ABOUT

Jontae Lofland, better known by his stage name Joni Grand, is a young Native American artist from Sussex County, Delaware. Lofland learned to play the drums and piano while attending church in the Coverdale crossroads community during his upbringing. Even though going to service 3 times a week was awfully boring, church was one of the ways he escaped from his reality. The music there spoke to him in a way he didn’t understand, but the feelings it provoked provided him a temporary relief.

While dealing with childhood traumas of moving between many abusive foster homes, Lofland quickly discovered that music was his only way of being understood in a world full of turmoil. One of his early childhood memories that sparked inspiration in him was his older cousins on his mother’s side packing their van every weekend with DJ equipment and crates full of old school records for parties Lofland was too young to attend. Growing up in a small town environment with no hip-hop scene, Lofland made a name for himself through freestyling at the school cafeteria and in front of family and friends. He eventually recorded his freestyles with just a cheap microphone, interface, and laptop at the age of 16.

Since then music became his life, Lofland perfected his craft and jumped into hip hop. He started dropping mixtapes in 2012 while collaborating with industry artist Lil Scrappy, King Los, and Quality Control artist Mark Battles. He has performed numerous times in New York City, DC, and Baltimore, performing in front of crowds of 200-600 people.

With a voice that demands attention through expressing his pain and anger, Lofland remains persistent with his uncommon wordplay and an unorthodox style of hip hop music. Lofland has released his albums Welcome 2 Da Deli in November of 2012, Self Explanatory in July 2014, and Self Explanatory pt. 2{REBELLIOUS} in October 2016.