So I felt a certain way when I knew she was reading my raps.

After class, I had to get to my next class so I walked up to her desk and asked for my notebook back. She picked it up, but before handing it to me she asked what the material was that I was writing asking me if it was poetry. I told her they were rhymes, raps, (or whatever term I used back then). She relpied “Why are you writing them in my class?” I told her that no one in my neighborhood talks like that and that it sounded like some King James talk and when I finished high school that would not be needed. She asked me ‘Do you  need this class to graduate?”. I said “Well, yeh”, she said “Well would you say that it important then?”. “Yes”, I reluctabntly replied, knowing that the window to get to my next class was shortening.

I reached for my book she was holding, but before she let go she offered me some extra credit points if I turned in a few pages. She told me if she caught me writing during class or anyone else’s class I wouldn’t get any. I agreed so I could hurry off to my next class and she said, ‘One more thing, There is a MLK Jr. banquet coming up in a couple weeks the city is hosting. She asked me to write a rap about MLK and perform it at the banquet, which I did.

Mrs. Peoples didn’t just look at me as a young black teen that was writing nonsense and wasn’t going anywhere. She found something that I had an interest/talent in and honned in on that to make me apply myself for positivity.

If I could only listen to 3 albums for the rest of my life what would they be?

This is not an easy question. I guess it would be

1.  SEVIN   –   ‘MOZES’ album

2. THE CROSS MOVEMENT   –   ‘HUMAN EMERGENCY’ album

3.  SOCIAL CLUB   –   ‘ROYALE DELUXE’ album

6.  What do you find a challenge in music creation?

Taking time out to enjoy the fruits of the labor. I tend to write and record a lot of songs then spend more time on which ones to include in the next album. I currently have about 4 full albums I havent released yet and my dillemma is releasing them while giving fans time to digest each one from the current release.

Who would you most like to collab with?

Angie Rose a Puerto Rican CHH rapper & singer from the Bronx.

Sevin (of Hog Mob Ministries)

KingJay1255 a talented CHH artist in Baltimore who I have already worked with, but would like to do more.

How do you currently feel about the state of Hip-hop in general?

If were speaking about hip hop as a culture that’s one thing, but most commonly that term is synonymous with rap nusic. I have been around hip-hop through so many decades and have seen the dark shift that rap music has moved toward.

So many people have been hurt in street beef where it seems if your a rapper you probably have a short life expectancy too. Recently a local Stockton rapper and over a dozen others, mostly children were shot at a children’s birthday party. Three of the four that died, were children (between 8 and 14). It was so unfortunate that innocent children had to be on the receiving end of the carnage. Not all, but alot of the music that is being released glorifies murder and violence. It becomes engrained and normalized in the minds of the youth that it is acceptable to end someone’s life, for what? The city is hurting and people ultimately need Jesus to set them free.

Are you religious? If yes, what is your religion?

I am, and have been for many years, a follower of Jeshua. My music is a reflection of HIM, offering hope to those that do not feel loved, or the youth that does not feel wanted. The thing about religion is it doesn’t save a person, only Jesus can do that, so although Christianity  is my ‘religion’, I am a child of God, and as HIS child I am instructed to love, so my music reflects that message, and still be slappin’.

How would you describe the music that you typically create?

I consider myself a pretty versitile artist and can mix it up well with different types of beats and vibes. When I’m writing. Based on what God puts on my heart for the day, the topic will reflect hope, peace, & coming to Yeshua before it’s too late.

What’s your advice for handling criticism?

Stay humble, lessons can be learned from the unlikeliest of people.

What are your favorite sets to perform?

Right now I would say I like performing: The Whole Works, The Fix, & You The Purpose. I will be performing some of my new songs which haven’t released yet at one of my upcoming concerts in Southern Cali in January and Oakland in March though.

For future updates on Positive Society’s journey, stay tuned to our blog and follow him on Instagram @positivesocietymusic